Flight Plan

I skidded into July 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 Dansa. This style of poetry, known as an Occitan (the official language of Catalonia) this form has no set meter. This lyrical poetry style comes from the Occitan words for “to dance.” I called this one Flight Plan, cheating on the last line.

Guidelines for writing a Dansa Poem and Flight Plan .

*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.

Flight Plan
Someday, I need to learn how to fly
I hear the take-off is easy, but the landing is hard
 Soar close to the sun, and your wings get charred
Plummeting is a nasty way for an old lady to die
Someday, I need to learn how to fly

It’s hard to imagine this clumsy bard
With a below-average flight scorecard
Sailing in the clouds in a bright blue sky
Someday, I need to learn how to fly

The idea seems a trifling avant-garde
For this old hen to go beyond her barnyard
I still dream, and I can’t deny
Someday, I need to learn how to fly

I’m on a mission that I can’t discard
With every word I whisper and bombard
Now is the time for me to give it a try
Today, I need to learn how to fly

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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