Arlene

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FORM: Rondel - A French form consisting of 13 lines: two quatrains and a quintet, rhyming as follows: ABba abAB abbaA. The capital letters are the refrains, or repeats.

Cutting through the verdant green,
Rushing quickly toward the sea;
Swift and winding, it carries me,
Onward toward the aquamarine.

Red rocks and rapids fill the scene,
Carrying me ever closer to thee;
Cutting through the verdant green,
Rushing quickly toward the sea.

Together again, my dearest Arlene,
And when we rejoin, I’ll take a knee;
To give you this ring and you’ll agree,
To spend all of forever as my queen.
Cutting through the verdant green.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Apparently, I need to refresh my memory about poetry. I thought "refrain" meant that you had to use the same word in that particular line... so the above is a revised version of the poem, with all the rules of the Rondel form properly adhered to (I think). Below is the original I wrote - which I actually prefer - but it's not technically a Rondel. So the above is my official contest entry, and the below is just for your reading enjoyment, if you're so inclined.

Cutting through the verdant green,
Rushing quickly toward the sea;
Swift and winding, it carries me,
Onward toward the aquamarine.

Red rocks and rapids fill the scene,
Carrying me ever closer to thee;
Azure will soon replace the green,
When this fresh water meets the sea.

Together again, my dearest Arlene,
And when we rejoin, I’ll take a knee;
To give you this ring and you’ll agree,
To spend all of forever as my queen.
In this land of azure and green.