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RE: Aria’s Folder- RHPeat's Poetry Class - Working Towards the Sonne
RE: Aria's Assignments 1 - 10
Poem 1: Write a poem of 16 to 20 lines in 2 parts creating a comparison (2 stanzas). Make use of two different anaphoras. Anaphora: = The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Focus on the three parts of a poem when writing the poem.
POEM I - At the Piano
Mirror on the parlor wall
what do you reveal?
A woman at the grand piano
grey hair wrapped in a bun;
shriveled hands
with gentle fingers on the keys,
she plays Schumann's
"Timeless" melody.
Mirror on the parlor wall
what do you reveal?
A girl at the grand piano
with swift young fingers
on the keys, her light
brown hair tied in blue ribbons,
she plays Schumann's
"Timeless" melody.
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Poem 2: Write a poem of 15 to 18 lines using tercets (3 line stanzas). Make use of a refrain within the poem. Realize when you construct the refrain that it will be used within the three parts of the poem: opening, turning point and closure. So be aware that the refrain has to be constructed in a manner that will offer intent within all three literary parts of the poem. Understand also that a refrain doesn't have to be on every stanza or evenly spaced within the poem.
Poem II - Kyrie Eleison (Lord Have Mercy)
Let us live in the light, let us walk the path of peace.
Acceptance of each other is the key.
May we love one another, may love help us see.
May we not live in the dark, may we not each other harm,
forgiveness is a gift we give ourselves;
deep within our hearts, let us never harbor hate.
Kyrie eleison, alleluia, allelu,
Jesus said "love one another, as I have loved you."
Forgive us for we know not what we do.
The creator of the universe, we all speak His name
in one way or the other, in any language, still the same.
Kyrie eleison, alleluia, allelu.
May we walk in your light, may your light
shine on our path, may we know, here and now
"love is all, love is real."
Let love light our way, love help us know
the pain of our brother, in forgiveness perfect peace.
Kyrie elison, alleluia, allelu.
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Poem 3: Write a poem of 16 to 24 lines that is a conceit. That means the complete poem will be based one metaphor. The opening should set up the premise for the poem. It could be just the title like: R. Burns poem “my love is like a red red rose.” Where he makes the statement in the title and then goes on to speak about the rose as his love. But the title does not have to state the premise but at least it should be present in the first stanza. Write the poem in quatrains. The closure should relate to both sides of the metaphor in some way without revealing the deeper meaning of the poem. The closure needs to tie the opening and turning point together in some way to form a new concept.
Poem 3 - Invitation to the Masquerade
Please come to a masquerade party.
Wear your mask, my friend, it is key
to hide your identity.
The invitation? Escape of reality.
Welcome to the masquerade.
Please, your passion, put here on display
in words, poetically played...
love or hate, eternally made.
You are the gambler
of dark and light? day and night?
Neither Nero or Caesar,
nor devil or diva.
The prize is in
the hearts you may win.
Mardi-gras has no sin;
welcome, friend, to the inn
of our host.
Favor and hope are most
in the end. Can you cope
as you walk the tight-rope?
Your mask is jeweled beauty,
peacock's plumage, costly;
You may play, of course! It is free!
Only, friend, at the door, once more, lose your identity.
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• Poem 4: Write a poem of 16 to 24 lines using couplets (2 line stanzas). Make use of ambiguity within this poem. Allow for more than one interpretation. Or let the opening and turning in the poem be extremely different within the presentation so they don't appear related to one another in any way at all. Let the poem be equivocal in thought and vision. Stay focused on the three parts of the poem: opening, turning point and closure. So be aware the the ambiguity has to be constructed in a manner that will offer content within the reader; allow for discovery on the readers part. Understand that ambiguity doesn't have to be on every stanza of the poem as long as it is carried throughout the overall presentation.
Poem 4, The Magician
The magician holds a tall black hat
in the spotlight, where he's at.
The crowd acts like he's something real;
the rabbit's scared, she feels the feel.
