Poetic Form 84: Luc Bat

 Two Way Mirror

Life, a two way mirror. 

Yesterday’s pain is clear to see.  

Tomorrow is not free 

for us to view. When we turn our   

eyes, the heart can cower. 

Each reflection a dower of time. 

We can spend a lifetime

wanting the chance to climb again 

the paths walked. But it's vain, 

bringing a crippling pain that costs 

a life that could have crossed 

out the doubt that softly kills 

the light we try to fill 

our room with. Embrace chills from not 

seeing past the mirror slot 

that only shows your spot here and 

now. There is no refund 

to collect. No trust fund to use 

to buy a life disused.

Poetic Form #84: Luc Bat

The luc bat is a Vietnamese form that translates to "six-eight."  A poem consists 

of alternating lines of six and eight syllables. This form has an interesting rhyme 

scheme as shown below.

xxxxxA

xxxxxAxB

xxxxxB

xxxxxBxC

xxxxxC

xxxxxCxD

xxxxxD

xxxxxDxE

The poem starts and ends on a six syllable line. There are no rules for length or subject matter. 

Poetic Form 77: Landay

 

Love your neighbor, they holler as the

blood runs from wounds to the head and heart by prayless hands.

Neighbor needs a new definition,

besides the reflection we use from mirrors on the wall.

Poetic Form #77: Landay
The landay form varies in length but the couplet is the base structure. This means the poem can be two lines or several pages. The form most likely originated in the area of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. The couplet consist of 9 syllables in the first line; 13 syllables in the second line. Landay poems tend to reveal harsh truths (love, grief, war) using biting wit.

There is not a specific rhyme pattern for a landay, though the lines tend to end on the sounds of "na" and "ma". This is difficult to replicate in the English language.