Tag Archives: iambic trimeter

Bryant

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Viola Berg, in her book Pathways for the Poet 1977, includes invented forms patterned after some works of American poets.

The Bryant describes observations of nature as metaphor for the social and political world around us. This stanzaic form is patterned after To A Water Foul by American poet, William Cullen Bryant 1794- 1878.

The Bryant is:
• stanzaic, written in any # of quatrains
• metered, L1,L4 trimeter and L2,L3 are pentameter. Short lines are indented.
• rhymed, alternating rhymed quatrains, abab cdcd etc
• a pastoral metaphor

A Water Foul by William Cullen Bryant 
Whither, ‘midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
Thy solitary way?
Vainly the fowler’s eye
Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong,
As, darkly painted on the crimson sky,
Thy figure floats along.
Seek’st thou the plashy brink
Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink
On the chafed ocean side?
There is a Power whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast,–
The desert and illimitable air,–
Lone wandering, but not lost.
All day thy wings have fann’d
At that far height, the cold thin atmosphere:
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,
Though the dark night is near.
And soon that toil shall end,
Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,
And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend
Soon o’er thy sheltered nest.
Thou’rt gone, the abyss of heaven
Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart
Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,
And shall not soon depart.
He, who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright.

Pasted from <http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=616>
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Entwined (Bryant)

We followed where you went
oh mighty beast, across this open land.
Our spirits bound to yours and thus content.
In ways we understand.

Because you moved around
impermanence defined our tribe’s motif;
you were revered, your souls and ours were bound
in happiness and grief.

And though we felled your kind
fulfilling nearly all our various needs,
it was with respect only in our mind
for your intrepid breed.

© Lawrencealot – November 19, 2014

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 Bryant

First-and-Last-Rhyme

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First-and-Last-Rhyme

 This form was created by Mary Lou Healy, who writes on Allpoetry.com as MLou.  
It was patterned after her own poem Scented Medicine.

Scented Medicine … (A first-and-last rhyme)
  
Leaving a signature,
weaving so wondrous pure
a fragrance to fill this room…
a flagrance, such heavy bloom!
 
Showering air with scent,
flowering there, rose lent
glamor to plainest day,
clamoring, “Won’t you stay
a bit of a while?  You’ll find
a bit of a smile in mind.”
 
Stopping, I lost my frown.
Dropping sweet petals down,
rose begins to shatter;
knows that it won’t matter,
 
for her short life has gifted
more than my spirits lifted!

Pasted from http://allpoetry.com/poem/10017005-Scented-Medicine—…—-A-first-and-last-rhyme–by-Mlou

This poet required the help of the author to properly present the metric specifications for this form, because Mary Lou used ascephalous feet predominately, but not exclusively throughout.

The form is:
Stanzaic: consisting of 4 stanzas, a quatrain, a sestet, a quatrain, and a couplet.
Metric: All lines are trimeter. The first 12 lines consist of an iamb, an anapest, and a iamb. The final 4 lines are all iambic trimeter.
Rhymed: Head rhyme and End Rhyme exist in a couplet pattern throughout the poem.
Rhyme pattern is independent for head and end rhyme: aabbccddeeffgghh. The final 4 end-rhymes are feminine.

My example

I Need No Promises  (First-and-Last-Rhyme)

I pondered the cleric’s verse
and squandered my time, and worse;
I gave weight to other men
who raved and then said “Amen.”

If fables that stood for fact
enabled priests to extract
behavior and tithing to
a savior who’d then save you
those men wearing “truth’s” own cloak
again can promote a joke.

I’ll die as will all of us.
So why pray tell, make a fuss?

My soul finds “now” appealing.
My role requires no dealing.
No Hell you’ll find me fearing; 
it’s well this life’s endearing.

© Lawrencealot – November 2, 2014

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Note: I found it more convenient to present the poem
as quatrain, sestet, couplet,quatrain because of the continuity of meter.

First and Last Rhyme

Swinburne Cross-Rhyme Octave

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This form is derived from the poem Rococo (and another I forget) by Algernon Charles Swinburne.

The form is: Stanzaic, consisting of Octaves
Syllabic, each quatrain consisting of 7/6/7/6 syllables
Metric: Iambic trimeter, with odd numbered lines being feminine rhymed.
Rhymed: ababcdcd or abababab.

