This is a Japanese style of verse with 11 syllables to each line
and 19 lines in each poem - hence the 3 odd lines in the middle.
The Japanese are a well disciplined race
And that is reflected in their poetry.
They must county syllables when the muse descends
They are not permitted verses wild and free.
I think their Haikus are the most restrictive
But perhaps they enjoy a challenge and find
Satisfaction in such a difficult task -
And a rigid structure concentrates the mind.
A poem without rhyme isn't poetry -
Of course I cannot speak for the Japanese
And some modern poets might well disagree.
Into every other multi-syllabled line
I introduce a different dimension
I go for an ABCB rhyming scheme
It's much easier than some I could mention.
The Japanese verse sceme is rigid and has
Syllables of seventeen, five or seven.
If Hendecasyllabics were natural
We'd have had not ten fingers, but eleven.
June 2006
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