Are you up for the challenge?

[dahmnait]

Yes, another poetry game, of sorts.

The idea is to learn about and try different forms of poetry. The last person gives the next a form. Each form should be different from the last. Forms can be repeated, just not in a row. A short description of the form should be included.

For example:

Haiku, 3 line poem with syllable counts of 5, 7, 5. The traditional form includes a reference to the seasons and leaves the reader to draw thier own conclusions.

Scottish stanza: 6 line stanzas, rhyming aaabab. The a lines have four feet each and the b lines have two feet each. No limit on the number of stanzas.

For those that don't know, the "aaabab" indicates that lines 1, 2, 3, and 5 rhyme with each other and that lines 4 and 6 rhyme with each other. If you denote a line doesn't rhyme, use x. E.g., aax denotes a three line stanza in which lines 1 and 2 rhyme with each other and line 3 does not rhyme.
The term feet indicates the stressable syllables in the line.

Additionally, if you have an online resource for the form, please feel free to include a link.

To get you started, I see there is a Guide to Verse Forms (http://www.noggs.dsl.pipex.com/vf/index.htm) in the Poetry References and Articles (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40891) thread. Another good resource is on the Poetry Renewal (http://www.poetryrenewal.com/forms/) site.


I'll start in a new post.

[dahmnait]

Not all the poems will end up being great, I know my first try wasn't even close to mind blowing. :) But who knows, you may find a form you really like. I'll pick Dodoitsu to start off.

Dodoitsu -
Japanese poetry of four lines of the following syllable count: 7,7,7,5
No rhyme or meter. Typically on topics of love, work and/or humor.


this was supposed to be a
one time thing, a summer fling
but somewhere between the sheets
we fell in love - damn


Next: Than-Bauk
Burmese poetry of three lines, four syllables each. The fourth syllable in the first line rhymes with the third syllable in the second line and the second syllable in the third line.

[poetinahat]

one cigarette
helps me get lit
it's met its match

Next: triolet

rhyme scheme: ABaA abAB (lines 1, 4 and 7 are the same; lines 2 and 8 are the same).

[Pat~]

I closed the door
On days gone by
Remembered no more
I closed the door.

I could not restore
Even if I'd try
I closed the door
On days gone by.

Next: Villanelle ;-)

five tercets and a quatrain, with a rhyming scheme that goes:

A1
b
A2

a
b
A1

a
b
A2

a
b
A1

a
b
A2

a
b
A1
A2

Here A1 and A2 are two rhyming lines you start with, each "a" represents another line that rhymes with them both, and the "b"s all rhyme with each other. Note that there are 5 "a"s here, so you need 5 more words that rhyme with your original couplet; and there are 6 "b"s, so you'll need another 6 words that rhyme with each other.

[dahmnait]

You guys rock. I knew there had to be people up to this challenge. And for those who don't know what the proper form for a villanelle (http://www.poetryrenewal.com/forms/003/328.shtml) is, just click the link.

I would write it out, but I already screwed up the first description I wrote. :o Luckily poet either looked it up, or figured it out. Time to tuck myself in and let my brain recharge.

[ddgryphon]

In the face of genius we can be blind,
and all about fail to recognize it.
Though once discovered we embrace the find

Confused, unknowing, and often unkind,
we brand, vilify, refuse to admit
In the face of genius we can be blind.

Failure to see, to accept, disinclined,
we christen with words like garbage and ****;
though once discovered, we embrace the find

The artist struggles, their work is maligned,
and often are asked to give up and quit;
In the face of genius we can be blind.

Still they create, bestow work to mankind,
spilling passion, hoping time will acquit.
Though once discovered we embrace the find.

Genius is fleeting, not easily lit;
history declares it worthy or unfit.
In the face of genius we can be blind,
though once discovered we embrace the find.

Next form -- easy, A Fibonacci Turn:

Syllabically built the lines are as follows:

1
1
3
5
8
5
3
1
1

Examples and further information here:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=629288&postcount=1

[dahmnait]

earth,
sky,
simple joys
surround you. But you
are blind to nature’s beauty. You
see only the green
of greed. Stop
and
breathe.


I may have to take a turn on the other thread. I like this form.

