Another "New" Form?

"At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet."~ Plato

"Poetry is a form of display. The poet bird repeats vowels and consonants in order to widen his tail. Meter and counted syllables make up a peacock tail. The poem is a dance done for some being in the other world." ~Robert Bly

Today while poking around on a poetry sight I discovered yet another few poetry forms. It seems like every day I find another "new" form. I reckon next year and even the next I might discover yet another Obscure form to try and write. It seems like for as many different forms there are there are at least that many different opinions on how to write each one. I was taught in school that a Haiku always has seventeen syllables. But much to my dismay when I started taking a poetry class that is not what today's teachers say. They want them with a maximum of seventeen syllables and hopefully with as few as twelve. It's really hard to say anything in twelve syllables. Believe me you have to make every one count.

One of the forms I found today is called a Pantoum. It is not about counting syllables or counting words. It is about repeating entire lines in a pattern. I must say that there were several different opinions on the best way to write these just as there are about all the different forms. I ~ being new to this type of poetry~ used their basic form and did my best to write a Pantoum~

Omega
In a place of standing stones
a mighty beast awakens
Ivory ribcage aglow
fire raging in his belly
a mighty beast awakens
scaled wings flutter
fire rages in his belly
he is Omega the last of his kind
scaled wings flutter
Ivory ribcage aglow
He is Omega the last of his kind
In a place of standing stones.

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
12-4-2008

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Another fun form is the septolet. It also follows a pattern. Septolet ~ The Septolet is a poem consisting of seven lines containing fourteen words with a break in between the two parts. Both parts deal with the same thought and create a picture. I had heard of this poem before but spent some time today learning more about them. I found that I liked the one I written earlier more than the one I wrote today! Somehow today's felt forced so I won't bother y'all with it.

Winter Wonderland ~ a septolet

Frosty feet
stomp around
wool scarfed
snowman.

Hot chocolate sippers
hibernate;
soaking fireplace's warmth.

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
11-10-2008

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I have written Quinzaines before. One of the poetry sights I visit has contests of quinzaines quiet often. They will even give a word list or a book title and you have to write the quinzain from that. This one I thought went along well with the first poem of today. Both on the dragon theme.

Quinzaine~ The English word quinzaine come from the French word qunize, meaning fifteen. A quinzaine is an unrhymed verse of fifteen syllables. These syllables are distributed among three lines so that there are seven syllables in the first line, five in the second line and three in the third line(7/5/3). The first line makes a statement. The next two lines ask a question relating to that statement.

Captured Dragons ~ (a quinzaine)

We're not dragging dragons home!
They're Flying above?
Their fires out?

written by: Patricia Sawyer
12-4-2008


~~ This last Quinzaine I wrote for a contest a while back. The word list was from the book Oliver Twist but the instructions did not say the poem had to be about the book. I wrote what I felt from the words. I didn't win but the person holding the contest did comment that she loved my poem. Every word in my poem was in her list. I just didn't use Will as a persons name!

Locket, Pickpocket, Hangs!

Old Sally faces gallows.
Will she eat Jail gruel?
Will monks pray?

written By: Patricia Sawyer
11-11-2008
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I hope you have enjoyed my poems today. Have a wonderful day!
Patsy