Category Archives: Childhood

Volcanic Fireburst

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Volcanic Fireburst

This is a sonnet form invented and named by Jose Rizal M. Reyes of the Philippines.

It is stanzaic, consisting of three quatrains and a couplet
It is written in iambic pentameter.
The rhyme scheme is: abba ccDD eeDD ff, where the capital letters indicate feminine rhyme.

My example

Barefoot Youth (Volcanic Fireburst)

In summertime I never would wear shoes
unless I hiked the rocky mountainside,
and nearly all my time was spent outside,
and shoes I’d choose most happily to lose.

My preference helped mother make ends meet
I felt no anguish playing in bare feet.
My family had its very own depression
and bought me shoes when school began its session.

I felt a pride in having feet so tough,
(it proved that I was made of sterner stuff.)
When roads of tar got hot there was no question,
I’d stand on them to make a deep impression.

My feet today have nothing wrong at all
though other parts succumb to aging’s call.

© Lawrencealot – April 29, 2015

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Volcanic Fireburst

Visayan Splash

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Visayan splash

This is a sonnet form invented and named by Jose Rizal M. Reyes of the Philippines.

It is stanzaic, consisting of three quatrains and a couplet
It is written in iambic pentameter.
The rhyme scheme is: abcb bcdc cdad da

My Example

Magic Firelight (Visayan Splash)

Magic Firelight

Divorced and visiting my west-coast friends;
not yet re-grounded, mescaline seemed fine.
While lying prone upon the cabin floor,
I watched the fireplace with a son of mine.

The firelight photons seemed almost divine
and shimmered like they never had before.
They’d hit the ceiling, then they’d break apart
and flicker like a twinkle’s brief encore.

My son observed it too, that’s what he swore.
What I thought hallucinogenic art
my four-year-old could very plainly see.
We grow, we learn, we think we’re getting smart;

But kids can see the hidden from the start,
how wonderful it is to be so free.

© Lawrencealot – April 16, 2015

 

Image credit: http://ap-pics2.gotpoem.com/ap-pics/contest/2646/438.jpg?eyes_of_a_child

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Visayan Splash

Mason Sonnet

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The Mason Sonnet is an invented sonnet form created by American poet Madeline Mason in 1953. It is the rhyme scheme that sets this sonnet apart from others. This was found in the Study and Writing of Poetry; American Women Poets Discuss, 1983 and has been used in workshops 
throughout the US
 
* an octave and a sestet.
* metered, iambic pentameter.
* Rhyme pattern: abcabcbc dbadda
* composed with a pivot developed after the octave.
Example Poem:
Grow up Slowly        (Mason Sonnet)
I like to go to grammas’ after school.
I show her what I learned today then play,
or learn a lot of stuff not in a book.
She showed me how to milk a cow. That’s cool.
She showed me on the internet today.
But best of all she lets me help her cook!
We made gingerbread cookies; Grandpa took
a lot so I think they turned out okay.
Don’t know what I’ll  be when my growing’s done,
A cook? A fireman? It’s too hard to say.
If you think I change my mind a lot, you’ll
be right. My mom says choosing’s half the fun.
“Take time to be a  kid and play and run.”
Right now that’s my grandparent’s golden rule.
     © Lawrencealot – December 21, 2012
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