Author: Adam Astra

Indie-folk singer-songwriter from Lawrence, Kansas.

Week Forty-Six: The Nonet

On By Adam AstraIn poetic forms challenge, poetry, writing1 Comment

Nine is the Number

In music, a nonet refers to a group of nine instruments or performers. In poetry, it refers to a nine-line poem that begins with a nine-syllable line. The nonet is one of a number of ‘shrinking’ forms, such as Diminishing Verse (Week 2). 

Key Features of the Nonet

Form: Consists of a single nine-line stanza

Syllables: Begins with nine syllables and diminishes by one with each proceeding line

Rhyme: Optional

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An Original Nonet

Witness the Power of Growing Things

Witness the power of growing things:
Revolutions of nature, life
Like leaves and petals spreading,
Like stems and trunks rising,
Voluminous fruits,
Tender berries,
Bound in a
Single
Seed.

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Nonet Poems – Writer’s Digest
Nonet – Poetry Dances
Nonet – Shadow Poetry

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~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own Nonet and share in the comments! —

Week Forty-Five: Dodoitsu

On By Adam AstraIn poetic forms challenge, poetry, writingLeave a comment

Meet the Dodoitsu

The Dodoitsu is one of a wide variety of popular Japanese haiku variations. While some poetic forms can seem daunting and overly restrictive, the elegant simplicity of these forms gives them an air of accessibility that is inviting to poets of all ages and levels of experience.

Key Features of the Dodoitsu

Title: Title optional

Form: Usually consists of a single four-line stanza (quatrain)

Syllables: The first three lines contain seven syllables, and the final line contains five

Content: Traditionally have a theme of love or work and occasionally feature a humorous, unexpected twist

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An Original Dodoitsu

Spring Garden

Black-eyed Susans, snapdragons
and lavender for the bees;
sugar water, Wendy’s Wish
for the hummingbirds.

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Dodoitsu – Writer’s Digest
Dodoitsu – Wikipedia
Dodoitsu – Poets Collective
Dodoitsu – Poetry Magnum Opus

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— Come back every Friday for a new form! —

~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own Dodoitsu and share in the comments! —

Week Forty-Four: Epitaph

On By Adam AstraIn poetic forms challenge, poetry, writingLeave a comment

Here Lies the Epitaph

In Greek, the word epitaph literally means, “on the tomb.” These short, sometimes pithy, sometimes funny, gravestone inscriptions are often found underneath the name and birth and death dates of the person being memorialized. Though not all epitaphs are poetic, the most moving and memorable ones often are. Shakespeare’s self-penned epitaph even comes with a curse:

GOOD FREND FOR IESVS SAKE FORBEARE
TO DIGG THE DVST ENCLOASED HEARE
BLESTe BE Ye MAN Yt SPARES THES STONES
AND CVRST BE HE Yt MOVES MY BONES

Key Features of the Epitaph

Content: Remarks in some way upon the life and/or character of the person being memorialized

Form: Short; sometimes pithy, sometimes humorous

Rhyme: Sometimes rhymed

Examples

For a great collection of epitaphs of celebrities and historical figures, see the article “29 Unforgettable Epitaphs” at mentalfloss.com.

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An Original Epitaph

Handshakes and High Fives
? – 2020

While bows and waves
May yet survive,
We must say farewell
To handshakes and high fives.

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Epitaphs – Writer’s Digest
Epitaph – Poetry Foundation
Epitaph – Literary Terms
Epitaph – Wikipedia

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~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own Epitaph and share in the comments! —

Week Forty-Three: Monotetra

On By Adam AstraIn poetic forms challenge, poetry, writing1 Comment

Meet the Monotetra

The Monotetra is a modern form developed by New Zealand poet Michael Walker. The form, with its meter and short monorhymed lines, has a singsong quality that lends itself to lighter verse.

