PAD Day 24: Remembering Gregg Allman

Today's Dual prompts from Poetic Asides and NaPoWriMo: (1) Write a "roundelay", and (2) write an elegy, particularly, one that has a positive aspect to it. The roundelay is a French form of repeated lines in four six-line stanzas (usually iambic tetrameter, I believe), using the following pattern:

a

b

A1

B1

A2

B2

A1

B1

A3

A3

A2

B2

A3

B3

A4

B4

A2

B2

A4

B4

a

b

A2

B2

The capitalized and numbered lines are the ones repeated, and the a and b lines in the first and last stanza are the only ones not repeated.  I wrote a pretty good one called "Category 5" last fall that ended up winning the Poetic Asides Form Challenge contest, and it will be featured in Robert Lee Brewer's column in the May/June issue of Writer's Digest. But here's a new one - since I couldn't focus on any recent personal loss for the inspiration for an elegy, I picked a favorite famous musician, who passed away almost a year ago.

Midnight Rider

Oh Gregg, you've left the worldly band,

and joined your brother's early lead.

With Southern Rock at your command,

your voice and keyboard sowed the seed.

With bluesy riffs you took a stand,

impassioned jams that filled our need.

With Southern Rock at your command,

your voice and keyboard sowed the seed.

Admittedly, the flames were fanned

with talent, and with booze and weed.

With bluesy riffs you took a stand,

Impassioned jams that filled our need.

Admittedly, the flames were fanned

with talent, and with booze and weed.

From "Whipping Post" to "Ramblin' Man",

"In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,"

with bluesy riffs you took a stand,

impassioned jams that filled our need.

From "Whipping Post" to "Ramblin' Man",

"In Memory of Elizabeth Reed",

you Midnight Rider in that land

where Duane will welcome you indeed.

With bluesy riffs you took a stand,

impassioned jams that filled our need.