
Ae Freislighe
An Irish form of poetry:
- Quatrain stanzas (4-line stanzas)
- 7 syllables per line
- Lines 1 and 3 rhyme together, but they rhyme as three syllables (xxa)
- Lines 2 and 4 rhyme together as two syllables (xb)
- The final syllable, word, or line of the entire poem should be the same as the entire poem begins (the poetic term for this is dunadh)
- Poem can be as concise as one stanza and scale out as far as a poet wishes to push it
Here’s my humble (second) attempt:
A Place to Hold Me Inside
Remember the beginning
when you held my heart, beating
In your hand, so unsettling…
both on the edge of needing
everything. I uncovered
myself, laid bare at high-tide
and your harbor discovered
a place to hold me inside.
I wasn’t going to do the A-Z Challenge, but I decided I should do something to commemorate National Poetry Month, so…I’m going to attempt a poetic form every day that begins with each letter of the alphabet.
This one was tough, but I like form poetry that makes me puzzle things together and think. I’m sure it’s not a fabulous poem…I cheated a bit with “high-tide,” and I’m not positive I managed the last requirement on the list (because I didn’t quite understand it), but I gave it my best go. This is the second attempt, as my first poem sucked.


5 Comments
Mrs Fever
Oh, that *is* tough — !!
I think your (second) attempt is much better than my twelfth would be!
I was unaware of this Irish form before reading your post; I’m delighted to have learned something new! 🙂
Mrs Fever recently posted…[SNF] Ella Fitzgerald: Dream…
Lisa Stone
Nice attempt
Mark
I liked your poetry. They not only correspond to the rules of writing, but also have a deep meaning.
Mary Wood
Beautiful words
Brigit Delaney
Thank you!