A Poem a day (659): NaPoWriMo Day 28 - 3 sijo

 
Day 28 
 
Prompt: write a sijo. This is a traditional Korean verse form. A sijo has three lines of 14-16 syllables. The first line introduces the poem’s theme, the second discusses it, and the third line, which is divided into two sentences or clauses, ends the poem – usually with some kind of twist or surprise. Often written as six lines. www.napowrimo.net

 
Breaking

Breaking the still to split the seas in two, a lone figure dips
and rises on a wave, is swallowed whole by the arching whirlpool,
chords smashing and breaking in an endless, seamless dance.

 
Directions

Shells dug into sand, upended, point directions writ in water,
long dreamt of and magicked here, awakening depths of sound,
thank crimson starfish in rhyme, make the day fade out sublime.

 
Set sail

We cast a sail adrift on the ocean blue, wander at its arrival,
a message caught in glass. Set on being a castaway, we strike out
as far as our limbs can carry our sins, trailed by a shoal of dolphins.

Copyright Vickie Johnstone, April 28, 2024