Tag Archives: Michaels

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

Double Swap Octet

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This form was invented by D.D.Michaels writing at Allpoetry.com.
  1. Begin with any octet with any rhyme scheme and meter. 
  2. Break lines 1 and 4 into segments which can be broken in concert with that rhyme scheme.
  3. Swap Line 1 to Line eight, after reversing those aforementioned sections
  4. Swap Line 4 to Line seven in the same manner.
Example Poem
Written in iambic pentameter with rhyme scheme: ababcdcd, 
where refrain words represent half a line.
Let’s Write a Double Swap Octet
A double swap octet let us now pen.
I built the first with one swap, not too bright.
So I am back right now to try again.
It helps if your instructor  gets it right.
Pen line four right after one, prevent yelps
from finding it won’t rhyme the way it’s set.
If your instructor gets it right it helps.
Let us now pen a double swap octet.
By just lines one and four,  all rhymes are set.
I’ve set those words in red to ring like chimes.
Now you write wonderfully, without regret.
At the end or at the break, place the rhymes.
Remember line sequence for heaven’s sake.
Then unlike me, you won’t louse up the score.
Place the rhymes at the end, or at the break.
All rhymes are set by just lines one and four.
© Lawrencealot  –  May 3, 2012
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Quaintrell

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This form was created by Allpoetry’s D.D. Michaels , aka midnightblue
 A poetry form consisting of 3 or more Octets,
with the 8 lines of each Octet having the following syllable count:
8/8/8/6/8/8/8/6, that is to say Iambic Tetrameter in lines 1/2/3/ and 5/6/7,
and Iambic Trimeter in lines 4 and 8.
The rhyme scheme is as follows: aa(b/b)c dd(e/e)c
That means that in the Quatrain of the Octet, lines 1 and 2 rhyme, in line 3 there is an internal with the end-word,
and line 4 rhymes with line 8 in the following Quatrain of the Octet.
Example Poem
Ode to the Quaintrelles
The Dandizettes pre-dated me.
But, I applaud them, they seemed free.
It almost seems they lived their dreams
They stressed by dress, their charms.
In finery these Danizettes
May frequently have been coquettes
They liked to play and found their way
to wealthy fellows’ arms.
At first some thought them fancy whores,
Bedecked and primed for nighttime chores
and they were spurned, yet they soon earned
respect for charm and grace.
From Europe came their finest clothes
to showcase first;  their standing rose.
Each girl would show the cultural glow,
with happy smiling face.
Equivalent today subsumed
by Hollywood pretense consumed
by any twit though lacking wit
who wants to look the part.
Quaintelles did more than copy styles.
they flaunted them and with their smiles
said okay guys, we are the prize.
They did it with their heart.
© Lawrencealot – April 30, 2012
Author’s Notes
A quaintrelle is a woman who emphasizes a life of passion expressed through personal style, leisurely pastimes, charm, and cultivation of life’s pleasures. Quaintrelles share the philosophical underpinnings of dandies, developed within feminine nature and styles.   They were also called dandizettes.
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