KillerMuffin
Seraphically Disinclined
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2000
- Posts
- 25,603
With many thanks to daughter. No doubt she'll start shooing me away and telling me to go buy a book or something.
This month I'm on the pantoum. I didn't like it when I first saw it. In fact I rather hated it.
daughter could not have picked a more perfect form for me to begin my poetry lessons with. When I write prose I have a goal to reach, an ending to get to. It's a vague one though. The plotting is simple and doesn't take up much effort. I can plot a 75,000 word novel in one paragraph.
Poetry? Thinking of the end while thinking of the beginning is an exercise in circularity. I'm not a linear thinker, but I have become a linear writer. A to B to C to D. The pantoum is a fabulous form because it's A to B to C to B to D to C to D to A. Hurts, doesn't it?
I'm learning two things here. 1, to think of the entire poem and what I want the reader to get from it before I put words to paper and 2, using repetition to create meaning.
The pantoum:
Here's some instructions:
Step 1: Write the first four lines with a rhyme scheme of abab.
Step 2: Copy lines 2 and 4 to lines 5 and 7.
Step 3: Write lines 6 and 8 (rhyme = c)
Step 4: Copy lines 6 and 8 to lines 9 and 11.
Step 5: Write lines 10 and 12 (rhyme = d)
Step 6: Copy lines 10 and 12 to lines 13 and 15
Step 7: Copy lines 3 and 1 to lines 14 and 16 ( in that order)
Here's what it looks like.
A1
B1
A2
B2
B1
C1
B2
C2
C1
D1
C2
D2
D1
A2
D2
A1
Fun huh?
My very first pantoum, don't laugh. It hasn't been edited yet.
Chocolate Kisses
While caught in the chaos of the daily grind,
I often lose the words that I meant to say.
The simple love from a child always shines;
Like chocolate kisses on Mother's Day.
I often lose the words that I meant to say,
Trying to find something more than I love you.
Like chocolate kisses on Mother's Day,
Remind me that feelings always show through.
Trying to find something more than I love you,
I sometimes forget that words are too much.
Remind me that feelings always show through,
With nothing more than an affectionate touch.
I sometimes forget that words are too much.
The simple love from a child always shines,
With nothing more than an affectionate touch,
While caught in the chaos of the daily grind.
This month I'm on the pantoum. I didn't like it when I first saw it. In fact I rather hated it.
daughter could not have picked a more perfect form for me to begin my poetry lessons with. When I write prose I have a goal to reach, an ending to get to. It's a vague one though. The plotting is simple and doesn't take up much effort. I can plot a 75,000 word novel in one paragraph.
Poetry? Thinking of the end while thinking of the beginning is an exercise in circularity. I'm not a linear thinker, but I have become a linear writer. A to B to C to D. The pantoum is a fabulous form because it's A to B to C to B to D to C to D to A. Hurts, doesn't it?
I'm learning two things here. 1, to think of the entire poem and what I want the reader to get from it before I put words to paper and 2, using repetition to create meaning.
The pantoum:
Here's some instructions:
Step 1: Write the first four lines with a rhyme scheme of abab.
Step 2: Copy lines 2 and 4 to lines 5 and 7.
Step 3: Write lines 6 and 8 (rhyme = c)
Step 4: Copy lines 6 and 8 to lines 9 and 11.
Step 5: Write lines 10 and 12 (rhyme = d)
Step 6: Copy lines 10 and 12 to lines 13 and 15
Step 7: Copy lines 3 and 1 to lines 14 and 16 ( in that order)
Here's what it looks like.
A1
B1
A2
B2
B1
C1
B2
C2
C1
D1
C2
D2
D1
A2
D2
A1
Fun huh?
My very first pantoum, don't laugh. It hasn't been edited yet.
Chocolate Kisses
While caught in the chaos of the daily grind,
I often lose the words that I meant to say.
The simple love from a child always shines;
Like chocolate kisses on Mother's Day.
I often lose the words that I meant to say,
Trying to find something more than I love you.
Like chocolate kisses on Mother's Day,
Remind me that feelings always show through.
Trying to find something more than I love you,
I sometimes forget that words are too much.
Remind me that feelings always show through,
With nothing more than an affectionate touch.
I sometimes forget that words are too much.
The simple love from a child always shines,
With nothing more than an affectionate touch,
While caught in the chaos of the daily grind.