Clouds cross over a moon-lit sky,
people question... why, why, why?
The stars are bright and spinning round.
Do they ever hit the ground?
Pretty women sing pretty songs;
you can make them your very own.
Songs will come and songs will go;
which will be the one you know?
The candle's lit, the water's hot;
what happens when a bunny's caught?
Die, oh die, you silly bunny.
Quit laughing, hot's not very funny!
Fire steals your breath and then your life,
no need to scream out in the night.
He stands alone, the lights grow dim.
In the dark, it's dark.....again.
Bunnies come and bunnies go.
Does it matter, who's to know?
The curtain drops without a sound
The walls all fall... tumbling down.
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Poem 5 - Wisteria
She sat on the steps of morning's front porch,
enthralled by the beauty there in her world.
Sunlight skipped diamonds across clear water
as bees hummed their pursuit of pear blossoms.
Her fingers played in the lavender blue
silk of her nightgown as heart-beats fluttered
like sparrow wings borne high-up on the wind.
A voice on the phone she held to her ear,
spoke words of desire, she needed to hear.
Remembered touch of a hand, once well known,
love recalled, without sense of place or time.
The wisteria spilled over the fence...
a vision of lavender blue night-silk,
momentary, a day-dream, quickly gone.
14 regulated syllabic lines, 10 syllables each.
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4 regulated syllabic stanzas, 20 lines
(4, 4, 6, 8, 8 syllables) Manic Mary as nursery rhyme
Poem 6 - Manic Mary
Manic Mary,
quite unwary
how does your poetry come?
A wolf's long tongue, I fell upon
in his lair, like in a movie.
Manic Mary,
quite unwary
how is that you come?
A wolf erotic turns me on
in his lair, like in a movie.
Manic Mary,
quite unwary
what kind of poem is this?
I know not but a sudden bliss
in his lair, like in a movie.
Manic Mary,
quite unwary
this is not expected!
Nor I, nor he, the wolf most free
in his lair, like in a movie.
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Assignment # 7 - Pantoum
1. Write a quatrain/ a four-line stanza. Let the lines have either an end-stop or an enjambment on the end of the line. I suggest that line 2 have an enjambment and that line 4 have an end-stop. This will allow each stanza to flow to the last line and then conclude. Also keep in mind that lines 1 & 2 will be the closure at the end of the poem. So if you give a lot of thought to the beginning here, you fill find the ending of the poem easier as well.
2. Take lines 2 & 4 of the first stanza and make them lines 1 and 3 in the next stanza. Then complete the second stanza, by inserting the missing lines that connect 1 & 3 in the lines 2 & 4 positions. Figure on 5-6 stanzas within the poem 20-24 lines or less if you want to. But it is more difficult to write a short pantoum.
3. Repeat the pattern for each stanza always taking lines 2 & 4 and moving them to lines 1 & 3 in the next stanza. So you would be moving lines 2 and 4 of the 2nd stanza to lines 1 & 3 in the third stanza, and so on and so forth. Do this until you reach the last stanza of the pantoum.
4. In the final stanza remember you will be using lines 1 & 3 as lines 2 & 4 in the closure of the poem. You use those two lines that haven't been repeated yet in the closure of the poem. That’s lines 1 and 3 of the first stanza to close the poem. Now There is an option in the closing of the poem; you can make line 3 the 2nd line of the final stanza, and make line 1 the 4th line of the stanza in the last quatrain of poem if you want. So either way is acceptable for the final stanza in the form. This final step brings the poem full circle.
Generally the pantoum isn't very effective for telling a story, but it can be very good for a more emotional presentation of subject matter. You might want to lay out your form first before you start to make it easy for yourself after writing the first stanza. So you know where your repeated lines are falling. This type of repeated line is call repeton. This is what a complete line is called when repeated within a poem.
Poem 7 (Pantoum) -
Wings
I ride my horse across the open fields
into the setting sun.
He carries me, he carries me away
from life where friends and love betray
into the setting sun,
I put my heels into his sides and fly
from life where friends and love betray;
we are not of this world.
