Mainely Write

Well, 30 days, 30 poems...here is the last for April's poetry month. (I think I had 29, but on two days I did more than one...so I think it still counts!)  This has been fun and I've really appreciated the encouragement from my new friends here on the Internets! What will it be next month?  Hmmm.  I think I "may" have an idea. I Have Been Blessed Who could know what would be my walk Of everything life had in store? My joy spills over when I take stock, How could my life hold any more ? I watched my children learn and grow We loved them and they left our nest We gave them their tickets to go With strong wings they passed the test. As my own parents departed I witnessed the joy in their soul I could not remain downhearted For their names were found on the roll. The sweet perfume of a beach rose, Or the salty scent of the sea, The way that the nighttime moon glows, I have found are blessings to me. The eagles that soar above all A foggy morn's

Wow! One more day of mandatory poetry for me. I wonder how living life unrhymed will be. We'll see... This poem has no type So there is no hype I can make up a name I suppose. Let's call it a Smidget Or a Two Rhyme Widget But if that sounds too tame I dunnose. We could get refined And call it some kind Of name that isn't so lame- An UnProse? Oh, I really don't know I guess we'll just go With some type of a game - Like Unos... Birdware Aisle 3 Tiring day, still much to do; It would be so nice As I write this slice To be home. But instead I am sitting In a hardware store With my foot that's sore Propped up. We'll buy seeds and a feeder So the birds eat free As it hangs from a tree Where I'll watch. Let's get this show on the road Install that feeder Close to the cedar Work will wait.

Rondel A French form consisting of 13 lines: two quatrains and a quintet, rhyming as follows: ABba abAB abbaA . The capital letters are the refrains, or repeats.   I'm so saddened when I realize I cannot be what he needs; His furious body pleads "See past my angry eyes!" His rage is his disguise, My torn heart simply bleeds; I'm so saddened when I realize I cannot be what he needs. His vengeful way belies A gentler soul amid the weeds; A soul that on love feeds Yet with wrath as his guise; I'm so saddened when I realize. Some days are just difficult all around.

Rictameter Rictameter is a scheme similar to Cinquain.  Starting your first line with a two syllable word, you then  consecutively increase the number of syllables per line by two. i.e. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10   Then down again,  8, 6, 4, 2   Making the final line the same two syllable word you began with.   Writing As warm as hugs As deep as a valley As haunting as a lake loon’s cry Opening eyes and freeing minds to dream To make a nest for memories To fill the heart with joy To feed souls with Writing

We read a "Time for Kids" news about Earth Day and tree planting.  So we planted acorns gathered from my front yard (before my husband aerates the lawn and we lose them) so we could have oak trees to plant at home later. The acorns were in all stages of cracking open and starting to root.  It was kind of an Earth Day thing.  We always miss Earth Day at school as we are off for spring break. We later read another "Time for Kids" that had animal poems by Jane Yolen.  One prompt in it was a picture of a flamingo just taking from the water, its long legs skimming the pool. We talked about what a Haiku was and we jotted down some words the picture of the flamingo and the acorns we examined made us think of.  We wrote, counted syllables, edited, and finally glowed as we became content with our class Haiku for the flamingo and the acorn. The third Haiku is mine. www.beautifulfreepictures.com The Flamingo Running on water Splashing but trying to fly Like a pin

I am so tired, I need to sleep, But my April promise I must needs keep. So here I lie, Abed with pen, And I'll write words That rhyme again Actually, A pen it's not, It's my MacBook On which I jot. So anyway, There you have it, Sustenance for My new habit! And now at last My eyes may close And make an end To this non-prose.

Lanturne The Lanturne is a five-line verse shaped like a Japanese lantern with a syllabic pattern of one, two, three, four, one.  One Son, one cross, one grave, three nights of death; Life   Happy Easter, everyone!

I have been sososososo busy today trying to get done stuff I should have done all week.  Had to make a quick stop at Tractor Supply . The baby chicks were so loud, we were drawn to the big pens in the middle of the store. They are really cute...now. I've raised chickens before, or rather my parents did.  I was harassed by them as a child. Nope, no chickens for me. I'll get my eggs fresh from the grocery store  and select freshly plastic wrapped chicken parts to cook for supper. Limerick A Limerick is a rhymed humorous or nonsense poem of five lines which originated in Limerick, Ireland. The Limerick has a set rhyme scheme of : a-a-b-b-a with a syllable structure of: 9-9-6-6-9 .    The rhythm of the poem should go as follows:    Lines 1, 2, 5: weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak, STRONG  Lines 3, 4: weak, weak, STRONG, weak, weak, STRONG I saw in the store little chickens, All fluffy and cute as the dickens. They were grown really sweet, Under lamps

