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#1. Englyn penfyr or short ended englyn in the old style


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Welsh Verse
Features of the Welsh Meters
Welsh Codified Divisions

Englyn penfyr, én-glin pén-fir or short ended englyn in the old style, is the 1st codified Official Welsh Meter, an Englyn. The oldest Welsh poetry in manuscript (early 9th century) was found written in the margin of the Juvencus Metrical Version of the Psalms, preserved in the Cambridge University Library. It is said to be stanzas written in praise of the Trinity in the englyn penfyr meter. Both the Englyn penfyr and the Englyn milwr are associated with "primitive Britain" and were out of vogue by the 12th century.

The elements of the englyn penfyr are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of tercets.
  2. syllabic, a 10 syllable line followed by two 7 syllable lines.
  3. rhymed, mono rhymed, the main rhyme (the dominant rhyme of the stanza) of L1 found in the last half of the line followed by caesura end rhymes with L2 and L3.
  4. composed with an addendum, a "gair cyrch" in L1 (syllables in the last half of a line that follow the main rhyme marked by caesura. The gair cyrch end rhyme is to be echoed or consonated as secondary rhyme in the 1st half of L2. The caesura often appears as a dash.)
    Y wlad mewn gwisg o flodau -yn galw
    Dwy galon i lwybrau
    Yr ifanc drwy yr hafau
          x x x x x x x A x b
          x x b x x x A
          x x x x x x A
             The countryside, in its floral dress, calls
              two hearts to roam the paths
              of the young through summer days.
    by Dosbarth Tanyroes "Y Flwyddn" 20th century found in Singing in Chains by Mererid Hopwood


    Mud laps by Judi Van Gorder

    Ripples in the mud pool fanned ~ far and wide
    spreading inside-out to land
    in small laps upon the sand.

     

    Oprah by Judi Van Gorder

    She sings her own tune - in touch with her soul
    she shares her goal, grasps the moon
    with wisdom none can impugn.

    First Light(Golau Cychwynnol) by DC Martinson                  

    Night before a Christmas morn stars tarry;
    Hymns carry a world so torn
    To be saved by God's Yet-born.

    Night before a Christmas morn all is seen
    Red and green. Our hearts, forsworn,
    Still are gifts to God's Low-born.

    Night before a Christmas morn in the dark,
    Holy spark. Candles have borne
    Ev'ry soul to God's High-born.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Dreams by Stephen Arndt

    Come, let the ember lights burn low; no more
    _____Let flames roar and flare, for so
    _____Drowsing dreams may freely flow;

    And let me dream what lies in store (I know
    _____Men can't show me that far shore
    _____Which my plodding might explore).

    Our dreamings mimic what might be, for they
    _____Mold the clay to cast a key
    _____Opening new worlds to see.

    I am not deaf to what dreams say. Watch me:
    _____I am free to stop and stay
    _____Or to wend my winding way.

    Are dreams like dice on which to bet? How few
    _____Pay what's due on piled-up debt!
    _____What they grudge is what you get

    I know my dreams may not come true, and yet
    _____Why forget that if they do,
    _____I shall fly to where they flew?

     

     

     

     

~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~

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

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