“So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm”, proclaimed the Queens herald.
But they all knew the truth. They would come to harm whether they did their duty or not. The only difference lay in how quickly the harm would come. The Queen cared not for their life. She didn’t give a thought to her subjects coming to harm.
The only things she cared about was her wealth prospering, her power growing, her legacy and legend spreading, her monuments to rise and compete with the ancient marvels of the world. Hers would be the biggest temple, the highest tower, the grandest tomb.
Little did she suspect, hers would be the most spectacular assassination. Thought out and plotted by the greatest minds of the country. Impaled by the sacrificial bull. Crushed by falling marble. Interred in the fallen tower of follies.
Written for tonight’s Prosery: Doing our duty at dVerse. The prompt where we write prose inspired by a given line from a poem and not exceeding the word count of 144.
Tonight’s line is from William Blake’s poem ‘The Chimney Sweeper:’ In Songs of Innocence (1789)
To hide their land fairies enlist Floating mist A fine fairy dust outpouring Obscuring Protecting by bending light beams Hidden dreams
Only those that freely daydreams Can find the hidden secret way To let light shine through the fog gray Floating mist obscuring hidden dreams
II
Who still believes in magic dreams? Poets it seems Who follows silvery moonbeams? Who still dreams? Who let fairies sprinkle a flick of magic?
Whenever life feels blue tragic Write yourself unburdened and free Proudly let the world again see Poets it seems still dreams of magic
III
What’s got you squirming and fussing? A mind abuzz What have you found in your searchings? A heart that sings What’s hiding within your brain folds? Stories untold
Adventure that never grows old Finding words that makes the soul glow As stanzas form, cascades and flow A mind abuzz, a heart that sings stories untold
Yesterday I went on a search for a new interwoven poetry form. And found a Cheat Sheet of Repeating Forms wherein I found one I’d never heard of before Ovillejo. Searching for more information I found this article in Writer’s Digest which linked to a 2016 De Jackson (WhimsyGizmo) prompt at the dVerse bar. And it felt like finding a new way home, as dVerse is where I mostly participate in the writing community.
This is by far one of the trickiest forms I’ve attempted. But fun enough that I’m sure I’ll write more of them. I would recommend heeding the advice from the cheet sheet “compose the tenth line first”
The explanation below is offered from several online sources, which seem to be attributed most often to Rhina P. Espaillat:
…the “ovillejo,” an old Spanish verse form that means “tight little bundle.” “-ejo” is one of our blessed diminutives, and “ovillo” means “tangled ball of yarn.” The last line is a “redondilla,” a “little round” that collects all three of the short lines. The rhyme scheme is established, but the meter is at the poet’s discretion, although in Spanish the longer lines tend to be octosyllabic (8 syllables).
The ovillejo is an old Spanish form popularized by Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616). This 10-line poem is comprised of 3 rhyming couplets (or 2-line stanzas) and a quatrain (or 4-line stanza).
The first line of each couplet is 8 syllables long and presents a question to which the second line responds in 3 to 4 syllables–either as an answer or an echo.
The quatrain is also referred to as a redondilla (which is usually a quatrain written in trochaic tetrameter) with an abba rhyme pattern. The final line of the quatrain also combines lines 2, 4, and 6 together.
John Law
“Am 68. Live in Mexborough. Retired teacher. Artist; musician; poet. Recently included in ‘Viral Verses’ poetry volume. Married. 2 kids; 3 grandkids.”
The world according to RedCat 