As I sat looking out my windows today at the trees out back, the only non brown or gray color was from the pines. Their needles look so green and fanned out like fireworks to me.  Soon they will be relegated to the background scenery, as the finery of the other trees comes out. Quatern A Quatern is a sixteen line French form composed of four quatrains. It is similar to the Kyrielle  and the Retourne. It has a refrain that is in a different place in each quatrain. The first line of stanza one is the second line of stanza two, third line of stanza three, and fourth line of stanza four.  A quatern has eight syllables per line. It does not have to be iambic or follow a set rhyme scheme.   Pine tree displays of fireworks green Amid the gray of winter scene With shadows cast from their full boughs They boast of all the color now   As maple and oak in between Pine tree displays of fireworks green Begin their tiny buds to grow Those splendid leaves are now the show   Then oak and maple tre

I downloaded 3 books for my iPhone: A Boy Called It, The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave. I've finished the first two and have begun the third. I haven't read a book since I don't know when. That's mostly because I don't know how to stop once I start. I really can't read A book over break Or at 3 am I'm Still wide awake. My vacuuming Isn't complete And on my bed No clean sheet Walking the dog Will have to wait And suppertime Will just be late After vacation It's back to chores And with a book I'll be no mores I'm afraid the time I use for blogging Is likewise very Prime time hogging I must be wary And watch the clock Feed my husband Take the dog for a walk I can't neglect All else because Obsessive is As obsessive does!

TeacherDance threw out a word on Monday that I could not leave alone either.  I pictured an interesting creature, and I had to let it loose.  Perhaps someone else out there would like to take a swing at the "taradiddle" riddle.  Here's my swing at it!  Thanks TeacherDance for the strange word! Consider the terrible taradiddle With teeth as black as a cast iron griddle, And the fearsome voice of an untuned fiddle, Claws so sharp they are used to whittle, Eyes not on top but in his middle, And from his mouth spew bits of spittle. It does not matter if you're big or little, I would not linger nor finger twiddle Anywhere near a taradiddle! ​

Kyrielle A Kyrielle is a French form of rhyming poetry written in quatrains (a stanza consisting of 4 lines), and each quatrain contains a repeating line or phrase as a refrain (usually appearing as the last line of each stanza). Each line within the poem consists of only eight syllables. There is no limit to the amount of stanzas a Kyrielle may have, but three is considered the accepted minimum. Some popular rhyming schemes for a Kyrielle are: aabB, ccbB, ddbB, with B being the repeated line, or abaB, cbcB, dbdB. Mixing up the rhyme scheme is possible for an unusual pattern of: axaZ, bxbZ, cxcZ, dxdZ, etc. with Z being the repeated line. The rhyme pattern is completely up to the poet.  It was a long drive up north to potato country, just this side of the Canadian border.  Plenty of time to think...     Every mile closer to away Every minute nearer to the day Every moment happens for a reason Every one is living their own season Every moment somewhere a s

Tyburn A six line poem consisting of 2, 2, 2, 2, 9, 9 syllables. The first four lines rhyme and are all descriptive words. The last two lines rhyme and incorporate the first, second, third, and fourth lines as the 5th through 8th syllables. Whirly Twirly Curly Girlie Spinning in her whirly, twirly dress Is my little curly, girlie lass. She's a bit older than "little", but still loves a good twirly dress!

Video shot this morning, poem added tonight! Sundays don't give me much writing time, as I'm mostly in church. It turned out to be a lovely day after noon. Before that though, it was a blustery, skirt-swirling-over-the-head kind of day. Clouds silhouette pines Steadfast chickadee echoes Through rain and wind

We drove to a neighboring island today. Still too cold to be out of the car too long oceanside,  but beautiful nonetheless. The tide was in, so the gulls and ducks were pretty actively bobbing and ducking for fish.  We lived in Minnesota for a bit, and it took me a while to learn how to survive without my ocean. Etheree The poetry form, Etheree, consists of 10 lines of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 syllables.  Etheree can also be reversed and written 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 .  Get creative and write an Etheree with  more than one verse, but follow suit with an inverted syllable count.  Reversed Etheree:  10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1   Double Etheree:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 9, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1   ...Triple Etheree, Quadruple Etheree, and so on.  Sounds Of waves And seagulls Smells of seaweed Tastes of salty air Images of bobbing Gulls, buoys, driftwoods, and boats Caresses of mist surround me Sea breeze tangles and tosses my hair My senses

Ghazal A Ghazal is a poem that is made up like an odd numbered chain of couplets, where each couplet is an independent poem. It should be natural to put a comma at the end of the first line. The Ghazal has a refrain of one to three words that repeat, and an inline rhyme that preceedes the refrain. Lines 1 and 2, then every second line, has this refrain and inline rhyme, and the last couplet should refer to the authors pen-name... The rhyming scheme is AA bA cA dA eA etc. Phew!  I wasn't sure I was going to get a poem in today!  This took longer than I thought it would, and I had to go out for supper in the middle of it.  I've used the Ghazal form...not too friendly a form.  Or maybe it was hard to get my brain in gear.  I wanted something a bit more whimsy with rocks in my life...although whimsy and solid rock don't seem to go together.  Perhaps the Granite Ships is more what needs to be done with each rock, rather than put a bunch of rocks together in a pile...