Next: Byr A Thoddaid - Welsh
Two couplets. One couplet consists of two eight syllable lines and rhyme with each other. The other couplet consists of one ten syllable and one six syllable line. The ten syllable line has a rhyme somewhere in the seventh, eight or ninth syllable and it rhymes with the end of the six syllable line. The syllables after the rhyme will have some link to the beginning of the six syllable line. This can be in the form of an alliteration, rhyme or assonance.

xxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxbx1 (b rhyme in the 7th, 8th, or 9th syllable)
x1xxxb

or

xxxxxxxbx1 (b rhyme in the 7th, 8th, or 9th syllable)
x1xxxb
xxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxa

[ddgryphon]

Beneath skies, near rocky sound
cold clear waters roll round and round.

In fiery boat, for eternity bound,
lies crowned lost King Ceri.


**************************************

Next form Ghazal:

Get ready for an explanation:

Ghazal (pronounced "ghuzzle") is an Arabic word that means "talking to women."

History.
The Ghazal was developed in Persia in the 10th century AD from the Arabic verse form qasida. It was brought to India with the Mogul invasion in the 12th century. The Ghazal tradition is currently practiced in Iran (Farsi), Pakistan (Urdu) and India (Urdu and Hindi). In India and Pakistan, Ghazals are set to music and have achieved commercial popularity as recordings and in movies. A number of American poets, including Adrienne Rich and W.S. Merwin, have written Ghazals, usually without the strict pattern of the traditional form.

Form.
A traditional Ghazal consists of five to fifteen couplets, typically seven. A refrain (a repeated word or phrase) appears at the end of both lines of the first couplet and at the end of the second line in each succeeding couplet. In addition, one or more words before the refrain are rhymes or partial rhymes. The lines should be of approximately the same length and meter. The poet may use the final couplet as a signature couplet, using his or her name in first, second or third person, and giving a more direct declaration of thought or feeling to the reader.

Style.
Each couplet should be a poem in itself, like a pearl in a necklace. There should not be continuous development of a subject from one couplet to the next through the poem. The refrain provides a link among the couplets, but they should be detachable, quotable, grammatical units. There should be an epigrammatic terseness, yet each couplet should be lyric and evocative.

Good Luck -- I have one here somewhere--there it is: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=682149&postcount=1

[Pat~]

(I used the meaning of my name rather than my name in the last stanza.)

Hope

Success bred false security and harbored hope
In a proud heart which set its own course; absurd hope.

A house built on shifting sand was her preferred hope,
Till tide proved this castle to be a conjured hope.

Winds of time and tidal lash only deterred hope;
And sick is the heart which has but a deferred hope.

Healing hand touched eyes and ears within and stirred hope,
And soul restored on Solid Rock then transferred hope.

A rampart strong upheld and shielded conferred hope,
And soul delighted in eternally cured hope.

The castle rooted to the Rock has matured hope,
A noble soul to mirror His, her assured hope.


Next:
Rhyme Royal - sometimes known as the Troilus stanza - has 7 lines of 10 syllables each (normally iambic pentameters) and a rhyming scheme of ababbcc.

[jst5150]

Bitter Mother Hubbard

Old Mother Hubbard said that girl's a b1tch
smoking one final Pall Mall in the shoe
Tattoo on her back's a target for men
Snow White's fellas just want a good screw
Cast her to the Dwarves living so frumpy
Soon she'll be off humping Humpty Dumpty

[Pat~]

And NEXT?? :)

[jst5150]

Limerick!

[dahmnait]

Have you heard of the man called Just Crazy?
Well, his poetry is really quite racy
With explicit recall
His words shock us all
Till our thinking is muddled and hazy

----
I had to. :D
----

Diamante:

Diamond-shaped pattern done in seven lines with two nouns which are antonyms. First and seventh line are the antonyms, second and sixth are two adjectives describing their respective nouns, third and fifth are three "ing" words (present participles) describing each antonym, on the fourth line are two nouns describing each antonym.

[Pat~]

Top
High, over
Covering, crowning, ruling
Summit, base
Grounding, upholding, supporting
Low, under
Bottom

Next: haiku

[P.H.Delarran]

humiliation
easy to insert, hard to
remove foot from mouth

next form, Cameo;
Six lines, syllables: 2, 5, 8, 3, 8, 7, 2.

[dahmnait]

She waits,
breath held hostage in
eager anticipation. Eyes
wide, star lit
as she scans the sky, listening
for elf-wrought bells upon which
He flies.


Next: Kyrielle

4 line stanzas, each line is 8 syllables long and the last line is a refrain. No set rhyming scheme.

[jst5150]

man fights his destiny too much
rails against conditioned mind
troubled ascension absolute
man fights his destiny too much

A Fibbonaci Turn, please (the thread is somewhere on this board)

[P.H.Delarran]

wine
sipped
daintily
finger tipped upward
is no less appretiated
than beer fervently,
hungrily
chugged
down


let's have another limerick.

