Fears Be Damned

I was standing rigidly
on the edge, haunted timber
a lone wolf howls wickedly
fog hovers thick this winter

night–stoic and reticent
these fears be damned, I decry
running, reckless devilment
ghostly trees whisper goodbye

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We move from French poetry forms to Irish poetry forms this week. Today’s poetry form is called Ae Freislighe Poetry. 

From Brewer,

I think part of the reason I’ve avoided Irish forms is that the rhymes can be so intense, and that’s definitely the case with the ae freislighe. Here are the guidelines:

• 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

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Now to you…wanna try a Ae Freislighe poem? Share a link in the comments below!

I am on a personal challenge to explore and write in 100+ different poetic forms.  To assist me in this journey is Robert Lee Brewer’s The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms where he gives the form and an example. Fears Be Damned is #47 in this collection I’m calling, very simply, 100+ Poetic Forms.

Hey y’all, thanks for visiting the Go Dog Go Cafe and I hope you enjoyed reading today’s selection. I am Donna Matthews, a born and bred Texan who can usually be found writing at the DJ Ranch, doodling, taking pictures, and traveling the world on foot. I’m all about love, people, sharing, and exploring life together and would love to get to know you. Come on over for a visit sometime 💙