My first favorite rocks were in our front woods.  They were two granite ledges that jutted out of the pine needled floor.  We spent many hours on them pretending they were our ships.  We'd jump off and "swim" to the next ledge to clamber aboard.  My two brothers were on one ship, and my sister and I were on the other.  I was the oldest, so I got the pick of the ships!  At the end of the day, my mother would blow an old ship's foghorn that would resonate throughout our rural area, and all the neighbors would know we were on our way home from wherever we had been. In summer, we braved the wind and waves On a pine needled, pine-treed sea Two granite ships set sail each day With brothers and sister and me. If you stood on the bow and used a tube You could see forever out there. Sometimes you could hear the barking of A white poodle seal so rare! Tho' the seas got quite lively and stormy We'd never be really in fear We always were safe from all danger

Villanelle A Villanelle is a nineteen-line poem consisting of a very specific rhyming scheme: aba aba aba aba aba abaa . The first and the third lines in the first stanza are repeated in alternating order throughout the poem, and appear together in the last couplet (last two lines). I remember awaking in the middle of the night when I was somewhat younger than 4, being scared by a nightmare.  I could not see anything and could not find the light or the door...not that it really bothered me! (Oh, my, I just read it finished now, and I'm getting misty-eyed.  Maybe it did bother me a little bit.) It was late at night I was still quite small I couldn’t reach the light I wanted to take flight I could only feel the wall It was late at night My dream gave me a fright And I tried to give a call I couldn’t reach the light I must have been a sight I started to panic and bawl It was late at night Found the knob and held it tight Opened the door, ran down the hall I couldn’t reac

Nonet A nonet has nine lines. The first line has nine syllables, the second line eight syllables, the third line seven syllables, etc... until line nine that finishes with one syllable. It can be on any subject and rhyming is optional. line 1 - 9 syllables line 2 - 8 syllables line 3 - 7 syllables line 4 - 6 syllables line 5 - 5 syllables line 6 - 4 syllables line 7 - 3 syllables line 8 - 2 syllables line 9 - 1 syllable   Last night just before turning in for the evening, my husband called me to the front porch.  We went out and heard the Spring Peepers for the first time this spring.  They were very loud, and I tried to record the sounds, but my phone wasn't strong enough to pick them up. The Peepers always remind me of when my son was about 3, and he mistook "peepers" for "creatures".  On hot summer nights he would insist that we close the windows so that the "creatures" wouldn't come in.   I tried to explain, but it was too late; he

Pantoum The pantoum consists of a series of quatrains rhyming ABAB in which the second and fourth lines of a quatrain recur as the first and third lines in the succeeding quatrain; each quatrain introduces a new second rhyme as BCBC, CDCD . The first line of the series recurs as the last line of the closing quatrain, and third line of the poem recurs as the second line of the closing quatrain, rhyming ZAZA . The design is simple: Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Line 4 Line 5 (repeat of line 2) Line 6 Line 7 (repeat of line 4) Line 8 Continue with as many stanzas as you wish, but the ending stanzathen repeats the second and fourth lines of the previous stanza (as its first and third lines), and also repeats the third line of the first stanza, as its second line, and the first line of the first stanza as its fourth. So the first line of the poem is also the last. Last stanza: Line 2 of previous stanza Line 3 of first stanza Line 4 of previous stanza Line 1 of first stanza Okay, this

Didactic Poetry Didactic Poetry is a form of poetry intended for instruction such as for knowledge or to teach. (I guess I'm teaching what I'm doing to get an idea for writing.) Now I set me Down to write I cannot think of what to say Tho I've been busy all the day Just let my fingers Tap on keys Until the words they start to find That tumble swiftly from my mind I do not know What words they'll be I'll just keep typing til there's sense And I get off this writer's fence... Okay. Got it. ( I should save one of these for writer's block day.) A Senryu Words stream meaning on a flat, blank page creating there a third dimension. Senryu Most popular definition, but there is more to senryu than meets the eye: Senryu (also called human haiku) is an unrhymed Japanese verse consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables (5, 7, 5) or 17 syllables in all. Senryu is usually written in the present tense and only re

waking mourning doves coo softly under hemlocks, flitting chickadees fee-bee-ing between feeder and oak, sleepy geese  honk faintly in the cold river, robins warble trilling still     in branches somewhere, raucous crows squawk territorizing on tippy treetops, silent deer grazily wander and weave     seeking green, single stag startled snorts and stamps a warning  to white tails  disappearing, blue and red ground browse under the feeder - the neighborhood  has been very busy today.

