Lai Nouveau: River Affric

view of the River Affric near Dog Falls, with moss growing on a branch in the shape of a deer's head and neck

history lives near
in waters this clear
old songs
when ravens nest here
pine martens and deer
belong
fresh bluebells appear
this time every year

wild salmon who steer
the gorges this sheer
are strong
in silence we hear
our hearts leap and cheer
along
in waters this clear
history lives near

© Xenia Tran

close up shot of a raven preening on a branch, partly obscured by smaller branches
a river tumbling over boulders and rock with small waterfalls

Grace at dVerse Poets invites us to write a Lai or a Lai Nouveau and I have opted for the Lai Nouveau at my first attempt.

A Lai is a French poetry form consisting of a five-syllable couplet followed by a two-syllable line. The number of lines in each stanza is fixed at nine and the couplets must rhyme with each other, as must the two-syllable lines. The number of stanzas is not fixed and each stanza has its own rhyme pattern. The stanza’s rhyme pattern is: a a b a a b a a b.

A Lai Nouveau is considered to be slightly more challenging than the Lai. It has an eight-line stanza and is similar in idea to the Villanelle. In the Lai Nouveau the first two lines are the refrain and are used as the last lines of the subsequent verses with the last verse including the refrain lines in reverse order. The stanza rhyme patterns are: A1 A2 b a a b a a and a a b a a b A2 A1.

You can read my second contribution Seashore Anew on our sister blog Whippet Wisdom.

The Lai and Lai Nouveau prompt stays open for another three weeks.

With love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr

Settings: f/4 – 1/200 s – ISO 160, f/6.5 – 1/160 s – ISO 200 and f/5.6 – 1/500 s – ISO 200.

dVerse Poets Poetry Form: Lai and Lai Nouveau

Your Daily Word Prompt: Negotiation

Author: Tranature - quiet moments in nature

The stories, poems and photographs on Tranature are the original creative work of Xenia Tran, inspired by the natural surroundings of the Scottish Highlands.

35 thoughts on “Lai Nouveau: River Affric”

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words dear Cathy, the Lai Nouveau is a lovely form to play with 💜 Hope you’re having a great day and much love to you and Finn from all of us here 🙂💖🐕 xxx

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words dear Eileen, the form is new to me too and I enjoyed the Lai Nouveau as I’ve written a few Villanelles over the years 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy playing with the form too and wish you fun and happy poem-ing! 🤗💖 xxx

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    1. Thank you dear Martha, I’d not come across it before and it’s lovely to work with 🙂💖 xxx

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words dear Kate, I really enjoyed your beautiful nature Lai and Lai Nouveau too! 🙂💖

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  10. Pingback: Lai Nouveau: Seashore Anew – Whippet Wisdom – a Highland Journey

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words dear Kim 💜 It’s a beautiful and relatively quiet part of the Highlands and links up with the Kintail Way too 🙂🐾💖🐾 xxx

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  14. A beautiful lai nouveau with stunning photos. You worked the form effortlessly and I love the nature – spring theme.

    Thank you for participating in our poetry form challenge.

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words Grace and for hosting this lovely challenge 🙂💖 xxx

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  16. Pingback: Looking Back at 2019 – Thank you for the Magic – Tranature

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