Category Archives: feelings

MLou Chanson

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 This form was created by Mary Lou Healy, who write on Allpoetry.com as MLou.
It was patterned after the Italian song “Canto Della Terra” as expressed by Mary Lou in her own poem Chanson.

So true to the song is the form of her poem that she completed it using a tail, similar to a Bob and Wheel, which gives great freedom to other poets trying this form.

Chanson by Mary Lou Healy

We sing the earth
on waves of music lifting
spirits to the stars
and over oceans drifting…
days and nights
that through an hourglass sifting
turn seasons round
and our bright future gifting…

We sing of joy
a life of love beginning
rooted to earth
yet wings of beauty spinning
through lucent air
where blowing leaves are pinning
tomorrow’s hopes
and all our dreams of winning…

to the sun
the light, the light…
the sun, the sun,
the sun….

Pasted from http://allpoetry.com/poem/6701067-Chanson-by-Mlou

The Mlou Chanson is
A poem of 20 or 21 lines
Stanzaic: Two octaves plus a tail of four on five short lines
Metered: Alternating iambic dimeter and iambic trimeter for the octave
one or two stressed syllabls per line for the tail
Rhymed: xaxaxaxa xbxbxbxb for the octave, poet’s discretion for the tail
the octave rhymes are feminine.

My example

Lets Sing

Let’s Sing!  (Mlou Chanson)

We tend to sing
a song when we are happy
I tend to sing
alone because I’m crappy;
but none-the-less
the tunes I choose are snappy,
and frequently
I learned them from my pappy.

A flashmob meets
intending on performing
and often you
won’t notice while they’re forming
as into malls
or avenues they’re swarming
but when they start
you’ll find your heart is warming.

They’ll bring
a grin or smile
and sing, sing, sing
for just a while.

© Lawrencealot – November 3, 2014

Visual template
(Note: Any rhyme scheme okay for the tail)

MLou Chanson

Sacred Signia

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Pathways for the Poet by Viola Berg (1977) is a book for and by educators. Classic poetic forms as well as many invented forms which appear to have been invented as teaching tools or exercizes for use in workshops or classrooms are included. Some of these invented forms I have found in use in internet poetry communities, a testament to their staying power. On this page I include the metric invented forms found there in which appear to be exclusive to the community of educators from whom Ms. Berg drew her support. I have yet to find these in any other source. …. Whether classroom exercise or sharpening your skill as a writer, some of these forms can be fun to play with.
• The Sacred Signia is an invented verse form is a decastich. Introduced by Viola Berg.
The Sacred Signia is:
○ a decastich, a poem in 10 lines.
○ metric, L1,L3,L5,L7-L10 are iambic pentameter and L2,L4,L6 are iambic dimeter.
○ rhymed, rhyme scheme ababcbccaa.
Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1199#dionol
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Her Eyes
Her Eyes (Sacred Signia)

Her eyes compel, intrigue, and they entice.
I feel controlled
at ease, yet seeking solace and advice.
I dare be bold,
when lifted by her steady knowing gaze
There is no cold
within those eyes, they’re warm and quite ablaze –
intelligent and able to appraise.
The magic’s broad and strong and yet, concise,
I need no more to know for sure she’s nice.

© Lawrencealot – September 24, 2014

Visual template

Sacred Signia

Caryotte

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Pathways for the Poet by Viola Berg (1977) is a book for and by educators. Classic poetic forms as well as many invented forms which appear to have been invented as teaching tools or exercizes for use in workshops or classrooms are included. Some of these invented forms I have found in use in internet poetry communities, a testament to their staying power. On this page I include the metric invented forms found there in which appear to be exclusive to the community of educators from whom Ms. Berg drew her support. I have yet to find these in any other source. I have included the syllabic invented forms on a separate page. Whether classroom exercise or sharpening your skill as a writer, some of these forms can be fun to play with.

