Poetry…in Motion
You
Betrayed me
I wept and wailed
In agony
I could die a thousand deaths
And cursed a million times
Amidst silence and tears.
But i chose to simply cry
‘Till the tears run dry
And i could cry no more
I suffered in silence
I was quiet
But i was brave
Amidst silence and tears.
You
Can destroy me
But you can never bring me down
Nor topple my spirit
For i am empowered
Amidst silence and tears.
Your Body is my Muse
I
Trace every silhouette there is
My hands move slowly
As I grasped
You
My
Lips met yours my dear
It’s where eternity and
Forever
Meets
We
Collide while our body moves
Slowly as we catch
Our breath to
Hold
That
One moment of love
Binds our hearts for forever
Hold me for
Once.
10-line Poem Challenge #22: Mirror Oddquain
Last week we studied the Mirror Cinquain. So based upon what you know about the cinquain, and about mirrors, what do you suppose a Mirror Oddquain looks like?
You may remember that a Cinquain has a syllabic count of 2-4-6-8-2. Well, an Oddquainhas a similar structure, only there is an odd number of syllables on each line. Thus, the Oddquain is formed with 1-3-5-7-1 syllables. You may thank Glenda L. Hand for this form.
The Oddquain may have several variations.
Oddquain Sequence — a poem made up of 2 or more Oddquain stanzasCrown Oddquain — a 5-stanza Oddquain sequenceReverse Oddquain — a 5-line poem with line lengths of 1-7-5-3-1 syllablesMirror Oddquain — a 2-stanza Oddquain sequence, where the second is reversedOddquain Butterfly — a “Merged Mirror Oddquain,” where the two stanzas of the Mirror Oddquain are merged together and one of the middle 1-syllable lines is dropped, forming a 9-line poem. It looks best when centered on the page.
All of these are listed here for your reference, but today we will look in depth at the only variation that falls into the category of a decastich, and that is the Mirror Oddquain.
In summary, the Mirror Oddquain is
• A decastich (10-line poem) written in two stanzas.
• Syllabic count: 1-3-5-7-1, 1-7-5-3-1
• It should express a complete thought and may be on any theme and express any mood.
• Rhyme is optional
It’s Your Turn!
Now it’s time for you to write a Mirror Oddquain. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Choose a topic. It can be anything. If you’re struggling for an idea, you might consider the Daily Prompts from The Daily PostDON’T worry about rhyme, as it’s not necessary here.DO keep a handle on the syllable count for each line.Try to avoid filler words. Instead, use a thesaurus to find precise words that give you the right syllable count for each line.Feel free to make the words of the poem reflect themselves, if you so desire.And of course, when you are finished, share your poem with the rest of us.
Don’t know how? Follow these simple steps…
Write your blog post.Include the tag Decastich Challenge or 10LPCInclude a pingback/link to this post in your post so I can find you.Publish your post.
I cry in silent whimper
I wept along anger…
I sob while i groan
I lament as i moan…
I am a beautiful mess
When life hits you the hardest, just be brave
When all else seemed to fail, just rise up
For every tear drop, there is hope
For every pain, there lies joy
As long as people care
As long as love lives
We will be fine
We endure
Live, love,
Care.
Tonight,
Your beside me
With thoughts of tomorrow
And forgetting yesterday just
Tonight.
Let me
Be the one to hold your dreams and
Make them come true for you
I love you, so
Let me.
A Cinquain is a 5-line poem (quintet) with a set line length of 2-4-6-8-2 syllables. It does not rhyme, although I suppose it could rhyme if you wanted it to.
A Mirror Cinquain, then, is a 10-line poem (decastich) made up of two Cinquains, where the second is reversed, forming a mirror image of the first.
So in summary, the Mirror Cinquain is
A decastitch (10-line stanza) with an emphasis on the syllabic count of each line.Syllabic count: 2-4-6-8-2-2-8-6-4-2It should express a complete thought and may be on any theme and express any mood.Rhyme is optional.