My example
I Went Topless
I Went Topless
Then boldness was discovered, 
bikini’s came to be! 
More skin became uncovered 
by girls with spirits free. 
Our stream was well secluded 
and stood upon our farm, 
and thus the girls concluded 
we’d play there without harm. 
And younger than all others 
I had no breasts to hide 
But Jane had tits like mother’s 
and seemed most satisfied. 
While Sally looked most slender 
and tied her top on tight 
the buxom would engender 
in males a keen delight. 
We frolicked flaunting boldness 
where we were all alone, 
enjoyed the water’s coldness 
enjoyed what flesh was shown. 
I saw more than intended – 
that filled my mind with joy, 
for of all who attended 
I was the only boy. 
© Lawrencealot – May 3, 2014
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Swinburne Cross-Rhyme Octave

Split Sestet

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Split Sestet
Type:  Structure, Metrical Requirement, Rhyme Scheme Requirement, Stanzaic
Description:  Similar to rime coulée, but with generally shorter lines, the Split Sestet is rhymed aabaab with the “a” lines iambic trimeter and the “b” lines anapestic monometer.
Origin:  American
Schematic:
Rhyme: aabaab
Meter:
xX xX xX
xX xX xX
xxX
xX xX xX
xX xX xX
xxX

Pasted from http://www.poetrybase.info/forms/002/295.shtml
My thanks to Charles L. Weatherford for his years of work on the wonderful Poetrybase resource.

The Split Sestet appears to be the American version of a Rime Couée. This six line stanzaic form is “split” by anapestic monometer lines.

The Split Sestet is
• stanzaic, written in any number of sixains.
• metric, L1,L2,L4,L5 are iambic trimeter and L3,L6 are anapestic monometer.
• rhymed, rhyme scheme aabaab ccdccd ect. 
The Last Leaf by Oliver Wendall Holmes 1895

I saw him once before,
As he passed by the door,
And again
The pavement stones resound,
As he totters o’er the ground
With his cane.

They say that in his prime,
Ere the pruning-knife of Time
Cut him down,
Not a better man was found
By the Crier on his round
Through the town.

But now he walks the streets,
And he looks at all he meets
Sad and wan,
And he shakes his feeble head,
That it seems as if he said,
“They are gone!”

The mossy marbles rest
On the lips that he has prest
In their bloom,
And the names he loved to hear
Have been carved for many a year
On the tomb.

My grandmamma has said–
Poor old lady, she is dead
Long ago–
That he had a Roman nose,
And his cheek was like a rose
In the snow;

But now his nose is thin,
And it rests upon his chin
Like a staff,
And a crook is in his back,
And a melancholy crack
In his laugh.

I know it is a sin
For me to sit and grin
At him here;
But the old three-cornered hat,
And the breeches, and all that,
Are so queer!

And if I should live to be
The last leaf upon the tree
In the spring,
Let them smile, as I do now,
At the old forsaken bough
Where I cling.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=2063
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

Cultural Dogma (Split Sestet)

The Mormons came to call
on bikes in early fall
with their books.
And though I didn’t care
for dogma I liked their
wholesome looks.

At first I thought I’d taunt
to see if I could daunt
their belief.
Their fables were absurd
and yet their written word
spread no grief.

They had no plans to kill
non-members, if you will,
as some do.
They took as an insult
their status as a cult –
which I knew.

I’d seen much social good
In Mormon neighborhoods
in my life.
No harm to me’d been done
although I’d taken one
for my wife.

The missionaries left
not they nor I bereft
on that day.
The Muslims they exceed
in written word and deed,
any way.

© Lawrencealot – October 10, 2014

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Split Sestet

Trillium

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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 Trillium is an invented verse form, a pentastich with long and short lines.

The Trillium is:
○ a pentastich, a poem in 5 lines.
○ metric, iambic, L1 & L5 are trimeter and L2 – L4 are catalectic, hexameter.
○ rhymed, abbba.
○ because L2-L4 are catalectic they will have feminine endings.
xx xx xa
xx xx xx xx xx b
xx xx xx xx xx xb
xx xx xx xx xx b 
xx xx xa
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

21st Century Schooling (Trillium)

To teach to youth I know
it helps to present single facts as lyrics
and not as theories, notions esoteric,
avoiding nuances, and themes satiric.
Indoctrinate them though.

© Lawrencealot – September 28, 2014

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Trillium

Sestenelle

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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.

• Sestennelle is a stanzaic invented form introduced by Lyra LuVaile with a variable meter.

The Sestenelle is:
○ stanzaic, written in any number of sixains made up of 2 tercets. The original is 3 sixains.
○ metric, iambic, L1&L4 a dimeter, L2&L5 are trimeter and L3&L6 are pentameter.
○ rhymed, rhyme scheme aabccb ddeffe gghiih etc.
○ suggested that the lines be centered.

