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Lai It On—dVerse MTB

Image: A Poet’s Double Life–Labeled for non-commercial use.

Welcome, my poet cohorts. This is Victoria, today asking you to write a Lai. Yes, it’s pronounced “lay,” an old French poetry form that was used to tell tales of adventure and courage using octosyllabic lines.

Though the world is certainly ripe with stories that would fit that definition, I’m choosing to give it a modern touch, turning to Robert Lee Brewer, the poetry editor for Writer’s Digest. Some of you may have competed in a Lai competition he offered in October, 2013.

The Lai (as we will play with it) a nine-line poem or stanza that uses an “a” and “b” rhyme following this pattern:
aab
aab
aab.
The lines with an “a” rhyme use 5 syllables;
the “b” rhyme lines only have 2 syllables:

Here’s my light attempt at the form.

Never wrote a Lai.
Guess I’ll start today.
Why not?

Weather’s kind of gray.
Stay inside to play.
I jot

a poem this way,
like you will, I pray,
hot-shot.

So this is today’s prompt! You may choose any topic–it’s not necessary to stick to the original definition that you will find in Wikipedia (though, of course, you may.) Make it fun, intense, romantic, whatever calls to you today.

If you are new to dVerse, it’s simple to join in–here’s how:

  • Write your poem and post it on your site.
  • Copy the direct URL to your poem and past it into the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post.
  • Return to the pub and visit the work of your fellow poets, as many as you can. Comment on them, especially those who have commented on your work.
  • Do let your poet friends know that we are here by adding the dVerse link to your post and social media sites.

Have some creative fun with this post–may your day be special.