Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Dún Aonghasa


for dVerse

cliff above crashing waves: fear
and yet the sight calls me near
down at turquoise waters peer
breath stolen by the drop sheer




This is a Tanaga, a Filipino form of poetry. It has four rhyming lines of seven syllables each.

Dún Aonghasa is a fort on Inishmore in Ireland. A good portion of the fort has fallen into the sea. There is no barrier to stop you from crawling right up to the edge of the cliff and looking over. It's an exhilarating experience!



16 comments:

  1. Gayle Walters RoseAugust 2, 2016 at 6:13 PM

    I couldn't look over that cliff...no way! Just thinking about it makes my heart do a flip.

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  2. What a lovely form to portray that fear and breathless awe to view that sheer drop. I think I will faint.

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  3. What a wonderfully expressive form and a breathtaking last line!

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  4. Brilliant form here :D lovely work done.

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  5. I reckon nobody should look over a cliff ledge without tying themselves tight to the nearest tree!

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  6. These are my favorites:
    "down at turquoise"
    breath stolen"

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  7. Goodness, I felt myself twitch at the thought of that view. You pen such a beautiful scene, I wanted to be there until you looked down. Excellent use of form and prompt.

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  8. Goodness, I felt myself twitch at the thought of that view. You pen such a beautiful scene, I wanted to be there until you looked down. Excellent use of form and prompt.

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  9. Oh, this reminds me of Beachy Head here in Sussex... unfortunately such a lure to those who feel that launching into the abyss is the only answer.

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  10. SMiLes.. i live close to a Gulf.. a shallow
    one wHere hills are all we have..
    and on a trip i made to
    even some
    small mountains
    was an exhilarating
    one for me.. and scary
    too.. as heights make
    me feel like i am floating
    through
    the air..
    without
    a bottom..
    before
    i fall..
    and i feel
    weightless on
    land most all the
    time now.. so sure.. i guess
    that is why i float far
    away from
    cliffs.. hehe..;)

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  11. isn't it incredible how close you want to get to the edge? Your poem takes me there. When we were young we used to dive off cliffs into a river.

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  12. isn't it incredible how close you want to get to the edge? Your poem takes me there. When we were young we used to dive off cliffs into a river.

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  13. love the vivid poem and the form. :) I have written some poems using this form, too! :)

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  14. Ooh! A new form to try! I'd like to look over that cliff edge, but my wife probably wouldn't let me 😁

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  15. Thanks for sharing the form! I have a list... just too undisciplined to go through them all.

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