• Caryotte (French – carrot, a root vegetable) is also a verse form which is an exercise in meter and rhyme created byRobert Cary. The short, 2 foot lines with head and tail rhyme seem best suited for a List Poem of sorts. 

The Caryotte is:
○ a 12 line poem, made up of 6 couplets.
○ metric, dactylic dimeter with the 2nd foot catalexus (dropping an unstressed syllable.)
Suu / Su
○ composed with head and tail rhyme in each couplet. Rhyme scheme a-b a-b c-d c-d e-f e-f g-h g-h i-j i-j k-l k-l. Below, bold=stressed syllable…

axx xb
axx xb
cxx xd
cxx xd
exx xf
exx xf
gxx xh
gxx xh
ixx xj
ixx xj
kxx xl
kxx xl

Pasted from <http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1199#dionol
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Bonding (Caryotte)

I’m thinking maybe
time with my baby
sighing at nighttime
buying the right time
ought to enable
hot and yet stable
feelings and dealings
really appealing.
Good time beginnings
Should find us winning
here in the night, dear
clear of all fright, dear.

© Lawrencealot – September 3, 2014

Visual template
Caryotte

Mark Terry Refrain

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The Mark Terry refrain is a 21 line poem invented by Mark Andrew J Terry of Allpoetry.

Stanzaic, consisting of 3 sestets and a tercet in that order
Syllabic, where the first three stanzas are 7/8/8/8/8/6
and the last is 7/8/6
Rhymed: ABaccb dBdeeb fBfeeb ABa

Metric:
Line 1 is catalectic trochaic tetrameter*
Lines 2 -5 iambic tetrameter, and
Line 6 iambic trimeter
Refrain required: line 2 repeats in every stanza, and
line 1 repeats in line 20

* catalectic = lacking one or more syllables
trochaic = consisting of trochees
trochee = metric foot with stressed followed by unstressed syllable
tetrameter = a line of verse consisting of four metric feet

My example poem
Aural Aroma

Aural Aroma
Take the rose before you play,
let its aroma seed your soul.
it serves you well as your cachet.
Your music wafts and fills the air
with tonal scents found everywhere
to make dim spirits whole.
Smell the roses fresh bouquet,
let its aroma seed your soul.
Translate for all of us today
the beauty that your heart perceives
into the sounds your mind conceives
as music fills its role.
Never will a rose betray.
Let its aroma seed your soul.
For though it sounds a bit cliche’
when we’re allowed a primal gift
that soothes and gives our souls a lift
its essence we’ll extoll.
Take the rose before you play
let its aroma seed your soul
for now and everyday.
© Lawrencealot – July 4, 2014
Picture credit: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Piano-and-rose-19132337

Visual Template
Mark Terry Refrain

Brain Strain Refrain

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During my first two years on Allpoetry it became obvious that one of, if not the most utilized new form was Jan Turner’s Trijan Refrain. To honor it, and simultaneously give a poet a vehicle for a weightier topic, with more flexibility I created, what I now consider an ill-advised form which in a contest was given the name San Gabriel Refrain. I consider it ill-advised because it has too much flexibility and therefore is fine as a writing exercise, but loses it’s identity as a recognizable form. It has one more line than the venerable TR, the first line need not be repeated in each stanza, and the refrain may be taken from one line and repeated, be multiple refrains taken from any of the longer lines. Later, I amended the specs to allow iambic pentameter, further diluting the form identity.
I am now of the opinion that a new form should be identifiable, and that all deviations from the specific requirements be simply up to the poet’s discretion.
There comes now a newer form created by Allan Emery, aka Joe King on Allpoetry which has a unique identity, with one fewer lines than the TR, but with no stanza limit, or line one repetition requirement.
I have interpreted the specifications as:
It is stanzaic, consisting of any number of septets
It is syllabic: 8/8/8/8/4/4/8
It is rhymed: aabbccb
It requires the first half of L3 to be a repeated refrain as lines 5 and 6
It is metric, writing in iambic tetrameter/dimeter.
I proposed the name of this form to be the Bastard Refrain and ran an Allpoetry contest.  The participation was slight, and some thought it was because the name put off some, so it has been re-christened the Brain Strain Refrain.
My example poem:
Lifted (Brain Strain Refrain)
Her wings are hidden but they’re there
beneath her golden locks of hair
unseen by men who walk this earth,
who note her happiness and mirth.
Unseen by men –
unseen by men
though all of them can see her worth.
Those wings extend to touch my mind
and when our thoughts are so combined
We fly to heights reserved for few.
I’m blessed by being loved by you.
We fly to heights;
We fly to heights
while other people have no clue.
© Lawrencealot – June 3, 2014
Visual Template
Bastard Refrain

