Tag Archives: shape

Trianglet

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The following description is reposted with permission from Poetry Magnum Opus, with thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on that fine resource.

The Trianglet is an invented shape poem found in Berg’s Pathways for the Poet. It forms the shape of a triangle and was created by Mina M Sutherland.  The elements of the trianglet are:

  1. a decastich, a poem in 10 lines.
  2. syllabic, 1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1 syllables per line.
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme AbcxddxcbA
  4. composed with the 1st word repeated as the last word.

My Example

Form: Trianglet

Yummy

Worms
don’t look
delicious
(at least to me),
but they’re protein-filled
and the fish seem thrilled
when presented
nutritious
fish-hook
worms.

© Lawrencealot – February 4, 2015

Tree of Life

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Tree of Life is an invented verse form written in the shape of a tree. Found at Poetry Styles (a site no longer accessible) and created by Christina Jusaumme who requests the subject of the poem be uplifting.

The Tree of Life is:

  • a poem in 19 lines.
  • syllabic, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-4-4-4-4-4-4.
  • unrhymed.
  • centered on the page.

My Example

Form: Tree of Life

Be Deciduous

Snow
that falls
on barren
limbs still may break
those boughs. None-the-less
the trees prepare themselves
by shedding platforms to which
snow would adhere, ensuring harm.
Bears can push through piles of snow, yet don’t.
They forecast and hibernate while snow falls.
It seems that man alone insists that he must
strive to thumb his nose and try to dance his forty
hour shuffle, weather be damned, inviting heart attacks.
Stock some lanterns
and candles too
stockpiles some food
that’s good for you
then read some books
and stay inside.

© Lawrencealot – February 3, 2015

Star Sevlin

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Star Sevlin is an invented shape poem that is supposed to form a star when centered on the page. It is found in Pathways for the Poet by Viola Berg 1977 and was created by Lilliann Mathilda Svenson. The only example I found on the Internet today (1/30/2015) was a contest winner in 1951.

The Star Sevlin is:

  • a heptastich, a poem in 7 lines.
  • iambic syllabic, iambic 4/6/8/6/8/6/4 syllables per line.
  • rhymed, rhyme scheme abbcaca.
  • centered on the page.

My Example

Form: Star Sevlin

First One in 50 Years

I don’t know why
this form is called a star
and not Svenson’s. That’s how things are.
There isn’t much to find
Good samples are in short supply
Thus my blog was designed
lest old forms die.

© Lawrencealot – January 30, 2015

Visual Template

Pictorial

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The following description and examples are reposted with permission from Shadow Poetry, with thanks to Emily Romano and Jan Turner.

The Pictorial, created by Emily Romano is a type of shape poem, where the entire poem must be printed in slanting lines indicative of the thought in those lines. The poem should consist of three lines with five words or less per line. There should be rhyme somewhere in the poem, either end rhyme or internal rhyme.

Example #1:
See                       and                         rippling
      how                      how                               like
             the                        the                                waves
                  roof                       sunlight                             along
                         slopes                          follows                          hollows


Copyright © 2007 Emily Romano




Example #2:
                    shows                       rows:                     glows!
           moon                     beyond                 pumpkin
Rising                      rows                      each


Copyright © 2007 Emily Romano



Example #3:
Migration (Double Pictorial)


The                            my                            for                      that
    skies                         soul                           it                         all
         are                         seeks                         is                        cares
            where                      peace                      there                      cease.


            sees                        flight                        geese                     right.
         one                        shaped                       of                        seems
    when                         v-                            flocks                   world
For                             the                           of                       the	


Copyright © 2007 Jan Turner

My Example

Form: Double Pictorial
Note: I saw from the above example the the poet has some leeway on the number of lines.

Puppy Rescue

                    but found the task too hard.       The pup fell from above
               then carried him far up                               and landed in my yard.
        from the pup’s own yard                                           So give your puppy love

Lawrencealot – January 30, 2015

Teacup Dictionary

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Teacup Dictionary: The dictionary word is the title.

  • Each line must define the word but drops one syllable per line.
  • Poem is usually centered.
  • Last line number of syllables in title plus observation

Chatoyant (3)

white light (2)
gem (1)
undulates (3 plus observation)

Poetry (3)

Poet (2)
finds (1)
the right word (3 plus observation)

Fuddy-duddy (4)

likes trifles (3)
pompous (2)
dull (1)
old-fashioned one (4 plus observation)

Source: rainbowcommunications.orghttp://www.rainbowcommunications.org/velvet/forms/, with thanks to Linda Varsell Smith for her contributions above.

My Example

Form: Teacup Dictionary

Verity

known fact
real
enduring truth

~Lawrencealot~

Rubliw

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~All~ 

(Rubliw) 

All quiet 
It seems all sad 
Bear with me tonight please 
My mind cant stop thinking wrong stuff 
Life is so complicated I feel just depressed 
Lately nothing is going right 
Rain hasn’t stopped for days 
There is no break 
At all 

Dorian Petersen Potter 
aka ladydp2000 
copyright@2014 

Pasted from http://poetrypoem.com/cgi-bin/index.pl?poemnumber=1206065&sitename=ladydp2000&poemoffset=0&displaypoem=t&item=poetry

Rubliw
A form developed from the Cinquain by Richard Wilbur, and is usually a message to someone, or group, or indeed mankind. It is normally iambic, starting with monometer, then dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, and then pentameter. At this point the meter descends tetrameter, trimeter, dimeter, finally monometer. 

