Whittled Words – Landay Poem
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Welcome to the weekly series, Whittled Words. A series highlighting the innumerable types and styles of poetry to challenge any creative wordsmith. This week’s selection:
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LANDAY POEM
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The Landay is a variable length form based off a couplet, which means the poem could be as concise as two lines or run on for several pages. The form most likely originated with nomads in the area of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.
Here are the basic rules of the Landay:
- Poem comprised of self-contained couplets–as few as one couplet will do
- 9 syllables in the first line; 13 syllables in the second line
- Landays tend to reveal harsh truths using wit
- Themes include love, grief, homeland, war, and separation
Note: There is not a specific rhyme pattern for this form, though lines tend to end on the sounds of ‘na’ and ‘ma’ in the original Pashto. However, this is difficult to replicate in English. Keep in mind that Landays are often sung.
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Examples of Landay Poems:
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MIRANDA IN BURKA
by Taylor Graham
This house, our island in an unknown
sea that tides against a father’s walls and foundations.
How did we come here, this brave new world
on the other side of veils and headscarves, barred windows?
I spend my days in my father’s books,
the volumes he brought from our old, unreachable lives.
Through my window come street voices,
car horns and barking dogs, someone quietly chanting.
I hear the call of the muezzin
so mournful at dawn and nightfall I can’t understand.
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THE ENEMY
By Tracy Davidson
another day, another battle
she nurses her war wounds while he begs for forgiveness
she’ll wave the white flag of surrender
again tonight, but he won’t stop until exhausted
they dance the same dance, night after night,
as his darkness descends and sobriety deserts
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WITH PROMISES MADE
By S E Graham
Promise me love, when I lay with you
And I’ll henna your name on my heart with blood from yours
My father will happily sell me
Honour means nothing to him and no price is too great
The night sky sheds tears like stars dying
knows that my life is no longer my own, but now yours
The future is bleak but is better
than the past by far my sweet, so don’t fret, keep me close
Make me believe that my life with you
Will be one to cherish, one to love, and to adore
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FLYING CARS
By Brad Osborne
As a boy I dreamed of flying cars
The promise of every science fiction film I saw
Every man a driver and pilot
Skies filled with hurried commuters mixed with soccer moms
Where home driveways double as runways
And where the potholes, traffic, and roadkill are gone for good
But alas now in these autumn years
No sight of cars swarming the clear, blue, and empty sky
The dreams of youth I must leave behind
Forced to settle for a car that drives itself instead
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I hope you have enjoyed this entry to the series, Whittled Words. I look forward to your comments, and if you dare, maybe share your own Landay poem. Thanks for reading!
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commonsensiblyspeaking 
Never heard of this form before! Very interesting, love the examples.
Thanks Derek! There are quite a few posts in this series if you check the archives.
i love that this form can vary in length, depending on each poet’s inspiration or situation. p.s. don’t give up on the flying cars just yet )
I love your optimism!
This is such a fun poem. I wish I could master these forms the way you do, but then again, my love for the structure doesn’t burn as brightly as yours, and that fire is always apparent in your poetry. Maybe one day, we’ll drive flying cars (I’ve dreamt of that since I was a child, too,) but I fell in love with the reference to your “Autumn years.” There’s something I love about seeing our life through seasons. Well done, my friend!
I’ve still got my fingers crossed for flying cars, but self-driving isn’t too bad either. This looked like a fun type of poem; I found myself counting the syllables on each line!
Checking my math Professor?….Thanks Jim!
it’s that auditor mentality 🙂
Flying cars were also part of my dreams. I suspect it’s not an impossibility somewhere down the line.
Next thing you know we will have the problem of distracted flying….and that does not sound like a good thing.