I put my heels into his sides and fly,
I breathe, pain's left behind,
we are not of this world;
I care not if the wings are his or mine.
I breathe, pain's left behind,
my heart-beat slows.
I care not if the wings are his or mine
into the sun, into the fire, we go
My heart-beat slows;
he carries me, he carries me away
into the sun, into the fire, we go.
I ride my horse across the open fields.
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RE: Working Toward the Sonnet - Aria's Assignment 8
Writing Exercise 8
John Hollander invented a great little song form (sonnet) that is written in syllabic meter. I say "little song" because that is what sonnet means: little or short song. Of course a sonnet implies a lot more and many other things as well. But that is for a later date. Hollander's sonnet is made up of 13 lines of 13 syllables. Try to keep it focused on a central idea, theme of some sort dealing with one of the primary aspects: of life, birth, death, love, first love, lost love, Mother, Father, the seasons, or a season, or even a renewal or something ancient. It's a matter of using some heavy subject matter here in this exercise while keeping the lines/verses to 13 syllables. A Hollander sonnet isn't the difficult to write but to pull it off with a strong turning and a great closure is quite another thing in 13 lines devoted to a very heavy subject that shouldn't be treaded lightly and yet offer a unique insight.
Wildflowers
They say she sings a song of wild-seed and wild-flowers.
Upon the wind, her mournful voice is heard in dark hours.
In a time, not very long ago or far away
her people praised the earth, sun and sky and newborn day.
Upon their land, the strangers with strange ways quickly moved,
put up fences, killing a way of life which was good.
The old chief, her father, her husband and her brothers
rode ponies out to ask they share with one another.
On nights when there is no moon, her grieving's heard afar,
a lonely cry for her brave, dead many moons before.
Her black hair falls upon her shoulders, ebony lace,
of a mantilla that shrouds her sorrow and her face.
She sings of red blood spilled, the wild-seed of wild-flowers.
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Peat's Poetry Class - Assignment # 9 - Write a 10 to 18 line poem in blank Verse using your choice of iambic tetrameter or iambic pentameter. Stanzas are OK. That is either 8 syllables or 10 syllables per line with 4 or 5 iambs respectfully for tetrameter and pentameter.
18 lines, blank verse, iambic tetrameter
I Tell Myself
And if the summer comes too soon,
the sun may burn us in the fire.
Perhaps, at last, the ache will stop
if "all is fair in love and war?"
If "God is good" and "time is all"
a lover's wounds need only heal.
These tired cliches fill up my mind,
my heart's filled up with thoughts of you.
How I desire to meet you there
in sea of green and sapphire blue,
to walk once more upon the sand,
recall your face, your touch of hand;
but oh the thought, I fear the loss,
the pain of we must part, again.
"This too shall pass," I tell myself
to know my heart and trust it's truth.
And if the summer ends too soon
I'll wear it golden on my skin.
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Peat's Poetry Class - Assignment 10 - A new form: Ron’s Portal 1. 10 lines of either iambic tetrameter or iambic pentameter. One or the other 2. Two enveloped quatrains and one couplet. 3. Rhyme Scheme as follows: (abba cddc ee.) That gives us the description for our Ron’s Portal poem. This means lines: 1 & 4 rhyme, 2 & 3 rhyme, 5 & 8 rhyme, 6 & 7 rhyme, and finally 9 & 10 rhyme in the couplet. And the poem can be written on any subject you want, and it can be titled anything you want as well. but it will be a portal no mater what. The turning should happen in the second quatrain and the closure in the rhyming couplet. Writing Exercise: (Poem 10): Write a 10 line poem in iambic tetrameter or iambic pentameter using an end line (rhyme scheme) that is presented below in: Part 2: “The Portal”
No Fairy Tale - Assignment # 10
The full blown moon tonight cries out for you.
My tears spilled rain wet down my face but then
you walked away and now the moment's sin
has made us lose our way from love's "I do."
