Poets Around the World ~ sijo

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr

Poets Around the WorldI have covered many miles
       as a means to find friendship.
There have been many trips by air,
       over land, and under the sea.
Yet here I sit at home, conversing
       with poets around the world.

This poem is my response to Day 20 at napowrimo.net,
where we are challenged to write a sijo.
I wrote my first sijo in 2017 as a tribute to a lost cousin.

Sijo (a Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka)
~ three lines of 14-16 syllables each
~ a total of 44-46 syllables
~ a pause near the middle of each line
~ first half of the line contains six to nine syllables
~ the second half should contain no fewer than five
Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure.
Modern Sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.

Image source: Gyroscope Review

31 thoughts on “Poets Around the World ~ sijo”

  3. This is the truth. I love that about the borderless world we live in. But being where I am be-ing the time difference is a hindrance. Take this moment, for instance, I’ve lived my Tuesday. I need to think of going to bed already as here in Japan where I’m be-ing it’s almost midnight. Thanks for sharing your work – wonderful words I can relate to.
    Be well. Keep going. I wish you miracles. (good night)

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    • Thank you, Charlotte. I know what you mean. I tend to write free verse (except for Japanese forms, and they’re about as close to free verse as you can get). I’m willing to try many structured forms – except sonnets. I enjoy reading them, but they spook me!

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      • Go for the sonnet! Sometimes I have a subject that just screams to be a sonnet, so I cheat and go to Shakespeare. I pick a sonnet and then “copy” the meter to get myself going. I was talking on another blog about sestinas–they’re my nemesis. I like the idea of poetic forms, but the application often eludes me.

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  6. I agree with Xan on this one, Ken. Sorry I haven’t been over sooner, but I’m guest hosting on Twitter all day and I haven’t had a moment spare. I just hope I’m finished before the dVerse Poets Pub opens.

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