Description:A poem written in either rhyming couplets or quatrains. Often used in Christian liturgies and often containing the phrase "Lord have mercy on us."

Sponsor(s):stan
Judge(s):anonymous

Objectives:Expose folks to a fairly unusual form

Subject matter:Kyrielle - derived from Kyrie elision" which means "Lord have mercy on us."
It can be written in either rhyming couplets or quatrains (4 line stanzas).It may use the refrain "Lord have mercy" or a variant as the refrain which occurs in the second line if using rhyming couplets or in the last line if using quatrains. In less strict usage another phrase or even a single word can be used as the refrain.
Each line consists of eight syllables. There is no upper limit on the number of stanzas but the generally accepted lower limit is three.
If written in rhyming couplets the rhyme scheme is a-A,a-A. these are known as "identicles".
If written in quatrains there are many acceptable rhyme patterns :
a-a-b-B , c-c-b-B , a-b-a-B , c-b-c-B. (upper case letters signify the refrain.)
In the original French kyrielle, lines were usually octosyllabic. In English the lines are usually iambic pentameter.

I know this sounds pretty complicated but once you try it you'll find it's not as hard as it sounds. So get those pens out and have fun.

How Judged:Judged by a single workshop leader each month whose identity remains anonymous and changes each month.