You've left me bruised and battered from your words.
How could you say those to someone you love?
Why did I think you loved me, God above?
I know for broken lives there is no cure.
So this is how the fairy tale must end,
not with a handsome prince; nor even friend.
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Assignment #11 - Terza Rima - write a poem using tercets in the form of "terza rima." Write it in iambic tetrameter: A tercet = (A 3 line stanza). Write the poem with no more than 24 or 25 lines depending on what kind of ending you use on your poem. Of course it could be 18 or 19 lines as well or even shorter depending on what you want to do. No less than 12-13 lines.
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Poem # 11 - The Wraith
She roams, a mys'try in the night
with shrouded eyes and golden hair,
where all is love and love is light.
She walks, enchanted and so fair,
the moonlit path through forests dark
and hides from view in shadows there.
Her voice is of the meadowlark
at dawn, in early sunlight's ray.
Her tender footstep leaves no mark.
So look not for her, on your way,
she is illusive, like a fawn.
You will not see her, try you may.
She moves like silk across the dawn
in search of one whose love abounds.
She weeps for him to whom she's drawn.
She is a wraith here lost, earth-bound.
No care has she for heaven bright
until her lover she has found;
to hold him once more in her sight,
to hear his voice and see his face,
to know their love was pure and right.
She wills her fingers there to trace
once more her love upon his skin
and heal his heart there with her kiss.
She would with joy, begin again,
her life with him, if only she
could turn back time, to where and when
beliefs had given in to need,
desire took o'er their fond embrace.
Surprised and stunned, she did not speak,
she could not live with her disgrace.
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VILLANELLE - a 19 line poem with five triplets that interlock and a final quatrain; the 1st and 3rd lines of stanza one will repeat as refrain-lines alternately in the following stanzas and then both are repeated within the closing quatrain. Dylan Thomas' famous villanelle is "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight" which was written for his dying father. Rhyme Scheme: diagram below:
Accentual syllabic meter: Iambic tetrameter or iambic pentameter. The form has 2 different repetons.
A-1, b, A-2
a, b, A-1
a, b, A-2
a, b, A-1
a, b, A-2
a, b, A-1, A-2
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Internet Romance - #12
He loves her with a love dark as the night
though he has never met her in real life.
He found her on the internet....so bright.
He cannot tell a soul that it feels right
to want her with a need sharp as a knife.
He loves her with a love dark as the night.
He thinks about her even in the light
of day and feels quite angry at his wife.
He found her on the internet....so bright.
His life at home and work are full of strife.
He wants a little something.....like a life.
He loves her with a love dark as the night.
He saw her lovely flesh on a website
where she said, "you're my man, you're just my type."
He found her on the internet.....so bright.
He likes the way she looks and how she writes
those dirty words that make him feel alright.
He loves her with a love dark as the night
he found her on the internet.....so bright.
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TERZANELLE - is a 19 line poem with five triplets that interlock and a final quatrain; the 1st and 3rd lines of stanza one will repeat as refrain lines in the quatrain -- at the ending. The middle line of each tercet becomes a "repeton" as the final line of the following triplet, except the middle line of the 5th couplet is repeated in the quatrain. RHYME SCHEME: Accentual syllable meter: Iambic tetrameter or iambic pentameter. The form has 8 different repetons.
A1, B, A2
b, C, B
c, D, C
d, E, D
e, F, E
f, A1, F, A2
or the last stanza alternative
f F A1 A2
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If You Could See Her Now - #13
If you could see her now, you would not know
the woman she's become without you here.
Her trust and tenderness were first to go.
She spiels out bullet words instead of fear
of the unknown, they say she's very brave,
the woman she's become without you here.
She goes to bars, not church, her soul to save
and once she's drunk enough, she wants the thrill
of the unknown, they say she's very brave.
She wants to prove she never loved you, still
her eyes fill up with tears once in awhile,
and once she's drunk enough, she likes the thrill,
a man to hold her close and make her smile.