Tanka Tanka is a classic form of Japanese poetry related to the haiku with five non-rhyming lines of five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables. (5, 7, 5, 7, 7) The 5/7/5/7/7 rule is rumored to have been made up for school children to understand and learn this type of poetry. Brain fog settles in, Unfocused, drooping, weary, Yearning to recline; But still so much to do ere Succumbing to that craving.

Diamante A Diamante is a seven-lined contrast poem set up in a diamond shape. The first line begins with a noun/subject, and second line contains two adjectives that describe the beginning noun. The third line contains three words ending in -ing relating to the noun/subject. The forth line contains two words that describe the noun/subject and two that describe the closing synonym/antonym. If using an antonym for the ending, this is where the shift should occur. In the fifth line are three more -ing words describing the ending antonym/synonym, and the sixth are two more adjectives describing the ending antonym/synonym. The last line ends with the first noun's antonym or synonym. To make it a bit simpler, here is a diagram. Line 1: Noun or subject Line 2: Two Adjectives describing the first noun/subject Line 3: Three -ing words describing the first noun/subject Line 4: Four words: two about the first noun/subject, two about the antonym/synonym Line 5: Three -ing words ab

I remember time taking so long to go by when I was six.  It doesn't take much time now to use up a bunch of it. Minute Poetry The Minute Poem is rhyming verse form consisting of 12 lines of 60 syllables written in strict iambic meter. The poem is formatted into 3 stanzas of 8,4,4,4; 8,4,4,4; 8,4,4,4 syllables. The rhyme scheme is as follows: aabb, ccdd, eeff   My Minute Poem:   Time for Six   There is no time but here and now And that is how When you are six Time slowly ticks.   "In just a minute," Mom will say But there's no way To wait for fun It must be done.   "In just two weeks we'll go," says Dad And now you're mad It should be wrong To wait that long.   Time makes no sense to speeding youth But here's the truth What once was slow Will quickly go   And soon enough you will be grown And then your tone Will change a bit As time will flit.   You now will yearn for slower days The time

A Triolet is a poetic form consisting of only 8 lines. Within a Triolet, the 1st, 4th, and 7th lines repeat, and the 2nd and 8th lines do as well. The rhyme scheme is simple: ABaAbcAB , capital letters representing the repeated lines. Make writing a Triolet more challenging! Make each line 8 syllables in length (4 metrical feet), written in iambic tetrameter (the more common way), or try it in pentameter (English version) where each line only has 10 syllables(5 metrical feet).  Shadow Poetry site My Triolet to the Rain The rain falls down and puddles up Threatening to soak through my shoes And dampen my spirts and hair The rain falls down and puddles up Turning walkways to riverbeds And melting snowbanks to sandbanks The rain falls down and puddles up Threatening to soak through my shoes

Why  are you on my table again?   Whose table? You aren't supposed to walk on  my table!    Whose table? I don't  want you on my table...   Whose table? I just organized all these papers; get off my table! Whose table? Okay, I'll move my papers off  your table. It's okay, I think I can make them work for me.

April First morn Snow came plummeting down To cover the crocus And slowen the town. Shovels were put At the ready that night For snow in the forecast Meant need them we might. Schools were called off In the dim of the morning But we were all ready We'd had lots of warning. We had all our food And fetched wood for an hour So we could stay warm If we all lost our power. And then the snow came A Nor'easter again And it wern't no joke It's just April is when We get that wet stuff Covering all of our spring And making us wish For what May will soon bring.

What has it meant to write every day? Discipline. Has it been easy and seemed like child's play? I only wish. Were there brain cramps and grumblings some nights? Yes. Was slicing the cause of some family fights? Could be. Did we, new friends, virtually meet? Read you Tuesdays! Was reading their slice a virtual treat? Deliciously so! Has writing become our voice or a bore? Well spoken. Has writing become our choice or a chore? Chosen. As we were writing did we have fun? Scads. Are we sad that the work here is done? It is? ************************* This is a "double post" as I could not resist the challenge of the "Found iPod Poetry".  I do not have "regular" music on my iPod.  Be aware, it's all Christian music, so it was a challenge to see what could be made of it for a "Found Poem".  Here goes! *********************************** Hold on, Press on, Day by day, Overcomer. Morning has broken; Sunlight, Fill me n