Category: Poetry Challenge

The Ovillejo

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, original poetry, poetic forms challenge, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing2 Comments
52-Forms Revisited: This post has been revised and streamlined with refreshed links and new original content (November 2025)

The Ingenious Gentleman Cervantes

The Ovillejo is the first form of this challenge with a lineage that can be traced back to a single well-known source: Miguel de Cervantes’ epic comedy (or is it a tragedy?) The Ingenious Gentleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha, better known today as Don Quixote (1605).

Untangling the Ovillejo

Ovillo in Spanish means “ball.” A Poet’s Glossary explains: “The word ovillego refers to a spool of thread or wool, and this complicated Spanish stanzaic form is tied in a little knot [which] unravels in ten lines.”

Learning by Example

The Ovillejo is a complex form which can perhaps be best grasped through example. Below is an excerpt from Paul Archer’s English translation of Miguel de Cervantes’ poem, “Ovillejos” from Don Quixote, followed by the original Spanish version.

Ovillejos (Archer Translation)

 What undermines all I attempt?
Contempt!
What heaps sorrow onto me?
Jealousy!
And what gnaws me through and through?
Missing you!

That’s why nothing will do
to make my distress less –
I’m killed by hopelessness,
contempt, jealousy and missing you!

Ovillejos (Original Spanish)

¿Quién menoscaba mis bienes?
¡Desdenes!
Y ¿quién aumenta mis duelos?
¡Los celos!
Y ¿quién prueba mi paciencia?
¡Ausencia!

De este modo en mi dolencia
ningún remedio se alcanza,
pues me matan la esperanza,
desdenes, celos y ausencia.

Translation vs Original

Translation of poetry from any language is a task fraught with challenges both practical and creative—the phrase “lost in translation” has become cliché for good reason. In a form with as many requirements as this has, you’ll likely have to make some compromises. Even a non-Spanish speaker should notice that Archer’s translation has preserved the original’s punctuation (excepting the exclamation in the last line) and rhyme scheme. One thing that is lost, however, is the syllable count. The lesson here is you can’t rely solely on any translation to learn the requirements of a given form.

Form Requirements

Structure:
– The Ovillejo is a poem consisting of ten lines

– These ten lines are usually made up of a sestet (6 line stanza) and a quatrain (4 line stanza)

– Any number of Ovillejos can be connected to create a sequence (you’ll see here that Cervantes’ “Ovillejos” is a sequence of three Ovillejos)

Content:
– Lines 1, 3, and 5 of the first stanza must ask a question, which the preceding line (2, 4, 6) must answer

– The second stanza reflects and amplifies the first stanza

– The last line of the second stanza must be a culmination of lines 2, 4, and 6 of the previous stanza (this is known as a redondilla). The exclamation point on the final line appears to be optional.

Rhyming:
– The first stanza can either be seen as three couplets, or a sestet, with an aa bbcc rhyme scheme

– The second stanza is always a quatrain, with a cddc rhyme scheme

Syllable Count:
– In the first stanza, lines 1 ,3, and 5 consist of eight syllables. Lines 2, 4, and 6 consist of two to three syllables

– Lines 7, 8, and 9 consist of eight syllables in the second stanza

– The final line should consist of seven to ten syllables

If all of these rules are leaving your brain feeling like a ball of tangled yarn, here’s a breakdown:

Ovillejo Requirement Breakdown*

Line 1: a rhyme in 8 syllables (question)
Line 2: a rhyme in 2-3 syllables (single word exclamation)
Line 3: b rhyme in 8 syllables (question)
Line 4: b rhyme in 2-3 syllables (single word exclamation)
Line 5: c rhyme in 8 syllables (question)
Line 6: c rhyme in 2-3 syllables (single word exclamation)

Line 7: c rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 8: d rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 9: d rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 10: (Line 2)+(Line 4)+(Line 6) (optional exclamation)

*line breakdown adapted from Writer’s Digest

An Original Ovillejo

What do we say when men oppress?
Confess!
To those who drink as others drown?
Step down!
And after we destroy the throne?
Atone!

To prove your soul’s not made of stone,
There’s nothing that you need to do
But lift your polished, deadly shoe,
Confess, step down, and atone.

~Ovillejo Revisited & Revised~

Ovillejo

What do we say when men oppress?
Confess!
To those who build on broken ground?
Step down!
And when the tyrant’s overthrown?
Atone!

