Quilt

Few months ago I read that some Chinese poems with four verses have a peculiar form: the first verse introduces a topic; the second continues it; whereas the third verse introduces a new topic, and the last joins the former verses. It is like by means of a thematic juxtaposition a new meaning emerges. This new meaning is not the direct sum up of the topics, but a subtle nuance that knits them and creates diferent tones, colors, and warmth. Like a quilt. For lyrical ends, verses one, two, and four should rhyme. It is clear that this rhyming emphasizes the irruption of the third verse. This a free - non rhymed - example:

A silk trader in Tokyo has two daughters
20 years old is the oldest and 18 is the youngest
A soldier can kill with his sword
But those ladies will kill you with just their gaze.

Mississippi John Hurt' lyrics are a flowing river. Suddenly a boy throws a flat pebble over the water. The pebble hits the river, giving birth to ephimerous circles. The river takes the circles with him. The pebble jumps and hits the river again. The river collects the circles. The boy smiles. Eventually the river swallows the pebble. Then the boy puts his hat on his head and leaves his guitar aside. Now he is a man. A peasant that shares his crop with the land owner. A logger going to the forest to chop some wood. A picker that dyes the cotton with his purple.

This night the man arrives to his hut. Puts his hat on the table. Lights the night with logs in the hearth. Reminds the boy throwing pebbles in the Mississippi River. John is the name of the boy. John takes his guitar. John sings a song about a man that picks cotton but this night is cold and the man has no logs to light his night. The left hand of the man is hurt. John does not want a cold night to the man: John reveals to the man that he should ask the youngest daughter to make him a pallet. It does not matter if the fabric is red cotton or Chinese silk. The man sleeps beneath the quilt, rumoring something about guilt and a Chinese poem for a 20 years old girl.