Tag Archives: abcabc

Triple Stance

By | | ,
Comments Off on Triple Stance

The form was created by Lisa La Grange, writing on Allpoetry.com.

The Triple Stance is:

  • Stanzaic: Consisting of any number of sestets
  • Metered: Each stanza consisting of 4 lines of iambic dimeter, and 2 line of iambic trimeter.
  • Rhyme Pattern: abcabc, where the a-rhymes are feminine.

My Example

Form: Triple Stance

What Knees

My sister fretting
about her knees –
“They’re knobby, don’t you think?”
“What I am betting’s
that no one sees
them; have another drink.”

“So stop your loathing
cus I’ll make book
one thing is crystal clear,
If you’ve no clothing
they’ll never look
below your thighs my dear.”

© Lawrencealot – July 6, 2015

Visual Template

Dream Song

By | | ,
Comments Off on Dream Song

The Dream Song at first glance could probably be considered a style or genre of poetry because of the prominent “dream theme”. But with more careful examination, the Dream Song is a framed verse form with a specific stanzaic prescription. It was created by American poet, John Berryman’s (1914-1972) book of 77 Dream Songs . He continued to write Dream Songs after the book was published and there are over 400 of his Dream Songs in circulation. The poems seem to me to be recordings of Berryman’s dreams in verse. They are often disjointed and bizarre although the frame of the poems remains consistent. There is a reoccurring character Henry who as a black faced minstrel is called Mr. Bones. The poems include “wrenched syntax, scrambled diction, extraordinary leaps of language and tone, and wild mixture of high lyricism and low comedy” . Poem Hunter.com.

The Dream Song is:
• a verse form, the poem is written in 3 sixains, 18 lines.
• metric, Accentual, usually L1,L2,L4,& L5 5 stresses and L3 & L6 have 3 stresses. As long as 4 lines are longer and L3 & L6 are shorter, the rhythm is jerky much like the content.
• rhymed, rhyme patterns vary from stanza to stanza however there are normally 3 rhymes per stanza. abcabc abccba, aabccb, abbacc are a few of the patterns. abcbac is the pattern of the stanza below.

Dream Song #112 by John Berryman 

My framework is broken, I am coming to an end,
God send it soon. When I had most to say
my tongue clung to the roof
I mean of my mouth. It is my Lady’s birthday
which must be honored, and has been. God send
it soon.

I now must speak to my disciples, west
and east. I say to you, Do not delay
I say, expectation is vain.
I say again, It is my Lady’s birthday
which must be honoured. Bring her to the test
at once.

I say again, It is my Lady’s birthday
which must be honoured, for her high black hair
but not for that alone:
for every word she utters everywhere
shows her good soul, as true as a healed bone,—
being part of what I meant to say.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=623
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My Example

Re-curring Dream (Dream Song)

Alone, depressed, confused, but well, I dream.
I’m working at a place I’ve never seen.
Achievement comes with ease.
I’m asked to make a lunch run for the team
Two blocks away exists a small canteen
“Get crackers, coffee, cheese!”

The walk there’s pleasant, takes no time at all.
The staff all greet me smiling, with good cheer
and hand me tasty eats.
I leave and find I’m in a massive mall
it’s blocks across and doors are nowhere near,
and none return to streets.

I ask for help, and people point the way;
they’re wrong! I ask again and people stare…
Of course they do, I’m nude.
I criss and cross the sprawling mall all day
I’m nearly nuts but suffer no despair –
I’ve all the friggin’ food.

© Lawrencealot – December 7, 2014

Visual Template
Dream Song

Zenith

By | | ,
Comments Off on Zenith

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.

.
• Zenith is a stanzaic form with meter and line length left to the discretion of the poet. It was introduced by Viola Berg.

The Zenith is:
○ stanzaic, written in any number of sixains.
○ meter at discretion of poet.
○ rhymed, abcabc defdef etc.

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

Debt Forgiveness

Debt Forgiveness (Zenith)

Alice made a bet
the gun wasn’t loaded
picked it up to look.
Skipped out on that debt
when the shell exploded
so she’s not upset.

© Lawrencealot – September 30, 2014

Picture source: kimoutloud.com

Visual Template
There really can be no definitive template
For meter and line-length is a the poet’s discretion.

