(Okay, I'm going to try posting this again. Apparently, this blog is anti-villanelle.)

Skeltonic verse is named after the poet John Skelton (1460-1529), who wrote short rhyming lines that just sort of go on from one rhyme to the next for however long you wish to take it. Most skeltonic poems average less than six words a line, but keeping the short rhymes moving down the page is the real key to this form.

Here's my attempt at one:

"My weekend with Tammy"

We perused
all the shoes
in Syracuse
and then cut my hair
until little was there,
and everyone stared,
though I didn't care--
more focused on wining
and elegant dining
with Tammy opining
she'd rather go mining
in the mountains for coal;
so we had a new goal,
but somebody stole
our beautiful car
delivered from Mars
(made from old stars
after the alien wars);
instead, we decided to sit
and not throw a fit
or pout or spit
(our plan already quit)
at the crowded park
where we waited 'til dark
for the invisible balloon
to carry us soon
to the crescent moon
where we'll live until June.

In anticipation of National Poetry Month, here are some poetic forms to investigate and/or play with. I know forms can seem a little intimidating for some, but they can often lead you to unexpected destinations with your writing.

• Abstract (or Sound) Poetry
  
• Acrostic Poems
  
• Alphabet Poetry
  
• Anagrammatic Poetry
  
• Concrete Poems
  
• Elegy
  
• Epitaphs
  
• Fibonacci Poetry
  
• Found Poetry
  
• Haiku
  
• Hay(na)ku
  
• Insult Poetry
  
• Kyrielle
  
• Limericks
  
• List Poems
  
• Occasional Poems
  
• Odes
  
• Pantoum
  
• Parody Poems
  
• Rondeau
  
• The Roundabout
  
• Sestina
  
• Shadorma
  
• Tanka
  
• Triolet

I hope you have fun playing around with these forms. My personal faves are the triolet, sestina and shadorma.

As my stepson commented this morning, today is a messy day (at least, in the Atlanta area). Lots of rain, a little thunder and lightning, and even a little chill in the air. Since I've been coughing and battling a cold the past few days, this messy morning only feels that much messier. But I'm not too concerned, because I know that soon the mornings will get less messy and my cold will pass.

This is why for this week's prompt, I want everyone to write an ode. If you're not sure what an ode is, check out this link: http://blog.writersdigest.com/poeticasides/Odes+Praise+Poetry.aspx.

As you can see, odes can be formalized or irregular. The main point is to praise someone or something. You can praise a folk hero, a politician, a species of animal, an association, or even a pair of sweaty gym socks (though I'm not sure where I'd start on that one--Peeee-eeew!).

Here's my attempt for the day:

"An Ode to Poetry Collections"

They're always so thin
you worry about their health.
They don't make any money,
and they're never to be found
at the bookstore unless penned
by someone dead, famous, or
associated with MTV (remember
when MTV played music?).
Still, you can find them
in the seediest of locations--
coffee shops, college bookstores,
and author websites. Those
who sell them to you will not
look you in the eye as money
changes hands. However,
when you get home and crack
open these slim volumes, you
will feel part of a conspiracy
trying to shake meaning
down to its basest roots;
you will see someone working
hard at craft for the sake
of communication; you will see
a slice of humanity reaching out
until you feel the need to pick
up your pen and reach out, too.

This morning, I was contemplating different poetry delivery methods, thinking of the obvious ones first: print books, chapbooks, journals, broadsides, websites, blogs, e-mail, PDFs, CDs, DVDs, etc. And finally, I thought of text messaging.

On my cell, one page is defined as 160 characters, and I'm unable break my lines. So I started wondering if there might be a cool new poetic form to play with on a Tuesday morning. Of course, without line breaks, these would be miniature prose poems on any topic under the sun.

One additional rule that could be added (to help give these focus) is that they should deliver some message.

So to recap the rules: Poem must be 160 characters or less and deliver some message (and yes, a message could be delivered in one word).

Here's my quick attempt (at around 150 characters):

A boy and girl raced each other along the sidewalk this morning waiting for the school bus to pick them up. The days are growing short and shorter.

Our Poetic Asides inaugural Poet Laureate, Sara Diane Doyle, has been busy-busy-busy this summer working with teen writers. But not too busy to share with her fellow Poetic Asides crew a new poetic form she developed with one of her students, David Edwards. Since Sara knows the form best, I'll let her explain the form to you in her own words.

*****

A few months ago I began exploring various poetic forms. With each form I tried, I would post my attempt on a forum for teen writers, where I am a mentor. One of the teens, David Edwards, got interested in forms, especially the “created” forms. He asked if anyone could invent a form and I said “sure!” Then, he got the crazy idea that we should create a form together.

To start, we wanted to throw in every poetic element that we really liked. David came up with the meter and feet and I added in the repeating line. We came up with the rhyme scheme and length together. The result is a form we call the Roundabout. In this form, the rhyme scheme comes full circle while offering repetition of one line in each rhyme set. 

The Roundabout is a four stanza poem, with each stanza consisting of 5 lines. The poem is written in iambic and the lines have 4 feet, 3 feet, 2 feet, 2 feet and 3 feet respectively. The rhyme scheme is abccb/bcddc/cdaad/dabba. Roundabouts can be on any subject. 

Several of the writers on our forum have written Roundabouts and have had a blast." We would love for other poets to give it a try! Here are some examples to get you started.