Though she may dance with him, he doesn't know
her eyes fill up with tears once in awhile.
She drinks tequila straight, no more fine wine.
If you could see her now, you would not know
the woman, how her beauty used to shine.
Her trust and tenderness were first to go.
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She Rides a Winged Horse - #14
She rides, as thunder breaks across the sky,
far past the shadowed place where dark meets light.
Fast light'ning in a storm, they seem to fly
through pelting rain and wind, into the night.
Far past the shadowed place where dark meets light;
a vision of a tempest in a cloud.
Through pelting rain and wind, into the night,
the darkness hides her visage like a shroud.
A vision of a tempest in a cloud,
a woman sits upon a swift-winged horse.
The darkness hides her visage like a shroud
and there they tempt the gods in nature’s force.
She rides, as thunder breaks across the sky,
fast light'ning in a storm, they seem to fly.
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Peat's Assignment #15 - The Shakespearean Sonnet
A Little Song of Love - #15
Whene'er I think of him, a certain calm
falls over me. The lure of ocean's breeze
I feel and hear so near, words like a psalm
of love in their seductive melodies.
But in the ocean's breeze a storm-cloud brews
as I recall the torment in his kiss.
When in that moment, with no time to choose
he owned my heart, now I would be remiss
to not admit the quand'ry that I feel;
this paradox of love should not be true.
It is against the rules yet, love is real.
He is not mine to love and yet, I do.
Oh, ocean's breeze, please take my little song
reply to him... love knows no right or wrong.
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Peat's Assignment #16 - The Petrarchan (or Italian) Sonnet
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A Lover's Dream - # 16
And if in moonlight soft, I sigh your name
a whispered breath, breathed out upon the air;
a spoken word, a heart-felt wish on ne'er
but starbeams falling through the sky's black rain.
Nothing to win, a kiss nor heart to gain;
a breathless night, a love known true and fair
will not reveal our truth, two lovers there
known only in my dream, our love in vain.
I wake to face the day both fresh and new.
A dream I dreamed awoke me with a smile.
I knew the man, I felt that it was you
who kissed my lips and held me all the while
the night passed quickly, as a night will do
when dreams of lover's fantasies, beguile.
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Peat's Poetry Class, Assignment 17 - The Sestina -
Conversations - Overheard in The Sestina Bar - #17
I've heard she comes here every night for fun,
this place in town called the Sestina Bar.
A lot of guys stop by to have a drink
and stay to see if it's their lucky night.
Above the music, you will hear her laugh.
She likes to say she's through with men and love.
And him? Though he looks good he mostly loves
himself. He's here to have a little fun
and tell some dirty jokes to make 'em laugh.
Those are his drinkin' buddies at the bar,
they come here after work most ever' night.
Just say no when he asks to buy your drink.
My friend, I think you've had too much to drink.
You're not in love with him, you're not in love
you're drunk. You can't go home with him tonight,
believe me when I tell you he's no fun.
It's time to go, my friend, let's leave this bar.
I'll drive you home, now really, please don't laugh.
I'm looking for a man who'll make me laugh
and if he's cute, I'll let him buy the drinks.
Come on, let's make our way up to the bar.
He smiled at me; I think that I'm in love.
I know, I said we're only here for fun
but I'd sure like to meet someone tonight.
They say he's here till closing time each night
and no one's ever seen him smile or laugh.
Oh, I don't think he comes here for the fun;
it's pretty clear he's only here to drink.
The rumor is, he lost his one true love,
since then, he's been a fixture at this bar.
There are no strangers in Sestina Bar.
We're all friends, maybe lovers for one night.
Oh sure, we all would love to fall in love,
though some of us are happy just to laugh.
We come here after work to have a drink
and God knows, we all could use some fun.
Life's good in the Sestina Bar tonight.
We're here to laugh and maybe have some fun,
so cheers! Let's have a drink and fall in love.