You cannot rule by wealth alone;
You cannot sell a country’s soul.
Resign, retire—go count your gold.
Confess, step down, atone.

Notes on my revision

Title
I added a title with this revision. Not a very creative one, admittedly.

Revised Lines
Upon revisiting, I wasn’t entirely satisfied with lines 2 and 4, and 7 through 9. So I created an expanded list of rhyme pairings, and, after carefully considering my syllables, landed on these new lines. I believe (hope) they paint a clearer picture and more directly express the purpose of the poem.

Online Resources:

Top 10 Question Poems – Tweetspeak
Ovillejo – Writer’s Digest
Ovillejos – Paul Archer (Translator of Cervantes)
Ovillejo – Dark Side of the Moon
Ovillejo – Popular Poetry Forms
Unraveling the Ovillejo – dVerse Poets

The Magic 9

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, original poetry, poetic forms challenge, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing1 Comment
52-Forms Revisited: This post has been revised and streamlined with refreshed links and expanded original content (November 2025)

The Mysterious Magic 9

The Magic 9 is a newer form with uncertain origins. The idea for the rhyme scheme is rumored to have sprung from the rushed misspelling of the famous incantatory exclamation: abacadabra!

Structure of the Magic 9 Poem

Requirements of the Magic 9 form:

– Comprised of a single nine-line stanza

– Must follow the rhyme scheme: abacadaba

– No restrictions on line length, meter or subject matter

Tips and Techniques

One way to get started is to make a list of end words.

To do this form correctly you’ll need:
– 5 a end rhymes
– 2 b end rhymes
– 1 c end word
– 1 d end word

Determine what kind of end rhymes you’d like to use. Click here for a handy guide on the different rhyme types used in poetry.

First try single-syllable end rhyme words, and then expand to two or even three-syllable words. Consider how these changes feel and how each possibility resonates within the structure of the form.

Now brainstorm around your favorite end rhyme clusters, looking for meaningful ways of bringing them together.

Keep it loose at the beginning and let the creativity flow. Your internal editor is not allowed in this free-flowing creative space, so don’t stop to judge or think too critically–that’s what revision is for.

An Original Magic 9 Poem

The Stargazers

Away from the glare of the city’s light,
We follow the firefly’s flash.
Abandoning the screens that so narrow our sight,
We trace the heavens for our favorite constellations.
With galaxies and gods, all going ’round in our flight,
We lay down our blanket in a hidden patch of prairie.
In this brilliant darkness, our vision’s set right,
As the dazzling meteors slash
Across the impossible night.

Links to Online Resources:

Types of Rhyme – Daily Writing Tips

~Magic 9 Revisited~

Rather than creating a new poem in the Magic 9 form, I thought I’d share the lyrics to a song I wrote using The Stargazers as a jumping off point. I often look for ways to use formal poetry as a springboard into songwriting.


Escape to the Cosmos

The city at night is a lovely sight,
But the lights can strain your eyes.
I know of a grove off a dark country road.
Why don’t we go for a ride?

We’ll slip away when the daylight fades
And the stars begin to shine.
The clouds have all cleared, and the moon’s not too bright.
We’ll escape to the cosmos tonight.

Far from the bars, the streetlights, and cars,
We’ll lay our blankets down,
Trace the constellations from our bed in the weeds,
And share all the wonders we’ve found.

We’ll slip away when the daylight fades
And the stars begin to shine.
With galaxies and gods, all goin’ round in our flight,
We’ll escape to the cosmos tonight.

The fireflies flash, the meteors dash
All across the impossible sky.

We’ll slip away when the daylight fades
And the stars begin to shine.
In this brilliant darkness, our vision’s set right.
We’ll escape to the cosmos tonight.





Hear it at:
Bandcamp
YouTube
Spotify

Diminishing Verse

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, poetic forms challenge, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing2 Comments
52-Forms Revisited: This post has been revised and streamlined with refreshed links (November 2025)

Diminishing Verse

Origins Unknown (or at Least Uncertain)
Not much is known about the origin of this form, but it’s possible that the Diminishing Verse form that we know today evolved from the classic triplet, and there is some evidence to suggest this. All triplets consist of a three-line stanza (commonly referred to a tercet), as do many Diminishing Verse poems. But where a classic triplet features a distinct rhyme scheme, the Diminishing Verse form has a more interesting—and challenging—way of manipulating the last word of each line.