Key Features of the Monotetra

Form: consists of any number of four-line stanzas (quatrains)

Rhyme: monorhymed within each stanza

Syllables: four metrical feet (or eight syllables) per line

Ending: the same four syllables are repeated in the final line of each stanza

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An Original Monotetra

I Sing the Blues

When all the words I write confuse;
When my weak voice won’t reach the muse,
And life shows me no other hues,
I sing the blues; I sing the blues.

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Monotetra – Writer’s Digest
Monotetra – Shadow Poetry
Monotetra – Poets Collective

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— Come back every Friday for a new form! —

~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own Monotetra and share in the comments! —

Week Forty-Two: English Madrigal

On By Adam AstraIn poetic forms challenge, poetry, writing1 Comment

The English Madrigal is one of many varieties of the Italian madrigal, an early lyric form that began as a pastoral song. Medieval author and poet Geoffrey Chaucer (The Cantebury Tales) defined the rules of the madrigal in English, which include a number of formal requirements, including meter, end rhyme, and several repeated refrains. Some of the best-regarded English language madrigals are those of Scottish poet William Drummond, who wrote eighty madrigals in his collection Poems (1616).

Key Features of the English Madrigal

Content: Often includes a theme of love

Form: A thirteen-line form in three stanzas:
Stanza 1] Three lines
Stanza 2] Four lines
Stanza 3] Six lines

Rhyme and Refrain: See example below

Meter: Often written in iambic pentameter

Example

An English Madrigal, by author

[L1] A (refrain 1)
[L2] B1 (refrain 2)
[L3] B2 (refrain 3)

[L4] a
[L5] b
[L6] A (refrain 1)
[L7] B1 (refrain 2)

[L8] a
[L9] b
[L10] b
[L11] A (refrain 1)
[L12] B1 (refrain 2)
[L13] B2 (refrain 3)

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An Original English Madrigal

Staying

For now, we are content to stay inside.
The troubles of the world will wax and wane,
But as each season ends, our love remains.

Sometimes the storms of early May will hide
the sun and send a sudden rush of rain.
For now, we are content to stay inside.
The troubles of the world will wax and wane.

Although we’ve had to set some plans aside,
The garden will be waiting and will gain
As all of life will strengthen by our pains.
For now, we are content to stay inside.
The troubles of the world will wax and wane,
But as each season ends, our love remains.

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Madrigal – Writer’s Digest
Madrigal (Poetry) – Wikipedia
English Madrigal – Poet’s Collective

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— Come back every Friday for a new form! —

~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own English Madrigal and share in the comments! —

Week Forty-One: The Kimo

On By Adam AstraIn poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing1 Comment

The Hebrew Haiku

The Kimo is yet another variation on the Haiku which focuses on imagery and strict syllable count. Israeli poets adjusted the syllabic requirements of that traditional Japanese form to accommodate for the unique characteristics of the Hebrew language.

Key Features of the Kimo

Content: like haiku, usually image-specific and acts as a still life, or snapshot, of a single moment

Form: made up of a single stanza of three lines

Syllable Count:
[Line 1] 10 syllables
[Line 2] 7 syllables
[Line 3] 6 syllables

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An Original Kimo

at my desk

beside a leaning stack of old notebooks
one hand rests on empty page
one on warm coffee mug

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Kimo – Writer’s Digest
Kimo – Poet’s Collective
Kimo Poems – Poetry Soup

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— Come back every Friday for a new form! —

~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own Kimo and share in the comments! —

Week Forty: The Cascade

On By Adam AstraIn poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing1 Comment

Creating the Cascade 

The Cascade is a modern stanzaic form invented by poet Udit Bhatia. In the cascade, each line of the first stanza is repeated later in the poem.

Key Features of the Cascade


Form: each line in the first stanza is repeated as the final line of each of the following stanzas

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An Original Cascade

Wait and See

If we take it day by day,
We’ll see how it goes.
Tomorrow may bring something new.

Despite the walls placed in our way,
We’ll find the room to grow
If we take it day by day.

