Poetic Forms

Now, before you all switch off and move on, please take time to read my introduction and understand that not only are poetic ‘forms’ meant to be fun and not a chore, but anyone can write them, (with sometimes interesting results)


 

If you just slavishly fit words into a form and follow all the ‘rules’ , you’ll end up with a boring poem. But many forms were proposed by poets having a bit of a game, like a brain teaser or a crossword puzzle. They are often deliberately complicated just to test people’s stick-with it ness. If you have a poem in your head and work to fit it into a form, you’ll end up with a good, and sometimes surprising (to you ) poem. There is nothing anyone here cannot tackle.

But this is a- foreign form , a ‘Burmese Climbing Rhyme’ . Very often in oriental poetry, rhymes are not placed at the end of lines, as we are used to in English verse. Instead, in this form, the rhyme cyclically moves along each successive line. I’m sure you’ll identify the pattern. For me, this produces a poem I would never have written in any other circumstances, or if I had it would have been boring. Here, at least for some, it has interest.

 

Flying into Stansted for a Special Occasion

 

I’m Ryaneering in, this eve

as London weaves beneath.

So believe! My way,

I can say that

this day is complete.

We’ll later eat. Ain’t

Thai great? Champagne too.

Would not you enjoy?

Whoo-hoo! A very

special day.

 

Phone as I walk.

There’s no squawk, just

message talk: ‘Meet outside’

Then the ride home.

I bide my time.

To you I’m wishing,

In rhyme: Happy Birthday!

 

So have a go – don’t be put off by poncey words and descriptions. It’s not rocket science. Have a go. There are loads of weird forms to explore, some crazily complicated of course ….

 

Best of luck! 

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Whale

Talk about weird forms! I would not know how to rate this. It has a happy feel and as a poem it could be superb – or not. Who knows? But all honour to you for this experiment.