Seville Paseo

Flamenco taps end silence
lovers utter sighs
on Plaza de España
canal boats nearby.

Air begins to chill
as the blind man sits and cries
night befalls Seville.

——

Linked to dVerse Poets Pub — dVerse — Poetry Form: Seguidilla Grace is hosting tonight as we learn about a poetry form called Seguidilla. The Seguidilla began as a popular dance song of Spain. The verse form was established and branched into variations by the 17th century. It has an alternating long short rhythm. The Seguidilla is:
• stanzaic, written in any number of 2 part septets. (7 lines)
• syllabic, 7-5-7-5 : 5-7-5 per line. There is a slight pause between L4 and L5 suggesting L4 should be end-stopped.
• rhymed by assonance xAxABxB or xAxABAB. x being unrhymed. True rhyme is generally not used.
• composed with a volta or change in thought between L4 and L5.
• sometimes serves as a conclusion for another verse.

35 thoughts on “Seville Paseo”

  1. There is such a difference of emotions and images between the first part and second part. How sad for the blind man. Thanks for joining in.

  2. The blind man line took my breath away. First you had me thinking of fiery flamenco and love, then turned it to painful sorrow. Well done!

    1. Thanks. At first, I thought my volta was too much of a change, but keeping it as an observation within a “paseo” made it work.

    1. Thanks. I am planning a trip to Spain and was just reading about Seville, so the Spanish form and Seville seemed like a natural.

  3. I am gutted that I never got to Seville when we lived in Malaga. We even booked the trip then called it off…then the pandemic happened. There’s a lesson in that! Great use of the form, locating it within the sultry streets of Seville!

    1. If truth be known, I got Seville mixed up with Granada and the quote “Give him alms, woman, because there is nothing sadder in life than being blind in Granada” by Francisco de Icaza. By the time I figured out my mistake, I had already worked in my Seville locations and photo.

    1. Thanks for the tip. The first draft of our itinerary has an overnight stay in Salamanca on the drive from Porto, Portugal to Toledo, Spain.

  4. Ron, you took me there – lovely delicate and evocative writing, artfully, confidently and knowingly put together.

        1. Yes. Just getting started though. It’s day 3 of a 42-day trip. Nice sure if I’ll have time to write or post until I get back.

          1. Oh Wow. 42 days! If you get to the town with Gaudi architecture PLEASE take some pictures and post them when you get back. Bon voyage, Ron! Glad you checked in 🙂

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