The gods of old have gone, and so
We last remaining faithless few
Wait and see how it goes.

The April sky is still sometimes blue;
It’s not always this cloudy grey.
Tomorrow may bring something new.


A Note on My Original Cascade

While rhyme is not a formal requirement of the cascade, I’ve added a rhyme scheme of my own invention to add to the challenge.

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Cascade Poem – Writer’s Digest
Cascade – Shadow Poetry
Write a Cascade – All Poetry

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— Come back every Friday for a new form! —

~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own Cascade and share in the comments! —

Week Thirty-Nine: The Limerick

On By Adam AstraIn poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing1 Comment

~It’s National Poetry Month!~

 

There Once was a Poet in Limerick…

No one knows who invented the Limerick, but the name suggests it originated in the Irish city of the same name. English poet Edward Lear popularized the form in the 19th century and is largely responsible for the form’s continued popularity. Limericks are sometimes nonsensical, sometimes set up like jokes with a punchline, and should always inspire a chuckle.

Key Features of the Limerick

Content: Humorous, sometimes raunchy, sometimes aimed at a celebrity or public figure

Form: Consists of five lines

Rhyme: aabba

Syllables: Syllables are not usually strictly counted, but line length pattern goes: long, long, short, short, long.

Example

There was an Old Man with a Beard
by EDWARD LEAR

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, “It is just as I feared!—
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard.

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An Original Limerick

Old Eugene

There once was a fool named Old Eugene
Who wouldn’t stay home for the quarantine.
He said “Damn you all,
I’m going to the mall.
I’m almost out of my Ovaltine!”

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Limericks – Writer’s Digest
Limerick – Wikipedia

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— Come back every Friday for a new form! —

~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own Limerick and share in the comments! —

Week Thirty-Eight: Ae Freislighe

On By Adam AstraIn poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing1 Comment

Meet the Ae Freislighe

The Ae Freislighe (pronounced ‘ay fresh-lee’) is a Celtic form which you’ll find somewhat adapted in English. These adaptations still strive to match the musicality of the original language by including complex patterns of rhyme and alliteration.

Key Features of the Ae Freislighe

Content: Traditionally contains internal patterns of alliteration to create a musical effect

Form: Made up of any number of quatrains

Rhyme: Features a triple-rhyme in lines 1 and 3, and a double-rhyme in lines 2 and 4 (see example)

Syllables: Seven syllables per line

Ending: Usually ends with the same word or line with which the poem begins (in Celtic poetry, this is called a dunadh)

Example

Tennessee, by Robert Lee Brewer

Do you recall Tennessee
& all that late night kissing,
or is it a memory
once yours that’s now gone missing?

Perhaps there’s some video
for both of us to review
& retire to Ohio
with vows that we will renew.

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An Original Poem

A Cutting

To find the life underneath
Sometimes it takes a cutting
A folding back of the sheath
To see the green life budding

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Celtic Poetry – Poet’s Garret
Ae Freislighe – Writer’s Digest
LOTR Ae Freislighe – LOTR Scrapbook
Ae Freislighe Pressed – Yeahwrite.me

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~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own Ae Freislighe and share in the comments! —

Week Thirty-Seven: Tricube

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, poetic forms challenge, poetry, writing1 Comment

Trying Out the Tricube

Three is the magic number when it comes to the Tricube, a newer form of unknown origin. 

Key Features of the Tricube Poem

Syllables: 3 syllables per line

Lines: 3 lines per stanzas

Stanzas: 3 stanzas per tricube

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An Original Tricube

the world is still alive

the world is
still alive
the spring song

chee-dee-dee
of the young
chickadee

the tulip’s
blades like green
flames rising

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Tricubes – Writer’s Digest
Tricubes – Power Poetry

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— Come back every Friday for a new form! —

~ Creative works are owned by the author and subject to copyright laws ~

— Write your own tricube poem and share in the comments! —