Prompt:

Wrapped Refrain

Created by Jan Turner, wrapped refrain consists of two or more stanzas of six lines each. It follows a 8, 8, 8, 8, 12, 12 meter and a rhyming scheme of a, a, b, b, c, c.

Refrain rule: In each stanza the first 4 syllables (or 4 single-syllable words) in the first line must be the last 4 syllables (or 4 single-syllable words) at the end of the last line.

Note: The first stanza refrain and last stanza refrain can be joined (or loosely joined) together for the title of the poem.

Sample poem by Jan Turner

𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯

𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭,
𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭
𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦
𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘯; 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺,
𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘯…𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.

𝘓𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘸;
𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵
𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵-𝘮𝘦-𝘯𝘰𝘵.
𝘈𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯,
𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 … 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

• Write a two-stanza wrapped refrain of the topic of your choice.
• Send in your entries,  as an attachment in a word document (.doc/.docx, any other file will not be published), to penmagica@gmail.com along with a 2-3 line bio (not required if previously sent).
• The subject of your mail should be Entry for #PenMuse-58 (compulsory).
• Along with your entry please send a suggested cover for your poem. (please send it as a separate attachment. Make sure it is a stock photo, no watermarks, and of high resolution –800 pixels and above). The elves at Penmancy are mighty pleased if a poem is accompanied by a cover.
• Check your syllable count here.

Rules:

1. The submitted poem must have a title (Keep it simple with no punctuation marks; all words more than 3 letters must be capitalised)
2. There is no limit to the number of entries you may submit –though only the first submitted poem will be qualified for contention.
3. Previously published or plagiarised works will not be considered for contention.
4. Poems found to have been shared on another platform or blog before the declaration of results stand disqualified from the event, and the writer of such content stands to be disqualified for the next Penmancy event.
5. In case a poem is received after the submission deadline, it shall be considered as a guest entry and shall not qualify for the event.
6. Entries that don’t follow rules will be published and shared on the page and group but are disqualified for winning.

Winning criteria:

• The winner will be chosen on the basis of the judges’ scores (out of 10)
  • creativity/content and originality, [12 points]
  • coherence of form and structure (harmony of words, presentation), [12 points]
  • clarity of imagery and language/grammar, [10 points]
  • emotional impact, [10 points]
  • topic/relevance to the theme, [6 points]
• The entries adjudged by a panel of judges and event organisers shall be binding. Judges’ scores to be deemed final and may not be contested. Final scores are not disclosed to the participants.
• The entries adjudged through this process shall be binding. No scores will be shared with the participants.
• All writers are required to read and comment on 5 stories other than their own and encourage their fellow writers with valuable and constructive inputs. Comments like “nice”, “good work”, “brilliant piece”, etc. do not provide the necessary critique and are not helpful for anyone.

•  Timelines-
  • The last date of submission is December 20, 2023 
  • Winners shall be announced on December 27, 2023

The announcement of winners may be postponed or preponed depending on the number of entries received.

The winners of the event shall receive one copy of ‘A Fallen Leaf’ by Penmancy Writers.

This book is a gift by #PenmancyBookNook.