Zenith

Sheshire

By | | , ,
Comments Off on Sheshire
Sheshire
Type:
Structure, Metrical Requirement, Rhyme Scheme Requirement, Isosyllabic, Pivot Requirement
Description:
A poem based on six-line verses with a closing couplet. Here are Chuck’s rules:
  1. The Sheshire is comprised of three stanzas of 6 lines with a rhyme scheme of either ABABAB or ABCABC. Completed by a rhymed couplet.
  2. Each line has the same number of syllables. The one exception to this is the last line, which may have up to six additional syllables. The additional syllables must a phrase that is set aside (by parenthesis or dashes, for example). If this aside is removed, the correct syllable count would be there and the line would remain a reasonable sentence.
  3. Each stanza should have a shift in tone. The ending couplet should leave the reader (or at least the poet) with a grin. It can be a darkly ironic grin, but a grin, nonetheless.
The derivation is from the Hebrew words shesh and shir or shira meaning six poem.
Attributed to:
Charles David Lipsig
Origin:
American (Jewish)
Schematic:
Rhyme: ababab or abcabc
Total schema:
ababab cdcdcd efefef gg or
abcabc defdef ghighi jj
Rhythm/Stanza Length:
6
Line/Poem Length:
20
Examples:
Status:
Incomplete
See Also:
My thanks to Charles L. Weatherford for the wonderful resource quoted. 
  • The Sheshire is an invented verse form by Jewish-American poet Charles David Lipsig found at Poetry BaseThe name comes from Hebrew six=shesh and poem=shir.The Sheshire is:
    • a poem of 20 lines made up of 3 sixains followed by a couplet.
    • isosyllabic except the last line which includes the same # of syllables as the previous lines plus a finishing phrase separated from the base line by caesura.
    • rhymed, rhyme scheme ababab cdcdcd efefef gg or abcabc defdef ghighi jj.
    • composed with a pivot or change of tone from stanza to stanza and ends with a note of irony.
 My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for the wonderful resource quoted. 
 
 
Example Poem
Shovel Snow (Sheshire)
When I was only nine or ten
and winter’s chilly nights dumped snow,
I loved to help my daddy then
We’d bundle up, he’d say, “Let’s go!”
Together, we two working men
would scrape and push and scoop and throw.
Into my teens I found it paid
to take my shovel- make the rounds
to work for those who were dismayed
how quickly that white stuff abounds.
While others in their warm homes stayed
I worked with scraping, grunting sounds.
I had no sons to share the task.
Our drive was shaded by our house;
“Please clean the walk,” my wife would ask.
Of course one ought to please one’s spouse
so covered up, and with ski-mask
I worked. It did no good to grouse.
Retired and lazy now I nap
or read or watch my football game. (Let teens now do that crap!)
© Lawrencealot – February 2, 2014
Visual Template

Memento

By | | ,
Comments Off on Memento
Themed:          about a holiday or anniversary.
Stanzaic:          sestet consisting of two tercets
Syllabic:            8/6/2/8/6/2
Rhymed:           abcabc
Source quoted:
Memento, created by Emily Romano is a poem about a holiday or an anniversary, consisting of two stanzas as follows: the syllable count should be 8 beats for line one; 6 beats for line two; and two beats for line three. This is repeated twice for each stanza. The rhyme scheme is: a/b/c/a/b/c for each of the two stanzas.
Example #1:
Sky Flowers
Circumference unlimited
As flowers in the sky
Expand;
We stand in awe, inhibited,
As bright explosives fly
From land.
July wears flowers in the sky
Spreading above the town
In flight;
We stand in awe, ready to cry
Aloud as they resound
This night.
Copyright © 2007 Emily Romano
My Example Attempt
This Night     (Memento)
 
The faces of the children glow
expecting old Saint Nick
this night,
with wonder only children know
and hoping to sleep quick
tonight.
 
© Lawrencealot -December 4,2013
Visual Template

Italian Sestet

By | | ,
Comments Off on Italian Sestet
Italian Sestet
The original version of the Italian Sestet had no set meter, 
but after it was introduced into England by Spenser, 
eventually the poets there began to use iambic tetrameter 
or pentameter. The rhyme pattern example is as follows (Using iambic tetrameter)
x x x x x x x a
x x x x x x x b
x x x x x x x c
x x x x x x x a
x x x x x x x b
x x x x x x x c
 
Example Poem
 
Let’s Write an Italian Sestet
 
An Italian Sestet we’re to write. 
da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM. 
Use Tetrameter- (four fine feet). 
Delay the rhyme that makes it right. 
There’re only two more rhymes to come 
then we are done.  Now ain’t that sweet? 
 
© Lawrencealot – July 25, 2012
 
Visual Template

Tri-Fall

By | | , ,
Comments Off on Tri-Fall
Tri-fall                                                                
The Tri-fall, created by Jan Turner,                                         
consists three 6-line stanzas, for a total of 18 lines.                         
 
Rhyme Scheme: abcabc                                        
Line-length  for each stanza is as follows: 6/3/8/6/3/8.          
Meter optional
                                                
This form requires little to no punctuation and can be written on any subject matter.     
 
Example Poem
 
  Surrender
 
Her passion was too much.
Now it’s gone.
She condemned, deplored all abuse.
She praised the thrill of touch.
We’ll bear on.
The jealous piled on, no excuse.
 
Her life was filled with hurt.
despite that,
or because of it, she performed
as an erotic flirt.
When at-bat
she homered passion unreformed.
 
Some men became aroused,
not content
to live within her fantasies,
and when requests were doused
time was spent
in fighting her apostasies.
 
 
 
© Lawrencealot – Aug 23, 2012    
Written about a very real AP Poet.
Visual Template