Edit: after receiving 3 error messages on @dtube I was just about to give up when I noticed this post had been published on hive and Dtube three times 😒😏 Please only vote one version as it was not my intention to post multiple copies of the same work.
This poem is one of a series of poems that I wrote based on the ancient world. It is written from the perspective of a Viking, and it deals with the transitory point between life and death. I wanted to experiment with merging mythologies in this poem as the Vikings were some of the most well-travelled seafarers of their day, and would have come across ideas of reincarnation through meetings with Hindu and Buddhist practitioners.
I always wondered how some Norsemen, and women, might react to new spiritual ideas and I feel that as history is written largely by the victor certain truths were swept under the rug.
‘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.
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 breathe, and as I've deviated a little from form this was essential. Ghazal are traditionally made up of a sequence of independent stanzas, 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.'
Historically poetry is 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.
All images and media used in the film are from CC licence Sources.
This poem is currently under consideration and submitted to Rough Diamond Poetry Journal.
This is the last poetry video I shall be putting on Hive/Dtube for a long while as I have a strict writing deadline to complete the first draft of a trilogy of novels that I'm very excited about, and might just...🤞 get taken up by an agent, and perhaps selected as a potential for a screen adaptation. Whatever happens, I'll return in a few years once I emerge from my writer's chrysalis 😂
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Outstanding work. While watching the video, I was thinking it might have been some attempt at a modernization of Anglo-Saxon half lines, with internal alliteration. Truly fascinating to see that you were reaching for inspiration from Middle Eastern forms.
I like the audio and wish more creators would attempt such. Poetry has always been the most deeply implemented of the literary forms.
Thank you for your insightful comment @strivenword
Certainly, I wasn't consciously reaching for Anglo-Saxon half lines, but I was definitely trying to meld older styles of poetry with some more modern techniques. I love writing in form, and the Ghazal is beautiful, and it made sense to me almost inhabiting the mind of a Skald Viking poet that they might have come across this form while travelling, as the Vikings were prodigious traders as well as raiders and settlers, lol, I guess the trading part doesn't make it in modern dramas as much as its not so glamorous.
Anyway, my personal style when writing modern free-verse leans a lot on trying to construct clever in-line rhyming with what I hope is reasonably unique imagery etc. I really like the idea of trying to combine these more modern styles and elements of poetry into more rigid forms. Purists would probably say I'm just being lazy as form should be strict, the whole point is to stick to the form. And I agree there is a place for that, and sometimes really love the challenge of writing say a Shakespearean sonnet in strict iambic pentameter sticking to the rhyming scheme, but I also think there is space for experimentation and evolution.
In fact, I think experimentation and evolution are essential in poetry to keep it interesting and relevant, as it is something of a niche art form. I performed this poem at a poetry night in my home town and it went down well, and someone told me in a discussion afterwards that they recognised that I'd strayed just a little from the form, but that it worked in this case.
Anyway, I'm rambling... 😂 thanks again for your comment, and I'm glad you enjoyed the performance and video 👍🙂