For Lewis Turco

Dear Lew
All hail to you,
Old formalist who through
Your Book of Forms inform the new
If you can name this bloody form, please do,
Before it disappears from view,
For you’re the man who
Might manage to.
Adieu

Richard Wilbur

Rubliw specifications
The Rubliw is:
A single stanza, 9 line, shape poem.
Metric: Completely written in iambs
Formulaic: Begins with one foot for line 1, then add a foot to each succeeding line until a pentameter line is reached, the decrease each succeeding line by a foot until then end. Syllabic-ally: 2/4/6/8/10/8/6/4/2
Rhyme is optional.
Display centered.

My example
Well since we had one with no rhyme, and one with mono-rhyme, I decided to try one rhymed aabbcbbaa, with heavy internal rhyme for fun.

Arise, Please (Rubliw)

Do tell –
oh hell, go yell!
Explain the pain again
his wretched reign has plainly lain
across the gloss that now’s becoming dross.
Attain a reining in campaign
his vain domain’s profane.
Dispel the smell.
Farewell.

© Lawrencealot – January 16, 2015

Plane 9/11

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• The Plane 9/11 is an invented form created by John W Henson. Obviously it is meant as a memorial to September 11, 2001, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and hijacking of Flight 93.

The Plane 9/11 is:
○ stanzaic, written with a 9 line stanza, a tercet, a 9 line stanza and a single line, in that order.
○ syllabic, 1-1-2-2-2-2-2-2-2 11-11-11 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-1 11,
○ rhymed, abbccddee ffg hhiijjkka g.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=2192#plane
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

A shape poetry form that makes no sense unless centered on the page

 

My example

Prescribed Insanity (Form: Plane 911)

Men
taught
that thought
depends
on ends
above,
not of
this life,
cause strife

and gain stature among their insane brothers
who deem virgins accrue from killing others,
(the words of one warped, persuasive lunatic.)

If you
can view
such choice
as voice
of He
who be
supreme
I deem
then,

your life’s a waste of oxygen, and you’re sick.
Lawrencealot – January 7, 2015

Joybell

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The Joybell is another shape poem from Pathways.

When centered on the page it should form the outline of a bell. 

The Joybell is:
a hexastich, a poem in 6 lines.
syllabic, 1-2-2-2-4-4 syllables per line.
unrhymed.

Many Thanks to Christina R Jussaume for her work on the Poetry Styles site.

My Example
Christmas Spirit (Joybell)

As
many
helpers
decrease
the load for each,
share your efforts.

© Lawrencealot – December 16, 2014

Wheelchair Angel Style

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Wheelchair Angel Style 
A new form of poetry created to honor 
Poet mike44  aka  Author  Michael L Schuh
Who we now know as the wheel-chair angel… 
It consists of 25 lines
Starting with head syllable count of 2/2/3/4/3/2/1/3 
to create the impression of the back of a man 
sat in his wheel chair
5/8/8/10/8/8/8/8/8/8/ these line represent the chair
Then 4/ 4/6/6/4/4 split to represent two wheels
Then a 10 syllable line to represents the ground
Content must include wheel chair. 
Created by Pat Simpson 3/10.2009

Pasted from http://the.a.b.c.of.poetry.styles.patthepoet.com/T2Z.html
Many Thanks to Christina R Jussaume for her work on the Poetry Styles site.
 

• The Wheelchair Angel Style is a poem that attempts to create silhouette shape of a man in a wheelchair. Found at Poetry Styles this invented verse form was introduced by Pat Simpson to honor poet, Michael L. Schuh and who suggests the content include reference to a wheelchair. It was found at Poetry Styles.

The Wheelchair Angel Style is:
○ a poem in 25 lines.
○ syllabic, 2-2-3-4-3-2-1-3 5-8-8-8-10-8-8-8-8-8-8 4-4-6-4-4 10. L20 thru L24 are split, to create the illusion of wheels.

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
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

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1001#wheel
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example
Wheels (Wheelchair Angle Style)

Bodies
broken
or diseased
paralyzing
structural
muscles
thus
stealing our
means to move about.
So they built chairs that men could push, 
then chairs that we could move ourselves.
Self-propelled wheelchairs are being
replaced by electric powered models
augmented by smart control chips
which now enable longer trips.
The chairs get better every year
with models made for all terrain
and competing in rugged sports.
Power soccer’s the most extreme.
   For men                   won’t bow
 while mind                   still works
we have                     a life to live,
 wheelchairs                      assist
   and man                   persists.
Expect science to obsolete the chair.

© Lawrencealot – October 31, 2014

Circlet

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• Circlet is a shape poem outlining a circle. It was created by Bena Parks and was found in Pathways for the Poet by Viola Berg 1977.

The Circlet is:
○ a decastich, a 10 line poem made up of 2 cinquains.
○ syllabic, 2-4-6-8-10 10-8-6-4-2 syllables per line.
○ rhymed, rhyme scheme Abcde edcbA.
○ composed with L1 repeated as L10.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1001#circlet
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

To approximate a circle this poem should be centered on the page.

My example

Possessive Pet (Circlet)

Perhaps
an iguana
a monkey, or a pig
would make a fun and charming pet –
I’ve got downright possessive Yorkshire dog
~~~~
who’d not share with lizard, monkey, or hog
and I’d not leave him on a bet.|
Mom might get one I’d dig,
but aint gonna 
perhaps.

© Lawrencealot – October 9,2014

Visual Template

Circlet