Mother Tongue

Bedouin’s chai

it soothes my soul

as I dissolve

in absolvent

resolve to evolve unbent.

Earth Mother’s tongue

sharp words stung deep

yet sung wise words

few have heard chant

unstirred herd of men who can’t.

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I wrote this in the form of a Burmese ya-du, which consist of 3 or fewer quintains. Here I’ve used two. Ya-du poems have four syllables in the first four lines and five, seven, nine, or eleven syllables in the fifth lines. I chose to use seven. The rhyme scheme is a bit complicated: The fourth syllable of the first line rhymes with the third of the second line and second of the third line. Also, the fourth syllable of the third line rhymes with the third of the fourth line and second of the fifth line. Finally, the fourth syllable of the fourth line rhymes with the final syllable of the final line in the respective quintains.