A to Z Blogging Challenge:
G is for Ghazal
by
Opal Zushaquon
Ghazal
A short lyrical poem that arose in Urdu. It is between 5 and 15 couplets long. Each couplet contains its own poetic thought but is linked in rhyme that is established in the first couplet and continued in the second line of each pair. The lines of each couplet are equal in length. Themes are usually connected to love and romance. The closing signature often includes the poet's name or allusion to it.
Read more about 55 Types of Poetry Forms by www.poemofquotes.com
This site contains an example of a Ghazal poem, which I will use for a template.
Kiss the hand and cheek, kiss the lips that open.
Kiss the eyes and tears, kiss the wounds that open.
Kiss the eyes and tears, kiss the wounds that open.
The nuclei of our atoms are so small, we are mostly nothing.
Whoever did this made our stone walls out of windows always open.
Whoever did this made our stone walls out of windows always open.
In a thicket: A bag too dark to see, too big to lift, too familiar to walk away from.
God grant me strength to drag it into the open.
God grant me strength to drag it into the open.
6:10, stuck on the freeway again.
Love is singing with window and throat wide open.
Love is singing with window and throat wide open.
My friend refused to greet the stranger in black,
was brought to the surgeon, who cut his heart open.
was brought to the surgeon, who cut his heart open.
Go ahead, I dare you, take another breath. Each one is full
of what 14 billion years ago blew this world open.
of what 14 billion years ago blew this world open.
We safecracker poets sand fingertips, pass long nights on our knees.
All to feel those clicks that mean the door will spring open.
All to feel those clicks that mean the door will spring open.
Len says, I love the night sky, but I adore the Milky Way:
It is the edge of Her robe. See how gently it opens.
It is the edge of Her robe. See how gently it opens.
Len Anderson
Copyright 2002
And you all stuck me with this? I will have my revenge!
All right, let's have a go.
Damned
Rotten luck in love all my life, I must be damned
I get the thorns and not the roses, I tell you, I am damned
The apple of my eye is rotten, he lies coiled in the grass
Striking at women who are not me, my heart breaks and I am damned
I try to make him leave my mind, but he comes to me in dreams
How can I quit him when his kisses taste so sweet, and I am damned
My very existense feels like irony, a great and wicked cosmic joke
The Gods laugh at my misfortune, and I tell you, I am damned
The apple of my eye is rotten, his image decays my senses
But though I know what he really is, I can't quit him, I am damned
Heaven help me to forget him, but how can he when he glistens
Like an Opal in purgatory, I can't forget him, I am damned
~Opal~
Actually, that was kind of fun. I take back the revenge threat. But you're welcome to throw hundred dollar bills my way!
Love,
Opal
This form certainly hammers home its point with all the repeats...
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it just?
ReplyDeletepowerful writing!
ReplyDeleteI love the ghazal form and have not played with it for a while. You inspire me to do just that!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2013/04/08/words-work/
Wow, this is an amazing form, Opal, and you did so well with it, I don't know why you worried.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I know why, because we all worry when we are starting to write, until the poet takes charge, and the mere human becomes merely the pen.
K
Haven't most women been there at some point in their lives? Thankfully, most can purge themselves from such temptation. But for those who can't, yes they are damned. Nicely done form.
ReplyDeleteExcellent ghazal! I find them impossible to write.
ReplyDeleteNice creation.
ReplyDelete