sijo (traditional Korean poetry)

[AlinaX]

Supergirl, child of Krypton
. swift as sunlight pursued by night
Red and blue, fierce defiance
. banish shadows and smile smile smile
Ashes fall where all was crystal
. shattering like falling tears

(Mixed feelings.)

 

[Angeline]

Piano man sounds like ice, long cool fingers traverse the keys,
a landscape of sound opens a tonal path to invite me.
I am here with him. Imagination made him live again.

 

[SmilingLez]

Old threads crackle on the screen,
Stories hang in the air, unresolved,
What happened to those voices?

Scrolling through echoes of the past,
Curiosity pulls me in,
Wonder if their paths crossed again.

Fingers trace familiar tales,
Life moves on, but I still wonder,
Do they remember these moments too?

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

When I'm home, the house is warm. When I'm out, the light stays on.
At my doorstep, a Welcome mat. In the bathroom, an extra towel.
Sitting alone, I wait and live. For a love that shall never return.

(that one made me cry a little to write )

And me to read, but there's no cry react. So you get hugs instead

 

[calmlikeabomb]

@TheRedLantern thank you so much for starting this thread.

Here is my humble attempt. I can't even attempt to capture all the nuances and respect that Sijo requires, but I have some skill with Prog Rock and odd time signatures, and so I tried to tell the story of an old courtesan the best I could. I hope you all enjoy it.

---

Let me be Autumn Flower, falling slowly to the ground,
Snow will warm my aching bones, until in spring my grave is found,
All I have is this cage to give, forgive me child, let me sleep.

---

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

I just have to express again - I'm so impressed with everyone writing these. I've been staring at the form and reading/re-reading all of the guidelines. I generally LOVE rules and I just can't wrap my head around these to make anything come out of my brain. Y'all are AWESOME!

 

[calmlikeabomb]

I just can't get this form out of my mind. I still havent got the hang of the 'twist', but I feel like I'm getting better at the rhythm. Here is another one on the theme of courtesans and their melancholy. I might do one more on this theme and make it a nice little trilogy.

---

Pretensions

I sing sweet for you my lord, silk palanquin and silver pouch,
Distant eyes, you stay the night, I sing of jade, I dream of rice,
The dawn comes, I am left in rags, in my heart I sing of rice.

----

 

[calmlikeabomb]

I just have to express again - I'm so impressed with everyone writing these. I've been staring at the form and reading/re-reading all of the guidelines. I generally LOVE rules and I just can't wrap my head around these to make anything come out of my brain. Y'all are AWESOME!

You don't have to get it all right in one go. You have to give yourself the luxury of making as many small mistakes as possible so you can learn from them.

It helps to find one particular 'hook' that you can get behind. It can be the rhythm, the themes, the imagery or the nuance (in this case, the twist). Think of what will come most naturally to you and then work your way from that.

In my case it was the rhythm. I play and write a lot of Prog Rock, so I'm very comfortable with odd time scales. 'Normal' music is usually 4/4, ie 4 beats in a bar, but I can play and write on 5, 3, 7, 9, 13 etc too (through years of practice on my guitar). Because of that, I can get close enough to the 3-4,4-4;3-4,4-4 etc. that's been my way in.

 

[Angeline]

Be In

Green meadow filled with music, incense wafting over the crowd.
Freedom feels like music shared or hands that touch without a care.
Remember Woodstock, how you felt when songs flew through scented skies?

 

[SamanthaBehgs]

In my case it was the rhythm. I play and write a lot of Prog Rock, so I'm very comfortable with odd time scales.

I think you've nailed where I'm having the most trouble. My favorite poetry form, at least for now, has been the sonnet. It's regular, it's consistent.

This form gives flexibility which is what I think gives it the beauty that it has. It's also brief - and I'm verbose. I am going to get it, I just have to get something even down on the page. Y'all will be the first to know (other than me, of course). Until then, I'm enoying reading everyone else's beauty.

 

[calmlikeabomb]

Here is the third part of the series. I cheated a little here, Little Rice was the Chinese name of one of my exes and I always thought it was incredibly evocative.

I also didn't try to rhyme too much in this one, focusing instead on the story. And I got very lucky with Mugungwha (aka Rose of Sharon, the national flower of S Korea). Just the right number of syllables and fits the theme perfectly.

----

Little Rice

Little Rice, in spring I bloom, I play in grass, I sing in woods,
Summer comes with men of steel, I’m wrapped in silk, for silver sold,
In iron cage, I forget the spring, Little Rice is Mugungwha.


----
With this, the tale of the Courtesan is done. I hope to return again to this thread soon with something more witty and less bluesy.

 

[calmlikeabomb]

I think you've nailed where I'm having the most trouble. My favorite poetry form, at least for now, has been the sonnet. It's regular, it's consistent.

This form gives flexibility which is what I think gives it the beauty that it has. It's also brief - and I'm verbose. I am going to get it, I just have to get something even down on the page. Y'all will be the first to know (other than me, of course). Until then, I'm enoying reading everyone else's beauty.

I know EXACTLY how you feel! I was so used to 4/4 that the first time I hit a 5/8 and a 9/8, I almost broke into a cold sweat!

I don't know about your process, and I don't know the 'mechanics' of sonnets yet, but when I tried to write Sijo, I tapped my thigh and spoke the words aloud in order to keep count. It wasn't perfect, but it helped me get into the mindspace where I could wrap my head around the mechanics of the form.

Reading all the literature folks shared on this thread helped as well, but it all clicked together only when I wrote down 'Let me be Autumn Flower'. That one line unlocked my voice.

Put something down, and if it helps, you will only get better from there.

 

[calmlikeabomb]

Our pain perches, beneath silk robes. Eloquent thoughts, spoken with grace
Five thousand years, remembered. We sang your songs, told your stories
Of our deaths, you know not. But our ghosts can never forget


Edit: This was taking two ideas, kisaeng (Korean geisha) and the myths of the haunted maidens of jeju island (young women who died unhappily became ghosts, and were eventually worshipped as village dieties and protected the women of the village).

I love this! Damm the rules and form, this touched my soul!

 

[Ash999]

Our pain perches, beneath silk robes. Eloquent thoughts, spoken with grace
Five thousand years, remembered. We sang your songs, told your stories
Of our deaths, you know not. But our ghosts can never forget
[This was taking two ideas, kisaeng (Korean geisha) and the myths of the haunted maidens of jeju island (young women who died unhappily became ghosts, and were eventually worshipped as village dieties and protected the women ]

Did strong muscled Masters spank those marbled Glutes!!?
Did your exquisite silk robes hide your reddened masochism O Goddesses of the Night..in 50's...?!
For 5,000 years you wandered the Korean peninsula , protected women....
Did you witness McArthur fighting Red China too...in 50's.....mmmmmm!?

 

[LaotianLass]

she creeps through shadows as dawn nears, before her huband wakes
leaving lover's bed behind, trading warmth for chilling winds
her lover, not a tall tree, no, but instead a fragrant flower

 

[LaotianLass]

her lips, so wet and soft and red, feather light upon my breast
her long legs, around mine wrapped, i blossom wet for her
she pleasures me until i give the gift of liquid love

 

[Ash999]

She wins her Mixed Martial Art bouts with ease....
She hairpulls her opponents onto the mat...into submission
But when in her Master/ Coach's arms she surrenders her Ego, Glutes, Pride...to Spanks!!?

 

[SmilingLez]

My body, my strength, a path I carefully tend and guide,
Wellness whispers through muscles, bones, each breath a deliberate stride,
One medium-rare smash burger; my moment of pure delight.