Poetic Form 86: Rondel

 Walk By

No one turns to see me walk by.

Shadow fades as they blankly stare.

I keep my head down in a prayer,

a lonely song I testify.

The street is crowded, suits and ties

mix with soleless shoes, smiles rare.

No one turns to see me walk by.

Shadow fades as they blankly stare.

Everyone has an alibi

for the way they hide their despair.

No reason to connect, don’t care.

No one turns to see me walk by.

Poetic Form #86: Rondel

The rondel is a French poetic form with 13 lines, usually eight syllables,

in three stanzas. The rondel uses a rhyme scheme with refrains (AB):

ABba

abAB

abbaA

Poetic Form 58: Pantoum

 

 

 

Let there be...

At the beginning of the world, when all was dark,

I wish God would have voiced another command,

“Let there be love!” That would have been a better start.

Instead we were given light, seas, and land.

I wish God would have voiced another command.

Say something that would have let us see joy,

instead we were given light, seas, and land.

We walk these hours blind and hurting, smiles only a decoy.

Say something that would have let us see joy,

allow us to fill our counted days with love. Building a life, 

we walk these hours blind and hurting, smiles only a decoy.

It’s not only our backs, but our chests hurt from the knives.

Allow us to fill our counted days with love, building a life. 

Without that command, the sun and moon watch as we all fall.

It’s not only our backs, but our chests hurt from the knives.

Our ears bleed, hands shake, loneliness hurts above all.

Why couldn’t God speak what we needed most these days?

“Let there be love!” That would have been a better start.

Maybe we could have lived a life clear of such an angry blaze,

at the beginning of the world, when all was dark.

Poetic Form #58: Pantoum

The pantoum form is a set of quatrains (4-line stanzas) that starts with an abab rhyme scheme. 

With each quatrain you repeat lines 2 and 4 in the previous stanza as lines 1 and 3 in the next 

stanza, creating a new rhyme scheme. Second stanza would be bcbc.

There are two options for the final quatrain.  You can repeat lines 1 and 3 of the original 

quatrain as lines 2 and 4 in the final quatrain. Another option is to invert lines 1 and 3 so 

that the first line of the poem is also the final line of the poem.

Poetic Form 10: Quatern

To Something

We all give our lives to something.

The hunger of chemicals draw

us to the edge of destruction.

So easy to buy a ticket 

for the ride. Making us forget,

we all give our lives to something.

The call of greed fills more than an

empty pocket. Handing over

our time like a purchase. Sorry,

no refunds for any item.

We all give our lives to something.

Loneliness and pain have a price.

But so does love and joy. We write

a contract with our days. Sign it

with each heartbeat and thought we have.

We all give our lives to something.

Poetic Form #10: Quatern

A quatern is a French poetic form that incorporates a refrain that follows the pattern: first line of the poem is the refrain, then the refrain appears in the second line of the second stanza; the third line of the third stanza, and finally the fourth (and final) line in the fourth stanza. The poem has 16 lines split into 4 quatrains. Each line is comprised of eight syllables, but there are no rules for rhyming.

 

Poetry Challenge Day 19: 6 Words by Shakespeare

*The prompt today was to use 6 words that Shakespeare created.

bump

embrace

fixture

howl

lonely

resolve

When Shakespeare wrote

A candle flame flickers as your hand bumps the inkwell.

Stories tumble in your head. You embrace the muse to tell.

A quill, a fixture in your hand, paper running with rhyme.

You howl when the language blocks the end of the next line.

One man, on a lonely night, builds new words for new worlds.

Your writing resolve created lines that take flight like birds.