Vanishing Act
The key feature in a Diminishing Verse poem is the manipulation of the last word in each line—in a diminishing fashion. I found some variation on where the emphasis should be placed within the end word itself. In one variation, emphasis is placed on the vowel sound of the end word, making the challenge to decrease the number of preceding consonants while maintaining the vowel sound (flair/rare/air). Another variation offers less flexibility, asking the poet to remove initial letters of the word without any other changes to spelling (heat/eat/at). A poem of this kind might read:

If you can stand the heat
And you can’t wait to eat
The kitchen is where it’s at

Nearly all of the contemporary examples I found use this second approach, and this was the basis for my own experiments.

Other Notes On Structure

Beyond the above-mentioned end word requirements, there are very few formal restrictions in this form:
– No rules for syllable count, line length, rhyming, poem length, etc.
– Stanzas can be of any length, but tercets are most common. This is mostly due to the strict end word requirements and the natural constraints those requirements impose.

Two Original Diminishing Verse Poems

The Riots of Spring

As the thunder churns, as the lightning cleaves,
The nestlings cower in the quaking leaves;
The spider’s web quivers beneath the eaves.

But soon the red fox will doze in the clover;
The monarch will settle on its yellow-petaled lover;
The riots of spring will be over.

Daily News

He dreads
The daily news—he only reads
The ads.

Bonus Challenge!
Diminishing Verse…in Reverse

If you add one or more letters to the beginning of the end word of each previous line (instead of subtracting), you get Diminishing Verse’s opposite: the Culminating Verse poem!

An Original Culminating Verse Poem

Tart

The art
In eating a tart
Is knowing when to start.

Links to Online Resources:

Diminishing Verse – The Writer’s Digest
Triplet – Poetry Magnum Opus

The Gwawdodyn

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, poetic forms challenge, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing5 Comments
52 Forms Revisited: This post has been revised and streamlined with refreshed links and a new original poem. (November 2025)

The Gwawdodyn

Welsh poetry—much like the language itself—has a musical quality that emphasizes the sound of words through the use of alliteration, assonance, consonance, and rhyme. This traditional form, pronounced (gwow-DOD-in), is a great example of this musicality. Comprised of one or more quatrains, this form has strict syllabic restrictions, and features both internal rhyme and end-rhyme requirements.

Snowdon from Nantlle Valley 
Sir Kyffin Williams R.A. (1918-2006) 

Structure of the Gwawdodyn

Requirements of the Gwawdodyn form:
– Comprised of any number of quatrains (four-line stanzas).
– Usually features a 9/9/10/9 syllable pattern for each stanza.
– Follows a unique rhyme scheme with matching end rhymes (a) on lines 1, 2, and 4, with a variable internal rhyme (b) on line 3:

1-xxxxxxxxa
2-xxxxxxxxa
3-xxxxbxxxxb
4-xxxxxxxxa

Variations on lines 3 and 4:
– The internal ‘b‘ rhyme in the third line can be shifted to the left or right as needed, but is usually found towards the middle of the line.
– One possible variation features a matching internal rhyme in lines 3 and 4, with no end rhyme in line 3:

1-xxxxxxxxa
2-xxxxxxxxa
3-xxxxbxxxxx
4-xxxbxxxxa

Other Variations
You may find other variations of this form featuring slightly different syllable counts and rhyming patterns, with the most variation found in lines 3 and 4.

An Original Gwawdodyn

Sons of Abraham

Tell me all you Sons of Abraham
Spilling sacred blood for sacred land:
Do your daughters weep to see the slaughter
Of so many sacrificial lambs?

Notes on my original poem
While there are no metrical specifications for this form, I enjoy writing in meter, and you’ll find my poem is mostly written in iambic tetrameter.

Though this poem in its current form consists of a single quatrain, a traditional Gwawdodyn can be made up of as many quatrains as the poet pleases. I’ll no doubt explore options for expanding this work in the future.

I use a mixture of masculine and feminine rhymes. And although my rhymes are often slanted, I still match the sounds closely.

There is a great deal of assonance (long and short a sounds), alliteration (beginning s sounds), and consonance (internal and ending s sounds) in this piece, which I believe is in keeping with the musicality often associated with traditional Welsh poetry.

