A Mondo is a Japanese poetic form that is written in Katuata. Katuata consist of 17 or 19 sound units, or Onji. In the English language this would roughly translate into 17 or 19 syllables. Each line of a Katuata is broken up into either 5 or 7 Onji, and the entire poem (the Mondo), consists of a pair of Katuata in two stanzas. What makes the Mondo special though, are two key elements:
The first Katuata is a question; the second is an answer to the question. A Mondo is only considered a Mondo when one poet writes the first Katuata and another writes the second Katuata; otherwise, it's considered a Sedoka.Example (Nichrysalis and betwixtthepages):
When are dandelions in
focus if not on
the blur of the wind?
When the sunlight—breaking free—
falls on the dandelions
growing around your heart.
focus if not on
the blur of the wind?
When the sunlight—breaking free—
falls on the dandelions
growing around your heart.
The purpose of a Mondo is to leave you thinking about the question asked, even with an answer. With that said, here is your mission!
In the comments, answer the question below with a Katuata of your own. Write one more Katuata below your first, this time posing a question for other commenters to respond with their own Katuata too. Make sure to include an element of nature in both of your Katuata!
Respond in this fashion to all comments you reply to and we'll create a Mondo Grove!If a young boy can
climb rocks that he makes mountains,
what did he overcome?
*adapted from Sedoka by Ryter Roethicle
Some things to keep in mind when posting:
Each stanza you post is meant to be limited to three lines and needs to include an element of nature (usually an image). In addition, each line can either have 5 syllables or 7, but must include both, meaning the total syllable count can't go over 19 or under 17, leaving a total of 6 combinations to choose from when writing each stanza (known as a Katuata).
17 syllables:
7/5/5
5/7/5
5/5/7
19 syllables:
5/7/7
7/5/7
7/7/5