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The Tuanortsa Peat's Poetry Class, Assignment #18 - The Tuanortsa A Tuanortsa is a free verse form that reads forward and backwards— line by line. The form starts and ends with the title of the poem. The difficulty here lies in the process of making the lines read smoothly in both directions with out any skips or stumbles in the overall context of the poem.
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I make a mental note to tell you this - #18
The ivy's grown across the orchard gate
The peaches ripe are ready to be picked
a cardinal's song was sung by mockingbird
I like my coffee strong in a red mug.
The hummingbirds drink deep in honeysuckle
and from the porch, I saw a cyclist on the road
I noticed one red rose, alone, in bloom
the sun on my bare legs raised a damp sheen.
A friend's child called me Anna by mistake
one shoe lies abandoned by the creek bed
a heron built a nest there by the pond
a red balloon in cloudless sky was drifting west.
My cat curls in my lap to nap and purr
When my phone rings, I always think it's you
Anais lies undisturbed by my bathtub
A chocolate with red wine melts in my mouth.
A candle sits unlit on my nightstand
The ceiling fan's soft hum puts me to sleep
A shiver in the dark of moonless night
like fingers traveling, traces down my spine.
I make a mental note to tell you this....
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(Poem 19) The Triversen. Write a triversen of 18-21 lines. (free verse form) The Triversen is: 1. accentual. The rhythm of normal speech, employing 1 to 4 strong stresses per line. 2. stanzaic, written in any number of tercets. Each tercet is a sentence broken into 3 uneven lines. 3. grammatical. A sentence is broken by line phrasing or delineating or sense units. There should be 3 units. L1 is a statement of fact or observation, L2 and L3 should set the tone, imply a condition or associated idea, or carry a metaphor for the original statement. 4.unrhymed. 5.alliterated. Alliteration contributes to stress.
(Assonance, consonance and onomatopoeia are also fine to create musical stresses.)
A Smile Was All It Took - #19
That summer, she was a woman obsessed
with the smile of a man she swore she'd seen
somewhere before....who made her smile.
She saw in his smile the same she had noticed
once in the stars, several seasons ago,
when she had dared to stare out... into the universe.
She needed to smile, oh how she needed to smile,
let her laughter spill out like bubbly champagne, when he
said "it's okay" ... she laughed.
She was reckless and happy that summer,
with-out worry that he might not get the joke
or wouldn't laugh........because he did.
On his face, his mouth and in his eyes,
was a smile that spoke in whispers "it's all right"
and told her simply ... he understood.
Laughing and smiling, skipping stones
across the pond and laughing at their inside joke,
he swiftly captured her heart ... with his smile.
There in their eyes, happiness found the truth
of love spoken in wisdom that knew,
a smile was all it took ... to change their world.
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(Poem 20) Accentual Meter Write a poem in accentual trimeter. 15-20 lines long / Be inventive with your accents. use any type of stanza form you like
She Was a Willful Child - #20
With no doubt about it,
she'd toss her curls and flash
her eyes filled up with tears
to have her way and win.
She was a willfull child.
and bad on bad, she had
a way of intervening.
She'd stomp her foot and start
to scream, her blue eyes spilling.
She was a willful child.
Who grew quite beautiful
into the woman now
who knows she'll have her way
with a smile and wink.
She was a willful child.
In triumph, always has
her way, so play the game
by rules that she knows well;
and let her win and grin,
she was a willful child.
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Peat's Poetry Class - Assignment #21 - Write a free verse poem of 24-26 lines, any number of stanzas. Use everything you've learned form the writing exercises.
of summer's eve - #21
Oh, candle light
do not burn out on me tonight.
I do not think I will escape
the dark
of summer's eve
when August's heat
calls out in voices sweet
for sweat filled nights.
The cat purrs on the pillow.
The dogs are scattered on the bed.
The window's open even though
there is no breeze.
I set the thermostat on 68
and wonder why
I bought 1200 count
eqyptian cotton sheets.
A dusty moth circles the room
and flies direct into the flame.
Her wings on fire,
she flails about and
tries to fly,
then falls.
