May is AAPI Heritage Month and with that in mind, today I bring you the melodious pathya vat from Cambodia.
Wishing all moms everywhere a Happy Mother’s Day (celebrated on the second Sunday in May in many nations around the world). Here are a few poems to help you bask in the joys of motherhood, and a few children’s books to enjoy the day as well with your little ones.
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Poetic Sundays: Recitations: The Melodic Pathya Vat
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. With that in mind, I bring you the melodic Pathya Vat from beautiful Cambodia for Poetic Sundays.
So What is the Pathya Vat?
The Pathya Vat is a minimalistic Cambodian verse form. It has four lines of four syllables each, where lines two and three rhyme. We can make longer poems by chaining them together, and in these poems, the last line of each stanza rhymes with the second and third lines of the next.
The Pathya Vat’s Characteristics
So the Pathya Vat’s elements are that at its most basic, it is:
- stanzaic: made up of one or more stanzas of four lines (quatrains) each
- syllabic: each line has four syllables
- rhymed: lines two and three of each stanza rhyme; in addition, the last line of each stanza rhymes with the second and third lines of the following stanza
This is how it looks:
xxxx
xxxa
xxxa
xxxb
xxxx
xxxb
xxxb
xxxc
References, h/t:
My Pathya Vat Attempt
Family Ties
What’s family?
This is one
definition –
Life’s chosen ones!
Fathers daughters
Mothers and sons,
Starts of sweet once
Upon a times.
What’s family?
Where happy chimes
Join life’s sour limes
In laughs and tears.
Doting parents
Drive away fears
Over the years
Guiding with care
Adoring kids
Knowing love’s there
With lots to spare
Near or apart.
What’s family?
Home hope hugs heart!
Love’s work of art..
Life’s vital part!
~ Vidya Tiru @ LadyInReadWrites
Recently
At Home and On My Blog
It has been a hectic week for all of us at home, with work, AP exams, and such. Some gardening and taking care of the plants as summer heat suddenly showed up 🙂 While I hoped to be able to see the northern lights everyone was posting about, we could not do it in the end. So maybe a trip to the far north is in the future to see it in person there (a girl can dream, can’t she?!)
Just a couple of posts made their way here:
- May Flowers Light Your Face and Warm Your Heart
- Sunday Scribblings #188: Ink Trails of Yesterdays and More
Upcoming
On My Blog & Homefront
Hopefully a post or two and watch something grow in my garden!
This Week’s Celebrations
Literary Celebrations (close-to-it also!)
- Literary birthdays this week of May include: Daphne du Maurier on May 13th; Jennifer Niven and Robert Owen on the 14th; L. Frank Baum and Lauren Hillenbrand on the 15th of May; HE Bates on May 16th; Gary Paulsen and Grace Lin on May 17th; Bertrand Russell and Lionel Shriver on the 18th; Jodi Picoult, Nora Ephron, Ruskin Bond, & Girish Karnad on May 19th
- May 15th- 21st – is National Stationery Week
- May 16th is National Biographer’s Day
Foodie Celebrations
- May 13th is International Hummus Day as well as National Apple Pie Day, National Crouton Day, and National Fruit Cocktail Day
- It is National Buttermilk Biscuit Day on May 14th
- It is National Chocolate Chip Day on May 15th
- May 16th is National Barbecue Day as well as National Mimosa Day
- It is National Cherry Cobbler Day and National Walnut Day on the 17th
- May 18th is National Cheese Soufflé Day and I Love Reese’s Day as well. Being the third Saturday in May, the 18th also observes World Whiskey Day.
- The 19th of May is National Devil’s Food Cake Day
Other Celebrations
- It is National Frog Jumping Day is on May 13 (this could also fit in with the literary celebrations as its history is in literature)
- Followed by Dance Like A Chicken Day on May 14 which is also National Decency Day
- It is Bring Flowers to Someone Day on the 15th as well as International Family Day, so maybe, flowers for the family!
- May 16th is International Day of Living Together in Peace and International Day of Light, as well as National Do Something Good for Your Neighbor Day and National Love a Tree Day. It is also Drawing Day
- World Telecommunication and Information Society Day and National Graduation Tassel Day are celebrated on the 17th. It also happens to be Turn Beauty Inside Out Day
- May 18th is Buddha Day and International Museum Day. It is also National No Dirty Dishes Day and National Visit Your Relatives Day. Also – World Fiddle Day (celebrated every third Saturday in May)
- The 19th observes May Ray Day, to help us celebrate all the rays of sunshine in our lives. It is also Plant Something Day so a perfect day to go outside to enjoy some sun rays while planting something.,
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. And 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
When you speak of poetry for Mother’s Day, I remember the year my younger son gave me a copy of the Billy Collins’ poem, The Lanyard. It’s a perfect Mother’s Day poem.
Your Pathya Vat is excellent!
I’ve never heard of this poetry form; thank you so much for sharing! I love learning new things. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!
I am glad to read this and know about The Pathya Vat. I love reading Family Ties.
Your insight into the Pathya Vat and the beautiful poetry really brightened my Sunday. Also, those upcoming celebrations got me excited for some fun family activities and maybe even some baking.
Happy Mother’s Day too! This is my first time to hear about Pathya Vat and I think your attempt is awesome. Thank you for sharing your beautiful poetry with us.
I didn’t get to see the northern lights either. It was too cloudy, which was disappointing. I hope you have a great week!
thank you AJ.. so here is hoping we travel someday to where the northern lights are almost year around to see them in person 🙂
This pathya vat was so beautiful to read especially during AAPI month. Thanks for sharing.
thank you shoma
Came up with a Pathya Vat for mother’s day
Mothers Day poem
Thanks for laughter
Joy and sorrows
Love will follow
through life will bring
this is beautiful..thanks for sharing
Happy Mother’s Day!
I appreciate the lists of literary, food-related, and other fun celebrations this week and month. It’s great to have such a vibrant array of occasions to observe and reasons to celebrate!
This is very very interesting! I am not familiar with this for of poetry but I love poetry in its all shapes and forms, love it.