Albert's Poetry Cafe ~ Poet Craft: Form Abhanga with Salvatore!  November 9, 2009 - November 23, 2009

Poet Craft: Abhanga

Here is a poetic form that originated in India.

Though there is no required number of stanzas, for this contest we will require four or five stanzas. Each stanza is a quatrain (four lines) with a rhyme pattern of abbc and a syllable count of 6,6,6,4.

Here is an example of an abhanga poem.


WILL THE DAY EVER COME?


Wars have yet to promise
And deliver real peace.
Will battles ever cease?
We need to pray.

A country challenges
Its neighbor for more land
And though a change of hands,
Life stays the same.

If two people settled
Spats by fighting a duel,
Wouldn�t we call them fools?
It�s so absurd!

Yet nations send armies
Of young men and women
Who do what they�re bidden
And often die.

Will the day ever come
When wars are outdated
And human life rated
In flesh and blood?

Let�s opt for the table
Besides staging a meal
As a place to make deals
Instead of war.

#
� 2008 Salvatore Buttaci


Deadline: November 23, 2009

Prizes: Gold, Silver, Bronze, and one Honorable Mention

Helena

Banora Point, N.S.W., Australia

4 Contestants
4 Submissions
374 Views
Created Nov 10, 2009