I close my eyes and pull
the pure eqyptian cotton to my ears,
I do not want to hear her scream.
Do not burn out on me tonight,
oh, candle light.
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An extended metaphor called a "conceit"...the poem portrayed as love-making in this assignment. RE: Working Beyond the sonnet/Writing Exercise (Write about the craft) Writing Exercise (Poem 22-what's poetry to you?) (Write about the craft) Metaphorically Write a poem about poetry or a poem that deals with writing.
It's a Poem - #22
A poem is a sweet love song at night
that wakes you up with eyes reflected in
another's eyes there looking back at you.
It's in the shadow of the moment, now
of the first kiss, that takes your breath away.
You feel anothers heart against your chest,
that feeling that the oceans depth of love
you swam, has never been this deep before.
A poem is when the moonlight spills it's words
across the landscape soft to light your way
through the midst of midnight on the lost path
that seems not so familiar in the dark;
and yet you dance on down the course of love,
a slow dance, clinging to each other or
a tango fast and hard that makes you think
you easily could die with no regret.
A perfect word is waking in the night
to reach and find anothers hand to hold
but, when that touch sends tingles through your core,
you know it's love...and that's a perfect word.
A poem is in the laughter you know well
but in the same, a laugh that knows you, too.
One you can trust to always tell the truth
and there, it's in those eyes that harbor lights
which speak of lonely days and fevered nights.
A poem is that unselfish moment when
your lover's truth laid bare says, "I need you,
please need me near, as much as I need you."
And those words grip your ribs and squeeze you tight
and then they say, "I'll never let you go."
This lover knows your doubts and loves you still;
kisses you hard, sucks in your breath of life
and drinks it down; but, wakes with each new day
to love you more, once more. Now, that's a poem.
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Peat's Poetry Class - Assignment #23 - A Tritina is a ten-lined poem, divided over three tercets and a single line.It is related to the sestina, as it uses three end word, identities that are repeated in the poem. In the last line however all three of the words, identities are used. 3 tercets & a single monostich evoy using all three words. 10 lines/iambic pentameter Identity Scheme ABC/CAB/BCA/Envoy (A,B,C) in one line.
Morning's Gift - June 25, 2010 - #23
The dragonflies were faeries on the pond
with wings reflecting morning's sunlight gift;
A dragonfly ballet, oh, how they danced.
I watched in spellbound silence as they danced
across the water lilies on the pond,
my eyes entranced, bedazzled by the gift
of love poured out from God's own hand, a gift
of light and peace in play upon the pond.
My spirit joined the dragonflies and danced.
On sun-lit pond, a gift from God, we danced.
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Peat's Poetry Class - Assignment 24 - The Quatratina; A Quatratina like a sestina has identities repeated at the ends of each line per stanza. It is made of: 4 quatrains and a couplet-envoy as follows: ABCD//DABC//CDAB//BCDA//envoy. The first letter falling somewhere within the mid-line of the envoy. 10 syllables per line is suggested but a syllabic meter of any sort can be used of any meter length or any syllabic-stanza form as quatrains. Identities should be identities of sound which include homonyms or the same word with prefixes or suffixes and not rhymes. It is an identity that is wanted on the ends of the lines and not rhymes. This form was invented by R H Peat 4/27/04.
Inheritance - #24
The oaks, pecans and cedar trees mark roads that bear
Family names carved in grave-yard stones, years ago.
Inheritance passed down parent to child, still poor
on land where cotton would not grow without the rain.
I ride these roads on my good horse and hold the reins
quite lightly in my hands, with strength he shares and bears
my weight, whatever way I choose for us to go.
This old road o'er the next hill to horizon pours.
I realize the gift in hand, I am not poor.
What will of God decreed I live when riches reign?
I’ve never known a life of need, nor had to bear
sore muscles ache from picking cotton, long ago.
I pause beneath the trees, and watch a sport's car go
Around the S curve much too fast, the engine pours
It’s roar and breaks my reverie, I hold the reins
And grasp horse-power in my hands, my truth laid bare.
