I skidded into June without even tapping the brakes. Time seems to slip through my fingers the further I travel down the road. I decided to take a pit stop at the poetic form called a Dansa. This style known as an Occitan (the official language of Catalonia) form with no set meter. This style is a form of lyrical poetry. The term dansa derived from the Occitan words for “to dance.” I called this Dansa Poem Don’t have a Dog.
Guidelines for writing a Dansa Poem and Don’t have a Dog
*Opening quintain (Or five-line stanza) followed by quatrains (or four-lined stanzas)
*The opening line of the first stanza is the final line of every stanza
*Rhyme scheme in the opening stanza: AbbaA (Capitol represents the refrain
*Rhyme scheme in the other stanzas: bbaA
There are no other rules.
Note: I will also be adding Black Out Poems as we go along the way. I plan to keep using this style until the book I’m using runs out of pages for me to play with to create these unique and visual poems. I’m excited about jogging down this road.
Don’t have a Dog I don’t have dog in this fight And I’m too old to believe a fairytale No matter how much you scream and wail I have an alibi that’s airtight I don’t have a dog in this fight I don’t believe in warfare full-scale Give me a minute to exhale I don’t desire to battle out of spite I don’t have a dog in this fight Don’t you dare grab my coattail Drag me down that dusty trail Struggle against you with all my might I don’t have a dog in this fight Your mission of defense a holy grail But I’m sorry my allegiance isn’t for sale You have a righteous victory within sight I don’t have a dog in this fight
Who is Molly Shea?
Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh. To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.
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