Maria Donovan

I was just in time to add my contribution to the December Poetry Challenge from Fake Flamenco. The challenge was to write using the Japanese form; dodoitsu.

As the original post by Rebecca Cuningham explains the dodoitsu is ‘non-rhyming, with a humorous twist…four lines: 7 syllables, 7 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables’. Here is my post with the photo that inspired it. The theme was ‘turn’.

The road floods, air feels so damp
Our dehumidifier
Collects moisture for us to
Pour back down the drain

I’m writing a novel these days, weeks and months (all right, years) and it gives me pleasure to play a game like this: I enjoy counting the syllables and making it fit and coming up with something without feeling that it has to speak for my entire being and worth as a writer.

In other words, it’s fun. Thanks, Rebecca!

The photo was taken last Monday just before the sandbags came out. This driver was considerate and went slowly. Here’s a photo of what happens when you drive fast! Apart from drenching pedestrians it sends big waves across the gardens, swooshing flood water ever closer to people’s doorways.

One of the exciting and special things about Rebecca’s site is that she writes in Spanish and English and offers translations of the poems submitted to the challenge. Looking forward to that. What a great way to explore languages!

If you want to read some of the other poems posted on Rebecca’s page – see the link at the top. If you like the idea of trying a challenge like this I think there’ll be a chance again in January…Maybe see you there?

And in the meantime are there any other poetry challenges you follow?

Update: All the poems and their translations (English to Spanish or Spanish to English) are now live on Rebecca’s website – you can read them here. Thanks to Rebecca Cuningham for mine!