At the mournful shore with swells
as whalebacks turning, tolling bells
of seachimes;
behind the cloud-veiled sky the sun,
a bashful orb spilled gold and spun
my sealight.
Inhaling this, my moment, mine
this scent of tear, of wind, of brine
and seaweed.
There, that day , I found my health
I sighed; I smiled and dressed myself
in seaskin
and if you find me by the beach
I will not listen to your speech
but seasongs.
Claude Monet
Today at dVerse Grace brings us a form called the Compound Word Verse which is a poetry form invented by Margaret R. Smith that consists of five 3-line stanzas, for a total of 15 lines. The last line of each stanza ends in a compound word and these compound words share a common stem word which is taken from the title. (In the first example below the stem word is “moon” from the title “Moonlighting”; the compound words related to the title are moondust, moonbeams, moonsongs, etc.)
The Compound Word Verse (3 lines) has a set rhyme scheme and meter as follows:
Rhyme Scheme: a,a,b
Syllable/Meter: 8, 8, 3
I tried my best, and I found it quite hard to make a meaning with this sparse form with so many restrictions.
October 21, 2021
Björn Rudbergs writings 
A very in-depth piece that takes some time to decipher (at least, the 1st stanza). Great piece either way, thank you for sharing
Thank you… maybe you will join in the fun and write a poem in this form.
Thank you as well, Björn. Perhaps soon, or perhaps at a later time. Admittedly I’m familiarizing myself with a more formal poetry structure by reading through “Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings,” edited by Linda Anderson.
Oh so beautifully conceived and executed mythopoesis …. The longing to leave a dying world for the health of a selkie in his native sea country. Loved this, Bjorn.
pax,
dora
The verses chime so well. How beautiful it is to find oneself, one’s health and listen to seasongs. Love the compound word pairing Bjorn.
I love the idea of dressing yourself in a seaskin! Seasongs are some of my favourite music, so I like what you did with the form.
Ah this is perfect! 🌊
A gorgeous sensory rugged poem, Bjorn.
I thought this flowed perfectly–it seemed like a ballad to me. It seemed to me a selkie returning to the sea.
I agree, it was difficult to find cohesion within the restrictions of the form. I liked your piece being called “rugged”, because it is a seafarer’s ballad, a muscular tale. I enjoyed it.
Inhaling this, my moment, mine
this scent of tear, of wind, of brine
and seaweed.
Now THAT is poetry, dude. Very cool.
Really like this Bjorn. I found turning to a lighter essence of mirth helped me stay dead solid to the form. Although I firmly agree, if one wants depth, form needs to be willing to flex.
Your poem left me with a song. It did evoke lovely sounds to me.
I like your compound words and rhymes very much, a suiting sea shanty!
Some interesting sea compounds.
Much💜love
The seas have a special place in my life, so I loved this, Björn.
you have shown us how this form should be done .
i need more time listerning to sea song thanks for taking me there.
I think you got this, Bjorn. Iknow that feeling – there is healing in the sea. I like the fact that you constructed some of those compound words yourself, too.
You took me to the sea with you, great writing! 🌊
Ah Bjorn, you wrote of the sea beautifully …. sigh.
I love everything sea!
What a wonderful evocation of the magic of the sea. (K)
The meter and cadence here seem like a seasong themselves–each stanza is complete in itself in some ways, yet moves like waves do, one after the other, with a turn of the mirror that throws light on each end phrase. I especially like the idea of ‘seaskin…”