Le Voyage Magnifique

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Invented by Jan Turner, the Trijan Refrain has 27 lines divided into three stanzas with a specific pattern of rhyme, repetition, and meter, as described and demonstrated in the following link:
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/trijanrefrain.html

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The Imayo , meaning "present style", has a more fluid frame than most Japanese forms. However, it seems that whenever I research a Japanese frame, it involves an alternating 5-7 or 7-5 syllabic structure. The Imayo of the 12th century is no exception. This form creates long lines broken by caesura separating 7 and 5 syllables in the line.

It is associated with song, (recitation in a high pitch) and originated with the common people in folk song. But by the Heian period it was embraced by the Imperial court. This folk art evolved with the influence of Imperial aristocrats and famous courtesans or Shirabyoshi dancers incorporated the Imayo into their performances. One type of Imayo is used in Kabuki, Japanese theatre.

The elements of the Imayo are:
1. a 4 line poem, a tetrastich.
2. syllabic, written in 12 syllable lines broken by caesura after the 7th syllable.

Shosagoto*

Dancing girl at the temple, with grace and control
in resonance with pitched chant, three-stringed shamisen*
accompanies the lyrics, tunes of the ancients
played out on Kabuki stage, hyoshigi* crack.
~~Judi Van Gorder

*shosagoto are the dance pieces of the kabuki theater
*shamisen is traditional 3 stringed, long necked instrument similar to a lute
*hyoshigi are wooden blocks slapped together to make a dramatic cracking sound, a traditional, signature sound of the kabuki.

~ Judi Van Gorder, aka Tinker

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The Triquatrain, created by Robert L. Huntsman, is a four-line stanza form with a specific rhyme pattern whereby lines 1 and 3 have internal rhymes and lines 2 and 4 have matching end rhymes, as described and demonstrated in the following link: http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/triquatrain.html

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The Pantun was at one time an integral part of Malaysian life, used to propose marriage, to tell a proverb, or to celebrate just about any occasion, even shared between warriors about to battle. It is originally folk verse. I was surprised at how unlike it is from its French variation, the Pantoum , which I had previously believed was synonymous with the 15th-century Malaysian form.

The Pantun is said to go back much further in oral tradition but I could find no agreement on how far or what source, one refers to it as an ancient fishing song. The rhythm of the verse attempted to emulate the rhythm of the oars of the fishermen rowing out in unison.

It is a poem of two halves almost unrelated. Each half is a complete couplet . The first half, the shadow, sets the rhythm and rhyme of the poem, and the second half, the meaning, delivers the message. The form has been referred to as a riddle. These poems were to be exchanged between individuals, not recited to an audience.

The elements of the Pantun are:
1. most often a single quatrain, a tetrastich.
2. syllabic, all lines are of the same length, lines are written in 8 to 12 syllables each.
3. rhymed, rhyme scheme abab.
4. written in two complete couplets. The first, the shadow is to set the structure but its focus may be quite different from the second couplet, the meaning, in which the message is set.

The Choices We Make

Do I ignore or heed the voices,
the reminder that often festers?
We are all a product of choices,
our own and forgotten ancestors.
~~Judi Van Gorder

5. less commonly written in structural variations that still retain the shadow and meaning components and equal length, 8 to 12 syllable lines:
* The shortest is called Pantun Dua Kerat written in only 2 unrhymed lines.
* Also can be written as a sixain made up of 2 tercets, rhyme abcabc.
* And an octave rhymed abcdabcd.
* Or, three quatrains, lines 8 to 12 equal length lines, rhymed abab abab abab the poem turned on only 2 rhymes.
* The longest is Pantun EnamKarats Kerat written in 16 lines made up of 2 octaves rhyme abcdabcd abcdabcd The poem turned on only 4 rhymes.

So you have choices. Propose marriage, wax philosophic, celebrate life, brag about that fish you caught, even threaten your enemy, but for this contest do it in a Malaysian Pantun.

~ Tinker

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