The luc bat is a Vietnamese form of poetry. It means simply 'six eight' due to its pattern of syllables per line: 6,8,6,8,6,8, etc. It can be as long or as short as you'd like, but what really makes this form interesting is the rhyming structure in which the sixth syllable of every eight-syllable line rhymes with the last syllable of the six-syllable line before it, which in turn rhymes with the eighth syllable of the eight-syllable line before it. When the end of the poem is reached, the last line jumps back and rhymes with the first. In other words, the syllables go like this:
* * * * * a
* * * * * a * b
* * * * * b
* * * * * b * c
* * * * * c
* * * * * c * d
* * * * * d
* * * * * d * a
When Lightning Strikes
Fierce, the blackened clouds blow
and roll like waves below a squall
as nature's captive thrall.
Heed, you, the warning bawl and roar
loosed by the mighty Thor
whose hammer falls, wherefore, brings fear
to those afar and near.
A tempest so severe and dire...
sodden sky ripe with ire...
sends torrent winds afire with light
streaking through the black night.
A silver bolt in flight is seen
to cleave the clouds between
and set the scene of Earth aglow.
©2008 Dawn Slanker
Oh, wow! ! ! To be able to write in these forms & in a way which excites and lives... thank you!
Wow- you are truly a great writer. I hope to aspire to your level some day. My poems seem so simple compared to yours. Thanks for giving such great explanations on the different types of poetry. ^_^
Fond memories as a child growing up in Southern Illinois. Another treasure seldom seen!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
This Luc-Bat rhyme scheme coupled with your heavy words really give weight to lightning, which, in all actuality, doesn't last long enoughed to be weighed and makes this piece feel like a powerful portrait of the exact moment of it's existence.