Sandy Foundations: A Zéjel

On By dorahakIn Poems 
Grace at dVerse engages us to try a new poetic form: the Zéjel, 
a Spanish form with Arabic influence related to the Qasida 
and adopted by the Spanish troubadours of 15th century. 
The rules for the most common form:
1) 8 syllable lines.
2) stanzaic, opening with a mono-rhymed triplet followed by any number of quatrains.  
3) rhymed, the rhyme of the opening mudanza establishes a linking rhyme with the end line of the succeeding quatrains. Rhyme scheme, aaa bbba ccca etc.
Click on Mr. Linky to read more poems.
Image credit: Roman Odintsov.

Universes and grains of sand
Threading dreams, like daisies, by hand
Unstrung the quicker when more grand.

I sought the visions of a dream
Where suffering ends and life would seem
Heavenly, as every soul would beam
To see wishes fulfilled as planned.

Long I searched by day and by night
Like Eldorado by the knight
The end I sought grew dim not bright
As all my hopes came to a stand.

Now gray and old, I do decry
The day I fell for that old lie:
Apart from God to live and die
And build my towering hopes on sand.

54 thoughts on “Sandy Foundations: A Zéjel”

  5. This was a joy to read with the rhyming words. I so love the transition of playing in the sand to the wisdom of the older folks with:

    Apart from God to live and die
    And build my towering hopes on sand.

    Thanks for joining in.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Hema! This was new to me too. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve done with it: something good, I know! 🙂Also, please feel free to call me Dora as long as we are fellow poets in arms!! 💖🙏
      pax,
      dora

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa,
      Makes me smile to think of it. Days of our Lives was on every afternoon as I was getting out of school, my Mom’s fave soap and how many times I heard that line! Thank you, Lisa.
      pax,
      dora

      Liked by 1 person

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