It’s Your Turn!
Now it’s time for you to write a Mirror Cinquain. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Choose a topic. It can be anything. If you’re struggling for an idea, you might consider the Daily Prompts from The Daily PostDON’T worry about rhyme, as it’s not necessary here.DO keep a handle on the syllable count for each line.Try to avoid filler words. Instead, use a thesaurus to find precise words that give you the right syllable count for each line.Don’t be afraid to break a word if need be, but avoid it if possible. Or perhaps you may want to go crazy with word breaks, so as to enhance a humorous mood.It just so happens that I made lines 1 and 10 the same in both sample poems, but this is not a rule. They only have to be 2 syllables, not necessarily identical, so don’t feel as though you must also do that.And of course, when you are finished, share your poem with the rest of us.
Don’t know how? Follow these simple steps…
Write your blog post.Include the tag Decastich Challenge or 10LPCInclude a pingback/link to this post in your post so I can find you.Publish your post.
Here is something from my fellow blogger and long time follower and supporter in response to our double tetractys challenge…
POETIC EXPERIMENT
That
pesky
pussy cat
just purrs all day
Her shiny fur she licks until it’s clean
A tiny fly distracts her eye–and jumps
Down to catch it
But she lands
Into
Mud!
–
A “Tetractys”—my first. “)
–Jonathan Caswell
Simply Love
Sweet
Scented
Sensation
Love truely pure
I love you, i always do, i promise
No, nothing can change that’s constant i swear
Come rain or shine
I will brave
For you
Dear
Double Tetractys
First, let’s define a Tetractys. It sounds like the number 4 should play a significant role, but in my opinion at least, the connection is a stretch at best. But we’ll go with it because the term has been around longer than you and me both.
The Tetractys was invented by British poet Ray Stebbing, but he didn’t invent the name. Euclid, the great Classical mathematician, believed that the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 must have some mystical significance because their sum was 10. He called this relationship a tetractys. Thus, a tetractys is four numbers whose sum is 10.
So what does that have to do with poetry? Well, Ray Stebbing learned about Euclid’s tetractys and decided to use it to create a new stanza of five lines with a syllabic count of 1-2-3-4-10. He further stated that each time an additional set of five lines is added, the syllabic count is to be reversed.
Thus a Double Tetractys (the object of our study today) would have a syllabic count of 1-2-3-4-10-10-4-3-2-1.
A Triple Tetractys would look like 1-2-3-4-10-10-4-3-2-1-1-2-3-4-10, and so forth. As you can see, like the Etheree, the Tetractys may also be reversed.
Mr. Stebbing hoped the Tetractys would catch on and become Britain’s answer to the Japanese Haiku. Of this form he said, “Its challenge is to express a complete thought, profound or comic, witty or wise, within the narrow compass of twenty syllables.”
So in summary, the Double Tetractys is
A decastitch (10-line stanza) with an emphasis on the syllabic count of each line.Syllabic count: 1-2-3-4-10-10-4-3-2-1It should express a complete thought and may be on any theme and express any mood.Rhyme is optional.
It’s Your Turn!
Now it’s time for you to write a Double Tetractys. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Choose a topic. It can be anything. If you’re struggling for an idea, you might consider the Daily Prompts from The Daily PostDON’T worry about rhyme, as it’s not necessary here.DO keep a handle on the syllable count for each line.Try to avoid filler words. Instead, use a thesaurus to find precise words that give you the right syllable count for each line.Don’t be afraid to break a word if need be, but avoid it if possible. Or perhaps you may want to go crazy with word breaks, so as to enhance a humorous mood.And of course, when you are finished, share your poem with the rest of us.
Don’t know how? Follow these simple steps…
Write your blog post.Include the tag Decastich Challenge or 10LPCInclude a pingback/link to this post in your post so I can find you.Publish your post.
