Bringing you the awit, a Filipino poetic form as I bid farewell to the golu this year.

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Poetic Sundays: Awit of Beautiful Melody

October is Filipino American Heritage Month, among a few other Heritage months here in the US. Keeping this in mind, I am featuring the Awit today.

What is the Awit Poetic Form?

The Awit is a type of Filipino poem, consisting of 12-syllable quatrains. Awit is a Tagalog word meaning song.

The Awit’s Characteristics

So the Awit’s elements are that it is:

• stanzaic: written in one or more four-line stanzas or quatrains where each stanza is a complete, grammatically correct sentence and includes a figure of speech
• syllabic: follows a 12-12-12-12 syllabic count for each quatrain
• rhymed: an assonantal rhyme scheme of AAAA; BBBB; CCCC; and so on.
• with a caesura or pause after the sixth syllable in each line

h/t, references, and further reading: Wikipedia

My Attempt at the Awit

A Melodic Farewell to my Golu
I gently store the dolls as daylight fades to gray,
knowing they will now rest until another day,
and while the joy they brought lingers, they cannot stay,
but soon enough, they’ll rise again in full display.
~ Vidya @ LadyInReadWrites

Recently

On My Blog and On the Homefront

Posts on my blog since my last scribblings with books and more reading for each of these days..

• Vijayadashami or Dassehra: The Day of Victory
• Chamundeswari and Siddhidatri: The Supreme Culmination
• Narasimhi and Mahagauri: On the Eighth Day
• Saraswathi and Kalaratri: They Help You Destroy Ignorance
• Indrani and Katyayani: A Powerful Pair
• The Great Protective Power of Skandamata and Vaishnavi
• Sunday Scribblings #197: Mahalakshmi and Kushmanda for Wealth of All Kinds

We hosted people at our home for golu on Friday, and while I had initially planned for something smaller than normal, it grew to something more, or rather the usual. And it was all worth it in the end. While I normally host it on a weekend and have my daughter as well as my DH to help with the kitchen duties as well, this time I was kind of the lone chef with my daughter away at college and my DH busy at work (though he did take some time away whenever he could between meetings to help).

All in all, a satisfying week!

Upcoming

On My Blog and On the Homefront

The golu is over and I will have to put away my dolls. Once that is done, need to go figure out how to empty-nest. I will post more about my golu and give you a detailed look into it later this week.

Celebrations

Literary Celebrations (close-to-it also!)

• Literary birthdays this week include: e.e. cummings, Ocean Vuong, and Katherine Mansfield on Oct 14th; Helen Hunt Jackson, Virgil, Friedrich Nietzsche, Mario Puzo, P. G . Wodehouse, Michael Monroe Lewis, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, and Roxane Gay on the 15th of October; Eugene O’Neill and Oscar Wilde on Oct 16th; Arthur Miller and Patrick Ness on Oct 17th;  Amish Tripathi and Rick Moody on 18th October; John le Carre on the 19th; Nikki Grimes on October 20th
• It is National Dictionary Day on the 16th, in honor of Noah Webster’s birthday (October 16, 1758).
• While the 17th is Black Poetry Day. Check out some of the poetic forms I have included previously on my blog, including the Kwansaba and the Golden Shovel.
• October 20th has been celebrated as the National Day on Writing since 2017.

Foodie Celebrations

• It is National Dessert Day on the 14th! So pretty much anything sweet goes!
• Followed by National Cheese Curd Day and National Lemon Bar Day on October 15th.
• The 16th of October is World Food Day, giving us all a chance to fight hunger across the world.
• Then it is National Pasta Day on the 17th of October!
• Followed by something for those with a sweet tooth on the 18th, for it is National Chocolate Cupcake Day. This is also National Mashed Potato Day
• Then it is International Gin and Tonic Day on Oct 19th.
• And the week ends with a foodie celebration of a different kind on the 20th with International Chefs Day

Other Celebrations and Observations

• World Standards Day is observed annually on the 14th of October. Having a set of standards to work with across industries (no matter what type) helps in so many ways; for one, it definitely improves communication and efficiency
• The 15th is the International Day of Rural Women.
• October 16th celebrates the concept of dignity – that “Every person has equal, inherent value” – with Global Dignity Day
• The 17th of October observes International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and Conflict Resolution Day (being the third Thursday of October). It is also Wear Something Gaudy Day
• While the 18th celebrates an almost everyday clothing – it is International Legging Day! The 18th also observes World Menopause Day
• The 19th of October is World Singing Day!! Oh so fun. Check out these fun ideas on their site. It is also Evaluate Your Life Day – sounds like something I really need to do now. And never a bad time to make new friends, but if you need a reason or a push, then the 19th also happens to be National New Friends Day. Plus, this day (being the third Saturday in October) celebrates the adorable sloooooooth.. with International Sloth Day.
• And with the 19th being Sweetest Day, go ahead and be sweet to those new friends, and sloths, and to those around you, by sharing a kindness, or a sweet song!
• October 20th happens to be International Day of the Air Traffic Controller
• United Nations Week runs from October 18 to October 24 every year

Wrapped Up: My Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, you have reached the end of this Sunday Scribblings! As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about this post. Will you be attempting to write the featured poetic form? And, of course, do let me know if you plan to celebrate any of these mentioned celebrations this coming week/month?

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon. And for the Ultimate Blog Challenge