I wrote this in the Chinese chueh-chu poetic form in three quatrains, which is the maximum number allowed in this style. As is tradition with Wu-yen-shih meter, all words are monosyllabic with each line having a consistent number of syllables (in this case five), as well as a cæsura after the second word of each line. I chose to use “||” which was the cæsura of choice by ancient Greek poets with whom I have an affinity, particularly Sappho. Artwork by Sunil Bambal.
I wrote this in the 16th century Spanish poetic form called an endecha, in five quatrains wherein the first three lines of each quatrain are heptasyllabic and the final lines are undecasyllabic. The second and fourth lines rhyme. The world is becoming lonelier as it becomes more social.
I wrote this poem in the form of an Irish trian rannaigechta moire. It has six quatrains, just four syllables per line, the second and fourth lines rhyme with the end word of each quatrain ending in consonate. There is also a rhyme between the third and fourth line, and not always the end word. (the photo is by Ray Redstone).
I wrote this poem in the form of a French dizain, which consists of single 10-line decasyllabic stanza.
I wrote this poem with slight variation to the form of a catena rondo in five quatrains.
I wrote this poem in the form of a Spanish espinela, which is similar to a decima, but formed of two stanzas of four and six octosyllabic lines respectively. It has a rhyming scheme of ABBA/ACCDDA, and tells a tale that is spoken not sung (as is the case with decimas). It hints at the story of Odysseus and Calypso.
I wrote this poem in the form of a haibun, which I’ve written in alternating lines of dactylic pentameter and prose, ending into a haiku as is tradition of haibun poems. I found writing in this prosimetric form a fun challenge.
I wrote this poem in the form of a Pakistani landay which are composed of couplets wherein the first and second lines are 9 and 13 syllables respectively. Landays are meant to be sung. This poem is about a lifelong struggle with depression and anxiety, mitigated in part with long runs in nature and weight lifting.
I wrote this poem as a palindrome. Such form is more commonly known as mirror poetry. The first half of the poem represents youth, the last half adulthood. I thought a mirror poem might best convey how reflection reveals perceptual change of life’s many experiences through time.
I wrote this poem in the form of a French rime couee, which are written in 6-line stanzas with octosyllabic 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th lines, and hexasyllabic 3rd and 6th lines. The rhyming scheme is AABCCB. I don’t know where days end and dreams begin anymore.
I wrote this poem in the form of a Welsh awdl gywydd which is written in septosyllabic quatrains with a rhyming scheme wherein the last and fourth syllables of the first two lines rhyme respectively, the last syllables of the second and fourth lines rhyme, and the last and fourth syllables of the third and fourth lines rhyme respectively. A somewhat more complicated rhyming scheme that has some variation across other awdl gywdd poems.
I’ve written this poem in the Ae Freislighe form with septasyllabic quatrains in which the first and third lines of each quatrain rhyme with trisyllabic words, and the second and fourth lines rhyme with bisyllabic words. The final word of the poem is the same as the first. This is the tragic story of Medusa, and a wider portrait of humankind, of which there are those who empathize. Ae Freislighe is an Irish form of poetry.
This poem is written as a Tanka. A traditional Japanese style of poetry with a 5, 7, 5, 7, 7 syllabic structure wherein the first 3 lines describe an image, and the last two express a feeling about that image. Tankas were written to lovers after a date as secret messages conveying deep emotion within the subtext. Often the object of desire was described as something beautiful in nature to thwart suspicious parents in more conservative times.
I wrote this poem about a tragic moment in Athena’s life, of which there were many. It is in the form of a Horatian ode, written in quatrains of alternating rhyme composed of three lines in Trochaic tetrameter with each quatrain ending in dimeter. The goddess’ heart is far more complicated than surficial readings of Classical mythology dare reveal. But the subtext—as with all matters—is where truths hide.
I wrote this poem in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. Decasyllabic lines in iambic pentameter following traditional rhyming sequences. It’s about love that changes but never dies.
An empath learns to love themself from a narcissist who doesn’t. I wrote this poem as a nonet wherein the first line is nonasyllabic with each subsequent line losing a syllable until ending in a monosyllabic word. I thought this style of poetry might allude to the whittling away of false hope to reveal the most important relationship we should have in life, and that is with ourselves first.
This is a found form of poetry, where I found a random article online, and cut out much of the original text to reveal a poem within. This is my first attempt at found poetry.
I wrote this brief poem in the ekphrastic style based on this painting by Robert Gibb. My hope is to convey in as few of words as possible, the lifelong endurance of heartbreak. What begins in regret, evolves into loneliness, and ends in quiet, accepted solitude. I chose to use few words in contrast to the infinite number of words needed to attempt to describe any artwork.
I wrote this poem in free verse (vers libre) with 11 syllables per line to express the pain of enduring solitude without letting the heart go fallow. Few things build stronger character than those who do not hide from themselves, or their losses.
I wrote this poem in the vers libre form but with decasyllabic lines. It is about a desire to share life’s experiences with another.