Meisenheimer’s Sestet

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This form was created by Glenn Meisenheimer, aka gmcookie on Allpoetry.
It is stanzaic consisting of two or more sestet stanzas.
It is syllabic, each stanza being a sestet of 11/8/11/11/11/8 syllables.
It is metrical, with the long lines consisting of three anapestic feet and an iamb, and each short line consisting of two anapestic feet and an iamb.
Rhyme pattern:  xabbba
My Example
April 7th Phone Call     (Meisenheimer’s Sestet)
And what was the promise that went unfulfilled,
and why did it happen like that?
You promised to cherish, to love and obey
I promised the same yet you left me one day
and none of my pleas could persuade you to stay
so home with my two boys I sat.
But one time you tried to rejoin me and them;
by then I was slightly involved.
I’d promised another to be her escort
one day to a wedding as symbol of sorts.
I’d told you I’d promised and could not abort-
one day! then the problem’d be solved.
One day was too much for your too needy heart
I think you’d expected I’d stay
and forget a promise for now things were changed.
I couldn’t and wouldn’t get things rearranged
so after a month we were newly estranged.
You took our girls; you went away.
And what was the promise that went unfulfilled,
that caused you to call me last night?
You’re dying and know it and facing the end,
have mem’ries to reckon with, fences to mend.
You know I still love you and think you my friend.
I wish that could make it alright.
© Lawrencealot – April 8, 2014
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Leigh Hunt Rondeau

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An poem of 8 lines with the  final line being only four syllables
Simply Trochaic Tetrameter, with catalectic feet providing the bold rhyme
Rhyme pattern:  (Da)babcdcD
Syllabic: 8/8/8/8/8/8/8/4
Refrain: The capital D, represents the first half of line 1.

Visual Template

 Cyhydedd hir

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Cyhydedd Hir, cuh-hée-dedd heer (long cyhydedd), the 18th codified ancient Welsh Meters an Awdl, is most often written as a couplet following other metered couplets within a stanza.

Cyhydedd Hir is:
• written in any number of single lines made up of 19 syllables divided into 3 rhymed 5 syllable phrases and ending in a 4 syllable phrase carrying a linking rhyme to the next line.
• or could be written as a couplet of a 10 syllable line and a 9 syllable line. The 5th and 10th syllables of the 10 syllable line are echoed in rhyme mid line of the 9 syllable line which also carries a linking end-rhyme to be echoed in the end syllable of each succeeding couplet or stanza.
• or the couplet can be separated at the rhyme, into tercet or quatrain.

single line
x x x x a x x x x a x x x x a x x x b

or as a couplet

x x x x a x x x x a
x x x x a x x x b

or quatrains
x x x x a
x x x x a
x x x x a
x x x b

x x x x c
x x x x c
x x x x c
x x x b

or tercets
x x x x a
x x x x a
x x x x a x x x b

x x x x c
x x x x c
x x x x c x x x b

x x x x D
x x x x D
x x x x D x x x B

Thanks to Judy Van Gorder for her effort on this wonderful resouce.
 


Example Poem

Lovers in the Park

Lovers in the park
Share a certain spark,
life is but a lark.
They share desire.
Soft whispers calling,
on grass they’re sprawling,
each other mauling,
Eros on fire.

