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Dyfalu


Tinker

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Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry
Welsh Verse
Features of the Welsh Meters
Welsh Codified Divisions

Dyfalu, meaning collection of similtudes (things alike), is not a verse form but a poetic technique, a common feature of poems in 14th century Welsh Meters. Dyfalu also means "to guess" and the technique is often used to present a riddle. It is at its best when the poet's mind dwells on an object and rapidly provides fanciful imagery to reveal its nature. The frame is at the discretion of the poet.

The following poem employs "dyfalu" and is written in the Welsh meter, Cyhydedd fer, which is simply rhymed octasyllabic couplets.

Queen of Spring by Judi Van Gorder

From sleeping bulb to graceful bloom
when spring awakes from winter's gloom
each stalk devotes itself to one
whose prinked petals entice the sun.
Her face is wrinkled, some say old,
earth's wisdom molded in each fold.
She drops her tongue for all to see
a topsey-turvey Fleur de Li.
Adorned is she in royal hue,
her velvet kissed by drops of dew.
The fresh faced daffodil sits near,
a peasant in this regal sphere.
Here she stands taller than the rest,
her bearing tells us she is best
with beauty made to stun the crowd,
her name is Iris, fair and proud..

~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~

For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com

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