[dclary]

I once came across a forum
where no one could form a quorum
they called it a-dubba-ya
the mods there were trouble, ya
But at least they had nice decorum


um, next turn... 11 line iambic trimeter with rhyme scheme A B C B A B C A C B D

[dahmnait]

Amidst body aches
Gray hair and wrinkles
Lost in commercial lies
“Skin so fair it twinkles”
“Old age will soon forsake”
“A beauty I’ll be,” she cackles
As the teller rings up her buys
Home her prize she takes
Opens the box and finds
Morphine and five needles,
At least they didn't lie.


----
Any issues with iambic meter can be chalked up to me talking funny. I'm not normal. ;)
----

Next: Roundel
Eleven lines in three stanzas, with the first part of line one as the refrain (R).

abaR

bab

abaR

[P.H.Delarran]

I loved a purple girl one year
She tried to love me back
But our time was doomed for tears
I loved a purple girl

Her passion rose when in the sack
Her talents seemed so clear
Ecstatic orgasms her knack

But she was not sincere
She soon went seeking what I lacked
Denying she was queer.
I loved a purple girl


ok I have no clue how to punctuate this. but this was a fun form, i'd like to revisit it sometime.

next form, anyone up for a sestina? (http://www.noggs.dsl.pipex.com/vf/sestina.htm)

[Beyondian]

Change seems a desperate shifting being
Swamping the dream born in yesterday’s thrall
Touching it with the colour of the past
Leeching it’s life away, crumpling the shell
Dulling its treasure past the worth of strife
Until it seems as a lonesome nothing

And you mourn the nothing it has become
How the simple insidiousness of change
With quietly unnoticeable strife
Fought and decimated the dream, its soul
Its life, once so beautiful and so rich
Is a past thing, not worth a memory

And you remember the past, tinted gold
With nothing of memory’s bitterness
To dull its life past a rosy glimmer
And wish change had not stolen it away
Taunting your dream, mocking your hopes, hissing
With malevolent strife, in your heartbeat

And feel a bluster of impotent strife
Wanting to wrench back the past, protect it,
And your dream, unchanged and so innocent
To have it where nothing can darken it
With the horror and progression of change
Where it can attain golden life once again

And you resolve, life it will have, breathing
No more of strife, no more sullied darkness
That can change a heaven-sent hope to dust
Fight to give the kiss of life to the past
‘til nothing is left to breathe into it
And the dream is dulled, no longer golden

With open eyes, you see the dream for real
A play toy of a former life, long gone
Nothing to gild it but the rosiness,
That pearlescent quality that slays strife
When gazing into the revered past years
Before change comes and shows the weaknesses

Sometimes nothing seems the fairest change
It doesn’t make life different from the past
But a better dream is worth the final strife

Everybody knows I like Haiku, so let the next one be a series of three please.

[dahmnait]

walk these hills softly
disturb not the one who sleeps
wrapped in coat of white

in morning sunshine
birdsong trills brilliant above
the one awakens

draped in shroud of green
boughs stretched to open sky, she
greets the coming day

-------------------------------

Next: Zejel - Spanish

aaa
bbba
ccca
etc...

No limit on stanzas.

[dahmnait]

:( any takers?

[P.H.Delarran]

I started one..ewww..not good.(but fun) I'll try again.
Unless someone beats me to it ;)

[P.H.Delarran]

Mr. Man in quest of goodness
Can search for years and rarely witness
The power of true human kindness


Always taking never giving
Pissing off the life he’s living
Possession and glamour driven
Ignoring his blatant blindness

One day a cruel turn might take him
Make him worry, really shake him
Then reality will wake him
Make him notice Death’s dark closeness

Will there be some mercy offered?
Gentle grace quietly proffered?
Any goodness, before the coffin?
Or will eternity be joyless?

Angels tread on earthly feet
Unattested, shy, discreet
Mission focused, no conceit
Touch a man and leave him speechless

No judgement made on character
Scum bag, bum, or cool charmer
Decaying, doomed, mortal matter
Soon to drift in seas of blackness

Goodness plays no silly favor
Goodness knows no worthless labour
Goodness only goodness savours
There is no argument for goodness

So Goodness does what goodness should
Grabs Mr. Man and shakes him Good
Hangs him by his well groomed foot
And wraps him up in blissfullness


Will Mr Man, now limp and languid
No longer hurried, crass or guarded
Become sweet and humble-hearted
Or continue in his arrogance?