Gratitude, pours out to generations, long ago;
angels bear my words toward heaven, soft as summer rain.
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Peat's Poetry Class - Assignment #25 - The Pirouette Form - 10 line free verse, each line contains 6 syllables. Line 5 and 6 are identical. Line 5 ends first half, line 6 starts second. Both halves are different. -2 parts/cinquaines/10 lines/ A Broken hearts refusal to love again.
Valentine Kisses - #25
chocolate martinis
genius mixed perfection
confection for the lips
and tongue and weary mind,
valentines and kisses.
valentines and kisses
on lips denying love
jaded eyes can't see that
vodka's heat won't melt the
ice, shaken never stirred.
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Peat's Poetry Class - Assignment #26 Form: An Etheree. Syllabic lines/ a 10 line poem Start with one syllable in the first line and add another syllable per line, last line is 10 syllables. Poetry as played on the piano.
Notes on Keys - #26
If
I play
the black keys
with the white ones
they flutter away
and up like angel wings
circling haloes in the sky
with songs rhapsodic heard on high;
but when I choose to play the black notes,
I feel the demons dancing in the flames.
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A Redoubled Etheree (poem #27 ) This form is made of 2 stanzas. The1st stanza is an etheree which is followed by the inverted etheree form for the second stanza which begins with a 10 syllable line and ends with a 1 syllable line.
Now - #27
Now
summer;
ripe peaches,
blackberry vines,
plums like dark cherries,
a pathway of roses
fragrant in lush pink and red,
these pleasures of hot July sun
sweet to my taste and warm on my skin.
All day, in varied ways, I wish you here.
Irresistible presence of summer,
indigo skies... turn to velvet night,
day dreams washed in watercolor.
Fireflies twinkle blinking lights,
the mockingbird still sings
somewhere in the dark.
I want you now.
My lover,
please come,
soon.
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My very humble attempt at Peat's Exercise (termed by him a challenge!) - A Decenelle is a 10 lined poem written in trochaic tetrameter with (accentual syllabic) lines: syllables per line as such: 8, 7, 8, 7, 8, 7, 8, 7, 8, 7. Rhyme scheme as such: x,a,x,a,x,a,x,b,x,b. Every other line (a rhyming line) is missing the unstressed syllable at the end of the line. So the rhyming lines have one less syllable which form a line with a masculine ending. Verbal abuse as a storm
Words
Pelting hail hits hard against her
skin, a storm of descant words.
Purple bruises ache unseen when
hidden deep like nestling birds.
Folded wings meet stinging fury,
outrage pours embittered dirge.
Nightime locked in dismal terror,
pray the dawn won't be deterred.
Cloudbursts die without a warning,
calm as if no storm occurred.
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Peat’s Poetry Class - haiku - Use 3 horizontal lines Write in syllables —5/7/5 total 17 syllables. Choose a subject that deals with nature. Create 2 distinct part that form an antithesis of sorts Stay away from personal emotions And no use of rhymes.
haiku - morning glory
blue morning glory
splayed out in silver moonlight’s
night-time autumn mist
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Prose - Peat’s Poetry Class
Snapped Shots
Time is of the essence now; we need capture moments in a net and clip their wings. The earth did tilt upon its axis, only for one second and the elevator jerked to a halt between floors 9 and 8. The blackness came on quick, a blink and the butterflies surfed on the breeze, not banging hard as we are willed to do. On that glittery night of the Christmas parade in our hometown, the bass drum reverberated in our chests; the pounding felt the same as blood’s course rush. The sun’s lush light at dusk, just yesterday, fell through the leaves of the pear tree and caught the fruit lying on the ground, fat rotting, golden globes. Do you know the flesh? Ah, tell me, please you know the same. Grasp your fingers fast into the mane that whips your face, fasten your legs onto the heaving sides and feel the quaking of the ground beneath our thunderous hooves.
Last edited by Aria 11-09-2010 at 10:15:35 PM
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