Rubáiyát Quatrain
10-12 syllables per line
AABA
BBCB
CCAC
made cyclical by linking the unrhymed line of the final stanza back to the first stanza: ZZAZ
A We have heard there’s one known to tablet weave
A Our Chana Freidl is set to receive
B Iron Bog’s Arts and Sciences award
A The Sable Compass, one that We perceive
B Is the place for one who intertwines cord
B let Chandra be noted, in Our record
C Done at Iron Bog’s Grand Investiture
B and Equestrian Champs; all in accord
C Baron Declan, Baroness Aibhilin, sure
C That her art will thrive, they are so secure
A and well-pleased of all that she will achieve
C Done AS LVIII Sure that all concur 11
And miles to go before I BLOG.
The recipient’s persona is listed as “Vaguely Middle Eastern” on their East Kingdom Wiki. With that in mind I decided to pick the Rubáiyát Quatrain. I haven’t had many opportunities to use this poetic form and I really enjoy composing in it.
The next thing I did was determine which Baron and Baroness are giving the award. Investitures are the switchover events and it was very important to determine who was presenting this award!
A We have heard there’s one known to tablet weave
I started the ball rolling with, "weave."
Tablet Weaving was mainly what they were written for, although her blog provided other examples of her crafts.
In looking up various rhymes for the starter word, these tercets practically wrote themselves.
VERSE ONE
A Our Chana Freidl is set to receive
In this case, I started from the rhyme and wrote the sentence around that. Receive is very apropos toward the nature of the award scrolls and how they are presented.
B Iron Bog’s Arts and Sciences award
I had chosen the next A rhyme, perceive and wrote these two lines together.
A The Sable Compass, one that We perceive
A Baronial service award for Iron Bog. As far as the first section goes, I have listed the name of the recipient, the award they are to receive and some detail as for why they had been chosen to get it.
VERSE TWO
B Is the place for one who intertwines cord
This line was used to reiterate what their service was for. In retrospect, I would have liked to emphasize the service nature of making all the cord and donating it to the barony a bit more. However it still gets the point across.
B let Chandra be noted, in Our record
This line came about purely from looking for another rhyme for “cord.” I had already chosen “accord’ for the final line of the verse. I liked the image that it evoked of the Baronial record now including the recipient.
C Done at Iron Bog’s Grand Investiture
I was hesitant to use “Investiture” as a rhyming word, but to my delight it had many applicable words. The next verse was pretty easy to compose with that rhyming word.
B and Equestrian Champs; all in accord
Having the sentence wrap through to rhyming lines for this verse form is not historically accurate. However, the needs of the scroll out weighed the needs of the verse form in this case.
VERSE THREE
C Baron Declan, Baroness Aibhilin, sure
Here’s where the naming of the Baron and Baroness were so important! At Investitures both sets of incoming and outgoing Barons give out awards! I wanted to make very sure this was correct.
C That her acts will thrive, They are so secure
Speaking as Their Excellencies, secure that the recipient’s service will continue to thrive in the Barony and beyond.
A and well-pleased of all that she will achieve
Again this is speaking of the recipient's future deeds and how they are certain she will continue on the path as they have set.
C Done AS LVIII Sure that all concur 11
At the end, I managed to fit all the required information into the Rubáiyát Quatrain format. Even if this line was one syllable over.
I was quite glad of the opportunity to write a scroll in this style. As with the lasting longevity of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, it is a pleasing form to listen to. I look forward to more opportunities!
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