Wanting without shame,
desire sparks the flame,
part of all love’s game,
this is true lust.
In his eyes a gleam,
her pulse one hot stream.
for each– what a dream,
this sensual trust.

Visual Template

This is the quatrain option shown:
Cyhydedd hir

Diamante

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A Diamante is a contrast poem of 7 lines, set up in a diamond shape.
The first line begins with a noun/subject,
and second line contains two adjectives that describe the beginning noun. 
The third line contains three words ending in -ing relating to the noun/subject. 
The forth line contains two words that describe the noun/subject and two that describe the closing synonym/antonym.
If using an antonym for the ending, this is where the shift should occur.
In the fifth line are three more -ing words describing
the ending antonym/synonym,
and the sixth are two more adjectives describing the ending
antonym/synonym. 
The last line ends with the first noun’s antonym or synonym.
To make it a bit simpler, here is a diagram.
Line 1: Noun or subject
Line 2: Two Adjectives describing the first noun/subject
Line 3: Three -ing words describing the first noun/subject
Line 4: Four words: two about the first noun/subject,
             two about the antonym/synonym
Line 5: Three -ing words about the antonym/synonym
Line 6: Two adjectives describing the antonym/synonym
Line 7: Antonym/synonym for the subject
Example Poem
Calm
Calm
quiet, undisturbed
soothing, refreshing, reassuring
composed,  tranquil, excited, impatient
upsetting, disturbing, unsettling
distressed, worried
Agitated.
(c) Lawrencealot – April 7, 2012

Diminishing Hexaverse

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• The Hexaverse is:
• a hexastich, a poem in 6 lines.
• isosyllabic, 6 syllable lines.
• unrhymed.
• Diminishing Hexaverse is an invented form which can be found in various poetry communities and blogs across the web without any reference to its source. Most use the same definition which strangely ignores the meaning of hexa and describe the form with only 5 stanzas, diminishing from 5 lines and 5 syllables each to 4 lines and 4 syllables each and so on ending in a single stich of 1 syllable. With that description the frame would better be termed a Diminishing Pentaverse.
•
•  Finally I came upon a site that seems to me to get it right at Tir na nOg, diminishing from 6 lines of 6 syllables each to 5 lines of 5 syllables each and so on to a single stich of one syllable and my faith was restored. I have to believe the original concept began with the 6 line beginning and was somehow corrupted to only 5 stanzas along the way and the lemmings followed. The form is fine with 6 or 5 stanzas but it just makes more sense to me to use the correct terminology to reflect the frame used.  (20 lines)
The Diminishing Hexaverse
• a poem in diminishing 6 stanzas, made up of a sixain, followed by quintet, followed by a quatrain, followed by a tercet followed by couplet and ending in a single stich.
• syllabic, L1-L6 6 syllables each, L7-L11 5 syllables each, L12-L15 4 syllables each, L16-L18 3 syllables each, L19-L20 2 syllables each and finally L21 1 syllable.
• unrhymed.
These being finally the most cogent of the various description I found are the words of Judi Van Gorder,aka tinker from PoetryMagnumOpus, which is linked from this site.
• x x x x x x
x x x x x x
x x x x x x
x x x x x x
x x x x x x
x x x x x x
x x x x x
x x x x x
x x x x x
x x x x x
x x x x x
x x x x
x x x x
x x x x
x x x x
x x x
x x x
x x x
x x
x x
x
Example Poem
Tell Him No
Her lips are parted now.
My lips are closing in.
Expecting to taste somehow,
A promise of our sin.
Before we’ve made a vow
our mating will begin.
Nothing good can come
from this rendezvous.
I am just a bum
who does not love you.
Dreams will not come true.
I’ll say the words
That most men say.
We are just turds,
who want our way
So lassies
Just beware
and take care
this way.
Just say
no.
(c) Lawrencealot – May 13, 2012