Shade

Week One: Memories
April 1st: Ghazal

Today’s poetry challenge is to write a ghazal addressing memories. What is a ghazal you ask? “The ghazal is composed of a minimum of five couplets—and typically no more than fifteen—that are structurally, thematically, and emotionally autonomous. Each line of the poem must be of the same length, though meter is not imposed in English. The first couplet introduces a scheme, made up of a rhyme followed by a refrain. Subsequent couplets pick up the same scheme in the second line only, repeating the refrain and rhyming the second line with both lines of the first stanza. The final couplet usually includes the poet’s signature, referring to the author in the first or third person, and frequently including the poet’s own name or a derivation of its meaning” (Poets.org).

Here’s a ghazal from Patricia Smith: 

Hip-Hop Ghazal