Thanks to Tony ‘Longfella’ Walsh for inspiring this with a tweet. I had to correct his Sheffieldish, though: we say ‘reight’, not ‘reet’ round here, tha knows!
This is a rondel. there are a lot of very similar French forms with similar French names. I will do some of them if I can distinguish the difference.
The waters they are rising from five rivers
A mighty beast dwells deep within the Don
For fifty thousand years he’s slumbered on
But now his scaly body twists and quivers
A child looks into the depths and shivers
It seems as though the sun has never shone
On waters that are rising from five rivers
A mighty beast dwells deep within the Don
The rain comes down in savage silver slivers
Soon everything in Sheffield will be gone.
Each café, supermarket and salon.
Oblivion is what the beast delivers
The waters they are rising from five rivers.
Tom Juniper Poetry 