This month, straight from Wales, Byr a Thoddaid poems. Just a quatrain or two. No big deal, right?
But wow, there are some odd, sort of dissonant rules about syllabics and rhyme and link words. A tricky proposition! (To read more about them, click here. Or here. The basic rules are that each quatrain has a rhymed couplet with 8 syllables in each line, and another couplet with a 10 syllable line and a 6 syllable line with both ‘linked’ words and internal rhyme.)
Since the form is British Isles-born, I was inspired to write about my recent trip to Scotland and how absolutely right my husband’s name sounded when I heard it spoken with a brogue, how comforting it was seeing it (and one of my daughter’s names too) on headstones and shop shingles, how at home these names (that are technically Irish, not Scottish, but close) were in this green, green place. So, here goes. Enjoy!
A Scanlon Byr a Thoddaid
Liz Garton Scanlon
Your name feels right at home, right here
– the rolling hill of it so clear –
each syllable a song, each note a green
the ground repeats by rote.
I recognize this dry-stacked stone,
the moss, the gorse – I’m not alone.
You’re here, reflected in the cold, deep loch,
a key that’s mine to hold.
To read the others, go here:
Tanita
And Catherine is hosting Poetry Friday at Reading to the Core.
Stay safe and well, friends.
OH—” the rolling hill of it so clear –” I love that! And the fact that you slipped “gorse” into this poem, and wrote to that beautiful, beautiful wall. Thank you.
What a lovely gift to your family — a poetic origin story for the Scanlons. And that wall, and the green, and even the clouds…gorgeous! All of it!
Each syllable a song, so descriptive of your entire poem. It’s lovely.
This feels so beautiful, so connected, so loving and yet a bit bittersweet, too. We are such a speck in the endless hills…
A stunning poem…your name, right at home. I’m not alone. Absolutely beautiful and soulful. I’m so glad you took the challenge and shared!
My wife’s grandmother’s maiden name was Scanlon, so it had a bit more personal meaning to us. It was a beauty to behold.