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

In Choosing Well (Sestenelle)

It has been said
a soul may search ahead
and choose themselves the parents who’ll conceive
their earthy form.
There must have been a swarm
of applicants if that’s what you believe.

If such is true
Amera’s baby knew
that boundless warmth and love and gratitude
would come his way
for each and every day
he shared with her; he knew with certitude.

It seem to me,
that through her he shall see
the wonders other children just might miss,
and through his eyes
(this can be no surprise)
his mom will view new realms of earthly bliss.

© Lawrencealot – September 27, 2014

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Sestenelle

Ababette Poetry Form

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This is an invented form (Aren’t they all), created by a Canadian Poet named D. D. Michaels who writes on Allpoetry.com, with many aliases over the 2-1/2 years I have followed him.

The Ababette is:

A 24 line poem,
Stanzaic, consisting of four sestets
Rhyme pattern: abcbc abdabd abeabe abfabf
Metrical, with all “a” lines being iambic dimeter
and all others being iambic trimeter.

My example

See Picture HERE

Velikovski’s View* (Ababette)

Well Holy cow!
I saw an awesome sight
above a canyon shelf
and I’ll avow
it bolstered my insight
about this earth itself.

I whispered wow!
The timing was so right
for I’m so seldom here
yet here and now
I’d visited this site.
The sky was crisp and clear.

I’ll disavow
the theory most books cite,
that water over years
was canyon’s plough.
I know that isn’t right
when “downhill” disappears.

I do know how
this happened in one night!
A million times the force
of this fine show
when Jupiter was bright
and proximate, of course.

© Lawrencealot – September 23, 2014

*See more about Velikovski here
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Velikovsky

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Ababette

Neville

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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.
• Neville is a verse form with a combination of trimeter and tetrameter lines, created in honor of Mrs. Neville Saylor byJames B. Gray.

The Neville is:
○ a heptastich, a poem in 7 lines.
○ metric, L1, L4, & L7 are iambic tetrameter and L2,L3,L5 & L6 are iambic trimeter.
○ rhymed, rhyme scheme abbacca.

Macy’s Parade Day by Judi Van Gorder

At times like these when nights are long
and cold becomes a skean
that stabs my flesh between
my shoulder blades, the wind is strong.
I bundle for the chill,
wool scarf a codicil,
then venture out to join the throng.

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

School Lunch Vegetable (Neville)

School Lunch Vegetable

When catsup’s spilled upon my plate,
I’m not disturbed at all.
A puddle large or small
is merely sitting there as bait.
A tasty morsel swipes
then bread or finger wipes.
I can’t remember what I ate.

© Lawrencealot – September 19, 2014

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Neville

Laurel

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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 Laurel is another invented verse form created by Viola Berg that switches meter and rhyme between stanzas.

The Laurel is:
a poem in 24 lines, made up of 4 sixains.
metric, L1, L3, L4, L5 are iambic tetrameter, L2 and L6 are iambic trimeter.
rhyme, abcccb adeeed fghhhg fijjji.
the trimeter lines are indented.
 

 

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

 Scorn the Reaper (Laurel)

You won’t find me afraid of him —
the reaper with the scythe.
I never was before this day;
I haven’t lived my life that way,
and that’s the way it’s gonna stay
as I run out my life.

He’s pictured as a guy that’s grim
but that’s a fantasy.
A tale that’s told (to what avail),
with heaven added to your hell?
I’ll live my life, and live it well,
for what shall be shall be.

My organs all shall pass to dust
as someday will the stars.
Before my intermission comes
I’ll eat fresh fruit and dried-out plums
I’ll dance to music played by drums
banjos and steel guitars.

I’ll acquire lovers, friends, and trust
that measure suits me fine.
My body’s served me, so’s my mind.
The body part, I’ll leave behind,
I’m not sure what my mind might find
and claim at last as mine.

© Lawrencealot – September 14, 2014

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Laurel

Lady's Slipper

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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 Lady’s Slipper is a verse form that plays with internal rhyme within a very short line. The tiny poem with the close rhyme lends itself to silliness. It was originated by Viola Gardner

The Lady’s Slipper is:
a tristich, a poem in 3 lines.
metered, iambic trimeter lines. uS-uS-uS.
composed with internal rhyme in each line.
designed for the last line to leave the reader thinking, questioning. 
Training Day by Judi Van Gorder
Within the open pen
a filly kicks and tricks
a cowgirl with a curl
 
 
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

 I would!

 I would! (Lady’s Slipper)

Although you know Pablo,
suppose he has no clothes,
okay! Just who would say?

© Lawrencealot = September 13, 2014

(Illustration is a Pablo Picasso lithograph.)