~Gwawdodyn Revisited~

One Night Only at the Tŷ Cwrw

There’s no time to dilly or dally
The minutes continue to tally
So pick up your feet, the pub up the street
Is screening How Green Was My Valley

Notes on my new original poem

The phrase Tŷ Cwrw translates to English as ‘ale house’ and is pronounced something like ‘tee kuh-roo.’

How Green Was My Valley is a 1941 film directed by John Ford, which takes place in a Welsh mining community and is adapted from a 1939 novel of the same name. Though it faced some criticism in the UK (mostly for dodgy accents), it is probably the film most associated with Wales and is famously a favorite film of Clint Eastwood and Alex Trebek.

Poetic Devices at Work:

Structure

  • Syllable Count – 9/9/10/9 (strict)
  • Lines Per Stanza – 4 (strict)

Sound Repetition

  • Rhyme (external) – dally/tally/valley
  • Rhyme (internal) – feet/street, screen(ing)/Green
  • Alliteration (t) – Time/To/Tally
  • Alliteration (d) – dilly/dally
  • Alliteration (p) – pick/pub
  • Consonance (t) – minutes/continue
  • Assonance (i) – dilly/minutes/pick,
  • Assonance (E) – feet/screen(ing)

Links to Online Resources (*Refreshed*):
Gwawdodyn: Poetic Forms – Writer’s Digest
Gwawdodyn – Wikipedia

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An Original Kimo

at my desk

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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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— Come back every Friday for a new form! —

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

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

Week Thirty-Six: Pantoum

On By Adam AstraIn creative writing, poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing1 Comment

Meet the Pantoum

We learned in our explorations of the Kyrielle [Week 13], Villanelle [Week 23] and Terzanelle [Week 32] that the French love their repeating refrains. But the Pantoum is a French adaptation of a form that is Malaysian in origin.

Key Features of the Pantoum Poem

Form: composed of any number of quatrains

Refrain: The second and fourth lines of one stanza repeat as the first and third lines of the next. Some variation is allowed to add interest.

Rhyme: abab rhyme scheme

Example Pantoum

Another Lullaby for Insomniacs

by A. E. STALLING

Sleep, she will not linger:
She turns her moon-cold shoulder.
With no ring on her finger,
You cannot hope to hold her.

She turns her moon-cold shoulder
And tosses off the cover.
You cannot hope to hold her:
She has another lover.

She tosses off the cover
And lays the darkness bare.
She has another lover.
Her heart is otherwhere.

She lays the darkness bare.
You slowly realize
Her heart is otherwhere.
There’s distance in her eyes.

You slowly realize
That she will never linger,
With distance in her eyes
And no ring on her finger.

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An Original Pantoum

Coronavirus Blues

I woke up this mornin’
And I turned on the news.
Newsman called out a warnin’.
Now I’ve got the coronavirus blues.

Yeah, I turned on the news
And what they said was nothin’ good.
Now I see the coronavirus blues
All around my neighborhood.

What they say is nothin’ good,
Except for those who lie.
All around my neighborhood
We don’t trust that lyin’ guy.

Yeah, we say to those who lie,
“Your judgment’s comin’ quick.
We don’t trust that lyin’ guy
He’s enough to make you sick.”

Their judgment’s comin’ quick,
Those liars on the news.
It’s enough to make you sick.
I’ve got the coronavirus blues.

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Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Pantoum – Writer’s Digest
Pantoum – Poetry Foundation
Pantoum – 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 Pantoum and share in the comments! —

Week Thirty-Four: Concrete Poem

On By Adam AstraIn poetry, Poetry Challenge, writing1 Comment

Meet the Concrete

Of all the forms we’ve covered so far, the Concrete Poem is unique in its emphasis on the physical form—the actual shape of the words—along with the meaning. Poetry meets typography meets graphic design in this experimental, visually inventive form.

An Original Concrete Poem

Description: Image one reads in black text, “I carry this would like a weapon.” Text of image one is shaped like a sword or dagger. Image two reads in red text, “I am invincible in my pain.” Text of image two is shaped like a shield.

Want to Learn More? Start Here:

Concrete Poems – Writer’s Digest
Concrete Poetry – Wikipedia
Concrete Poetry – Poetry Foundation

~

— Come back every Friday for a new form! —

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

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