The Poetry Sisters challenged us this month to create a dansa poem. I’d never heard of the form before, so I thought I would not participate. I got the tug when I read Mary Lee Hahn’s masterful response to the challenge. In our critique group meeting, she explained to us that once she got her repeated line, she built the poem around it. Sometimes writing a poem feels like solving a puzzle. Fitting words together to create a unified whole. The dansa has a definitive rhyme scheme, beginning with a quintrain of 5 lines and an AbbaA pattern. Quatrains of 4 lines with a bbaA rhyme scheme follow. The A signifies the repeated line. To me, the strength of the poem lies in that repeated line. I feel a sense of accomplishment having met this challenge.
We released monarch butterflies this week.
Joyful Dansa
The world opens its heart in little joys:
Curl of new fingers wrap around old,
Butterfly wings born of gold,
Beads in a bag become her toys.
The world opens its heart in little joys.A new interpretation of stories told,
Memory of small moments that you hold.
What you wrap in love is your choice.
The world opens its heart in little joys.A letter becomes a word spoken bold.
Margaret Simon, draft
Paper becomes a crane with each fold.
A cry becomes a song when you use your voice.
The world opens its heart in little joys.
Reflections on the Teche 
Margaret, your refrain is a strong one. This is my next favorite line in your poem: Curl of new fingers wrap around old. I see that your little joys come in different ways, all beautifully displayed. May your joys enrich your holiday season.
It’s lovely, Margaret, encompassing the whole of the world in which you live. I hope I can take time to try the form, just ran out of minutes this week.
So beautiful…I love how I’m thinking about a child while looking at your photo of a new butterfly.
I’m glad you were inspired by Mary Lee and persevered on! You have a sensitive and expressive poem, filled with imagery- I can picture a peace filled crane emerging, and hear the transforming of the cry into a song. I love the building that’s going on in each stanza and line, also all your “b” alliteration in the first stanza. Thanks Margaret!
I absolutely love this gorgeous poem you have written, and you inspire me to challenge myself to create a dansa. Thank you, Margaret!
Ditto, my friend!! Absolutely love this poem- and cannot wait to hear your dansa poem 🙂
Lyrical and lovely!! Love “the world opens its heart in little joys.”
Lovely! 🙂
Your refrain is perfect. Thank you for sharing all your little joys.
Oh, you were smart to begin with the refrain! I like this form enough to keep working at it, and I’ll have to try another one working from that end. This is lovely, thanks for joining the fun!
This is beautiful, Margaret! The first and last line:”The world opens its heart in little joys” is my favorite!
I love your refrain, and as someone who teaches origami in math, I love the line “Paper becomes a crane with each fold.”
“Sometimes writing a poem feels like solving a puzzle. Fitting words together to create a unified whole.” Yes! I’m so glad you tried this form, Margaret. Your refrain line is wonderful, and your specific little joys are fabulous. The little fingers curling around old ones and the entire last stanza just sparkle for me!
I heart the word “sparkle” in your response. Means so much coming from an expert like you. Thanks!
“Curl of new fingers wrapped around old”. !!!! This line settles in my heart as I await my new grandson’s visit this weekend.
Oh, Patricia, there is nothing like it. Congratulations!
I love how your went from the opening of fingers and butterflies to letters and cranes…beautiful and joyful. We need more in this world.
This poem is so YOU. Especially that repeating line. Thank you for all the joy you bring into the world!