  Poetry
This week: Edited by: Texas Belle  
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| When is a poem like a musical instrument? When it's a samisen. Come venture forth and discover a new poetry form. There are those who believe poetry is a stagnant genre, locked into a finite set of forms but this form is proof that poetry is a living entity waiting for the next evolution. |
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It all started innocent enough. It was mid-winter and I thought hosting a little contest would be just the thing to brush away those wintery blues. In my search for poetry forms I stumbled upon this little gem: the samisen.
The SAMISEN is an intriguing short poetry pattern named after a Japanese three-stringed musical instrument somewhat resembling a banjo. Though it may have a Japanese name, it is not Japanese in origin, nor does it resemble the usual pattern for haiku and similar forms.
The first mention I've come across appears in Margarette Ball Dickson's Added Patterns for Poems, published in 1954. According to Dickson, the samisen "is limited to three stanzas and should be light and delicate as the melody of this dainty instrument." She believed the pattern is best suited "to outdoor beauty, the elfin, supernatural and eerie or to light, delicate fancies," but I feel sure it could be perfectly well adapted to other purposes.
Designed originally as a song lyric by Carol Henning Bair, Strasburg OH, some time before 1954, the samisen is *red*limited to three stanzas of 8 lines each, with a 3-syllable refrain appearing at the end of lines 1 and 3, and standing alone as lines 2 and 8. The defining the meter has been difficult to find because it has been described many different ways, but it appears to be a regular trochaic pattern ('u) with amphimacers ('u') for the refrain and for the end-rhyme in lines 5 and 7. Lines 1, 3, 4 and 6 have four feet, lines 5 and 7 have three feet, and lines 2 and 8 (the refrain) have one foot.
The only end-rhyme other than the A-Refrain (AR) occurs in lines 5 and 7, the 3-foot lines. The rhyme pattern, then, is AR, R, AR, x, b, x, b, R. That second rhyme is different for each stanza, but the refrain remains the same. Spelled out completely, it looks like this:
STANZA I: AR, R, AR, x, b, x, b, R.
STANZA II: AR, R, AR, x, c, x, c, R.
STANZA III: AR, R, AR, x, d, x, d, R.
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Mists of you swirl about me in my dreams, ......................................AR
In my dreams. ......................................................................................R
Your voice is calling to me in my dreams. ........................................AR
Softly whispering about me ................................................................x
Like a meadowlark's sweet singing, .................................................b
Floating gently through the air .............................................................x
Your voice a promise bringing ...........................................................b
In my dreams. .......................................................................................R
Memories from long ago come in my dreams, ..............................AR
In my dreams. .....................................................................................R
Scent of pine and the ocean in my dreams. ...................................AR
And the full moon smile is glowing ...................................................x
As we dance across the night sky .....................................................c
The music of your laughter ................................................................x
Plays around me like a sigh ...............................................................c
In my dreams. .......................................................................................R
And time will never touch you in my dreams ...................................AR
In my dreams. .......................................................................................R
Nor the sweetness of your smile, in my dreams. ...........................AR
All the sweet memories we made ....................................................x
In my heart I'm safely keeping ...........................................................d
One thousand endless moments .....................................................x
Come to me softly sweeping ...........................................................d
In my dreams. .....................................................................................R
Don't be intimidated by trying new forms. Honestly, it is the best way to sharpen your poetry skills and you might find that there's more to your poetry than you ever imagined. I have a friend who is enamored with the haiku, he finally branched out into another form and has grown for the experience.
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Here are some offerings featuring the samisen. I hope you enjoy them!
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As you can see each one of these poets took the form and made it their own. They appear to be the same but each is a different little jewel. Go ahead, give it a try! |
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Poetry: September 05, 2007 Issue [#1925]
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