Display

Bright
red display
bringing colourful delight
in a glass jug.
Tulips.

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Spring Englyn

Snowdrops now their dainty heads show, green stems
extend through cloak of snow.
Signs of Spring; we watch them grow.

Following soon come tulips fair, and bold
gold daffodils bloom where
now the ground is dark and bare.

The seasons are changing, the sun returns
and warms the earth, to shun
Winter’s grip; her battle won.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Whilst looking for something else on the Internet I came across the Englyn form. This is, I understand, an old Bardic poetic form and I thought it would be fun to try to write one. As you can see the form consists of  3-line stanzas. It is a syllable counting form with lines of 10, 6 and 7 syllables respectively. That’s the easy bit!

The rhyme pattern requires end rhymes of AAA. However, (and this is where it gets complicated) the end rhyme of the first line isn’t actually at the end; it can be one, two or three syllables in from the end and the sound of the syllables after the rhyming word are echoed at the beginning of the following line.

You will see I have cheated a bit here, my echoes are not exact, making use of near rhymes and slant rhymes – green stems/extend (Stanza 1),  returns/and warms (stanza 3) and missing out one element in stanza 2 – and bold/gold.

Blue Skies

Blue skies and birdsong,
red tulips drinking sunshine,
wind chimes on the breeze.

Tulips

Stoically
the tulips stand firm
against the onslaught
of hail stones.

Passing Time

Snowdrop and crocus,
springtime blooms.
Daffodil and tulip
follow soon.
Nature’s clock ticks,
bright colours chime
as the season shifts
with passing time.

Drinking

A bed of bright red tulips,
goblets raised greedily skyward,
drinking in the sunshine.

Distant Memory

Bright red tulips unfold;
a joyous splash of colour
driving dull, drab winter days
into distant memory.

Battered Down

Tulips battered down
by heavy rain,
not done for yet they try to raise
their heads again.

Tulips

Red
tulips reach
towards the sky,
petals raised, drinking in
sunshine.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

(Another attempt at the Dutch 11 word Elfje!)