We know the story, you and I
That we’re the stars we can’t deny
Perhaps it’s wise to stop and try
To give this goodness one more chance






Next form, hmm, I'd like to see someone else try a Zejel. It was an interesting and fun experience. It's difficult to keep the theme from sounding forced and corny, yet stay within a rhyme scheme. Mine went in a completely different direction than I intended.

Ok, next: Zejel.

[Rivana]

Witnessing the birds go by,
lonely heart gives up a sigh
humming soft -a lullaby.

Little does this spirit know;
watching sweetly from the snow
fairies on their small feet go
dance to lullaby.

Last of sunrays flee in fright,
twilight goes to darkened night,
lonely heart lights candle light,
gaze on falling snow.

Candle flickers, build to flame,
whispers out a hidden name
lonely city calls the same,
such a pretty sight.

Listen close and you can hear
voices singing every year -
you don’t have to live in fear
just light up the flame.

Next form: Pantoum

Made popular in the nineteenth century, the French and English call their more elaborate form the pantoum, a poem in which the the second and fourth lines of a stanza become the first and third lines of the next stanza, and lace together somewhat like a corset on a French tart as the poem of proceeds. The modern pantoum can be any length the poet wishes but will usually end (at least the English version does) with the first line of the poem repeated as the last line of the poem, and the third line of the poem (third line of the first quatrain) as the second line of the last quatrain. Get that? Now, despite the silly simile above, the pantoum need not be humorous. Rather, a pantoum would be purposefully wise (remember the old "proverbial" style), and build with touches of irony, using those striking line repetitions as it proceeds (combined with altered meaning we also saw in the sonnet, villanelle, and sestina), and climbing to a big finish, to a veritable penthouse of profound thought (a penthouse replete, one might find, with lovely French tarts--oops, being silly again), or to some more gentle, yet still incisive conceit.
For more info and sample http://members.aol.com/lucyhardng/pointers/form4.htm#forms5

[Rivana]

*groans* I just realized I read the form wrong. Ehrm, I mean -I did an adaptation. ^o^ So here's a traditional version as well...with a small twist at the end, cuz I wanted to.

One, two and tap your feet,
three, four and make the beat
do the dance, then take a seat.

Next one up -top that show!
Take a chance and let it flow,
mess it up and you must go.
Don't you love that beat?

Lessons taught -learn them fast,
see this game is built to last.
'Fore you know the roles are cast.
Can you take the heat?

Spin and dip, turn and kick.
Sweaty now? Take the lick.
Damn those moves are really slick,
there's fire from your feet.

Swing and gyrate, drop,
while struggling to the top
then know when to stop
and go take your seat.

You won't know defeat
if you feel the beat
and can take the heat.

Next form -still pantoum (see the post before this one)

[Pat~]

A Sovereign's Birth (Pantoum)

Angels herald a Sovereign's birth
And shepherds tremble at the sight;
"The One who with a word formed earth,
In Bethlehem is born tonight."

And shepherds tremble at the sight
Of swaddled Babe in stable cold;
In Bethlehem is born tonight
The One eternity deemed old.

What could all creation give
The One who with a word formed earth?
Born to die that we might live,
Angels herald a Sovereign's birth.


Next form: sonnet

[Nyna]

You fold your past into a gift -- a cake
A gift for your mother, so thick and sweet.
A chocolate cake that it take days to make.
You close your past away, turn up the heat.

Your mother won’t touch it. She knows you,
As she made you, bedding down each gift
With something toxic. You always give, too,
Something painful, scar what you have kissed.

You’ll pour it down her throat if you must,
Hands on her jaws, holding open
Her biting teeth. Your past: bile and dust.
You forcefeed cake until she is choking.

You hope it hurts. Your hope it burns. Your past
Tearing her up, as she tore you. At last.



Next form: Triolet.

It's a French fixed form from the middle ages. Eight lines rhyming ABaAabAB (the capital letters representing repeated lines, or refrains).

[ddgryphon]

The shadow of the dying year falls across the new
Edging black into the light, dulling it to dark
Casting shades on the hopes of the many and the few
The shadow of the dying year falls across the new
With laughter and joy their frolics they pursue
The old year passes, the new one comes. Hark,
The shadow of the dying year falls across the new
Edging black into the light and dulling it to dark.


Next form: Ballade: http://www.noggs.dsl.pipex.com/vf/ballade.htm