This poem is one of a series of poems that I wrote based in the ancient world. It is written from the perspective of someone in the Viking society and it deals with the transitory point between life and death.
The Space Between Worlds is a Ghazal, which is an ancient form of Arabic poetry. Its most well-known proponent is the Persian poet and Sufi master Rumi who was born in 1207. Rumi's Ghazal, and his poetry in general are amazing and encapsulate the mysticism of both divine and human love perfectly. If you want to read more of their work you can find it here.
The Ghazal as a form is expressed by in line rhymes and a repeated refrain at the end of each two (couplet) or three (tercet) line stanza. I decided to use a three line stanza, otherwise known as a tercet. This gives the poet more space to breath, and as I've deviated a little from form this was essential. Ghazal are traditionally made up of a sequence of independent stanza, which can all sit on their own as mini poems. As I wanted to tell a story and build a narrative this was difficult. I feel like I may have achieved independence for most of the tercet but one or two run on from each other to build a story within the structure of the poem. I did stick rigidly to the form in regards to the third line refrain which should be of one to three words that repeat, in this case branches of heaven.
I made this 3speak exclusive video reading as poetry is historically a spoken format, and is often more effective when performed by the writer. I especially wanted to perform this poem given that Norse mythology lies at its heart and to honour the Skald's (Norse poets) oral tradition.
I hope you enjoy the video, and poetry reading.
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Beautiful poem, a different way of expressing, I liked the sound, very consistent with the poem. I love it
Glad you enjoyed the video reading Jose. It takes quite a bit of time to put together but I think it is worth it in the end 🙂
Of course, every positive effort brings its fruits, a hug =)
Very interesting. I found this post on Listnerds and I knew I had to check it out. I was a literature major for a hot second decades ago when I was in college. I have always found stuff like this really interesting! Very nice job!
Thanks @bozz
I really appreciate the feedback, and I'm glad you enjoyed the poem. It is one of my favorites as well, and I thoroughly enjoyed doing the research to fill the gaps in my knowledge of Norse mythology.
Somehow, with a long period of taking jobs as varied as carpark attendant, barman, and volunteer manager running an environmental project... I've finally managed to make my living from what I studied at University 'creative writing'
Lol, let's just say it's not the best degree course for a career-minded person, unless you're talented, lucky, and know the right people it's pretty much 100% impossible to end up with a book deal straight outta uni with a course like that 😂
A small part of my income comes from what I write on hive, but it is great to know that people all over the world are reading my work. That's the great thing about hive, and I appreciate the support from finding my post on Listnerds 🙂
Yeah, I hear you! I was heading down the path of being an English Teacher but I decided I would probably burn out way to quickly, so I ended up going into technology. Turns out I am working in a school district, so I kind of followed the original path anyway! I am glad you are able to at least get your work out there and make a little something from it!
Yeah, I make much more than half of my income writing outside of hive tbh. Hive is not a big earner for me, I only stay writing here out of a wish and hope that it will continue to be a place that embraces high quality content creators of all kinds.
The truth with hive is that stake is king, and if Steven King turned up tomorrow writing short stories in a different genre under a pseudonym without powering up a decent chunk of HP, he'd be mainly ignored apart from by the main curation guilds.
I guess with hive it is a case twofold; time put in (like people recognize you if you've been around for ages, and especially if you've done any community building) and how much stake you have.
What I do love about Listnerds is that it is helping people get eyes on work that has passed the 7-day window. I've always had a problem with the mechanism (not from a tokenomics perspective as I know that if posts were evergreen a massive amount of reward pool abuse would happen) that content is essentially dead in regards to new people reading it after 7 days for the most part. Listnerds is helping change that which I personally think is cool considering the level of effort and time I put into my writing on here.
I follow exactly the same level of writing practice as I do outside of hive. Much of my short fiction I've put on hive has taken 3-4 hours to write the first draft, then easily the same amount of time or more in the editing and proofreading process.
Ah, very interesting to hear your process. I guess that makes sense. I have been here for around four years and I still don't feel like I have much name recognition. I am not a developer either, so I guess that makes sense... It has been nice to post some of my older stuff using Listnerds and get some kind of recognition and engagement from that.
I enjoy Rumi so much, so this was a special treat to see someone working in this form.
Thanks @deeanndmathews
This poem is very special to me. Apart from the fact that i always feel really happy when i write effectively in form, this was written after someone i knew died.
And it just felt like it was channelled through me, even though i don't believe in any of that type of stuff. This poem flew out of me quickly, then i left it alone for almost a month because it was too raw after my m8 had died.
Then when i looked at it again i edited it a little and added the final three verses, which seemed like they were describing a combination of Norse mythology and reincarnation/rebirth.
There was something strange going on with my subconscious when i wrote this, and I've preformed it several times at poetry nights and always got a good response 🙂
I'm happy to hear this poem touched ur soul 🙏
I love the image you created to go with your poem. Thanks for sharing.