Wednesday, April 25, 2012

A rhyme royale

     Aha!  I have found a poem form created, not recently, but years ago by one of the greats...Chaucer created the rhyme royal.  (I like to pronounce it rhyme roy-el!)  It is a seven line poem that follows the rhyme scheme of a-b-a-b-b-c-c.  Apparently it is up to the writer to make that a quatrain followed by a tercet or a tercet followed by a quatrain!  Okay, maybe I am trying to show off my newly acquired poem-speak.  I will try to be more humble!
     The crisis in our house today, besides the spilled jug of orange juice and the mild car accident that I endured this morning, is a lost lego mini-figure.  Mattie, age 8, was nearly despondent at dinner because she can't find her very special Statue of Liberty mini-figure.  This got me thinking about all of the things I have lost over the years.  The rhyme royal seems a perfect place to "find" these treasures again.

I've lost it
By Melinda Harvey

One would think I've lost my mind
when I stop to take a look
At all the things I cannot find
my rabbit's foot, my library book...

So just this once, let me off the hook
I can not bear to take the blame
I am truly sorry that I lost the championship game.


     It isn't very Chaucer-esque, but I like it.  I hope you do too!  If you try the rhyme royal, let me know by posting it in the comments!


2 comments:

  1. Oh, I lose everything! I love the different kinds of losing here...and I really hope you find that LEGO figure. They're so small! Such fun to see these new-to-me-forms! And I love that rabbit's foot too. a.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the beat!!! (I hope you get the old Bandstand TV show joke...I am thinking you might be too young.) I finally figured out that I don't really lose things. I tend to mis-place them. But my mind, well that is tough when I think I am losing that!!! Sorry about your car and hope that the Statue of Liberty shows up soon. It is too bad you can't go out and buy individual figures like that. I like the rhyme roy-el!!! I think you gave old Chaucer a little stroll for his money! Janet

    ReplyDelete