December Dodoitsu #1

new lovers will count the ways
pluck soft petals one by one
love or not, besotted be
by whispered nothings

~kat

For December’s daily poem I am exploring the Dodoitsu. Dodoitsu (都々逸) is a form of Japanese poetry developed towards the end of the Edo Period. Often concerning love or work, and usually comical (or perhaps a bit of irony – my take on things humorous), Dodoitsu poems consist of four lines with the syllabic structure 7-7-7-5 and no rhyme for a total of 26 syllables, making it one of the longer Japanese forms. The form, tone and structure of Dodoitsu derive from Japanese folk song traditions. There is also mention of a shortened “American” version called “Prep-Dodoitsu” by deinktvis on DeviantArt. Its syllabic structure is 5-5-5-3 for a total of 18 syllables.