Crash

by David Edwards

Around around the carousel

across the circles face

we cry we shout

we crash about

across the circles face

and ever always breakneck pace

by this unending route

and twists and turns

and breaks and burns

by this unending route

of ever always in and out

the yearling quickly learns

to run and yell

at ocean’s swell

the yearling quickly learns

to run and leap and then he earns

but he will never tell

there’s not a chase

that wins the race

but he will never tell.

When Spring Trips ‘Round

by Sara Diane Doyle

When wildflowers bloom once more

and raindrops touch the earth,

the faeries come

to start the hum

and raindrops touch the earth!

Come join the song, the dance the mirth!

Enjoy the juicy plum.

beneath the sun

'til day is done-

enjoy the juicy plum!

The clouds let out the beating drum-

rejoice with us as one.

Our joy we pour

for pain we bore-

rejoice with us as one.

Of gleeful hope, the snow knows none,

but speaks of faeries lore,

of magic birth,

the greatest worth

but speaks of faeries lore.

It's been a while since I've covered a new poetic form, so what better form to cover than a humorous one: the parody poem.

A parody poem is one that pokes fun at another poem or poet. For instance, I recently read a parody of "We Real Cool," by Gwendolyn Brooks, in an online version of Coe Review called "We Real White" that cracked me up. I even showed former Poetic Asides co-blogger Nancy Breen, but now it's apparently disappeared in the ethernet.

Soooo... I'm going to provide my own example that is not nearly as funny as the "We Real Cool"-"We Real White" parody. Instead, I'm going to parody one of my all-time favorite poems by Walt Whitman--"Song of Myself."

Here goes:

"My Song"

I congratulate myself and talk to myself;
I make a bunch of assumptions and descriptions;
what I talk about you listen to me talk about;
I talk about myself a lot;
but that's okay;
and boring.

The original version was much longer,
but nobody read it,
because it was longer,
because it had too many long descriptions,
because I have an affinity for exclammation points!!!!!!!!!!!!

So let's cut to the chase,
and get this over with,
and celebrate me,
and celebrate you,
and whoopity-doo!

So here's the short version,
and you better read it.

Half. Way. There. That's where we're at after you finish today's prompt. Somehow we've made it--huffing and puffing--to the top of the hill and starting tomorrow we'll be running downhill to the finish line. Soooo...let's get to today's prompt, which is a "Two for Tuesday" prompt actually.

Prompt #1: Write an insult poem. There aren't really any rules attached to the insult poem, but it's usually done in good fun. If you write one, you can often open yourself up to a retaliatory insult poem. And that can lead to the equivalent of an insult poetry food fight.

Prompt #2: I've been trying to avoid mentioning it, but today is Tax Day here in the States. So it's time to either file them taxes or file for an extension--or just continue procrastinating, I guess ("Whatever floats your boat," as my father would always say.). Anyway, the second prompt is to write a poem that deals with paying your taxes and/or meeting deadlines.

Here's my poem (predictably associated with the first prompt, since I'm all about verbal food fighting):

 "Smoke and mirrors"

My mama always said,
"If you don't have anything nice to say,
don't say anything at all."
And that's been great advice,
helping me get all the friends I've got,
avoid petty conflicts,
and find a steady happiness through all life's ups and downs--
but let's make one thing clear:
My mama ain't ever met the likes of you;
she ain't ever seen your rain cloud prophesies,
your blame shifting two step,
or your sanded down points that lead nowhere.
You've got answers but no meaning;
you have an image with no identity;
and everyone who doesn't agree with you is wrong.
Here's my advice, boy:
Next time they all gang up on you without giving a fair shake,
save up all your money to buy the largest mirror you can find;
then, use it.

Stumbled upon "Japanese Poetry Persists in Korea, Despite Disapproval," by Choe Sang-Hun from The New York Times, and found myself going back over that dangerous territory of what the purpose of poetry might be, could be and should be.

In this case, the poetic forms used by Korean poets can actually cause public shame and disapproval. Imagine getting dissed at a writers conference because you write triolets or kyrielles--not because they're bad poems, but because they're poetic forms with French origins. Such actions take poetry out of the realm of "just words" and makes it a very human activity.

Poetry is always important, but it reaches a new level when poets feel they have to hide their tanka and haiku out of fear and/or shame.

So read the article and think about it; talk about it with your friends; and keep it in mind throughout National Poetry Month (April here in the States).

It's been a while since I've tackled a poetic form, but as you know, I love the French forms. The rondeau is no exception. It has a refrain and rhymes--two elements I love in many French poems. The traditional rondeau is a poem consisting of 3 stanzas, 13 original lines, and 2 refrains (of the first line of the poem) with 8 to 10 syllables per line and an A/B rhyme scheme.

The skeleton of the traditional rondeau looks like this:

A(R)
A
B
B
A

A
A
B
A(R)

A
A
B
B
A
A(R)

*****

I recently visited Stone Mountain in Atlanta, Georgia. It's this mountain that is basically a huge granite rock. If you're interested, here's some more information on the mountain and park: http://stonemountainpark.com/.

As part of my visit, I hiked to the top of the mountain, which was exposed to very strong and very cold winds. If my boys were with me, I'd've been afraid they might blow off the mountain top. But as you'll see in my rondeau example, I'm masochistic enough to have enjoyed getting a windburnt face and sore muscles.

"Rounding Stone Mountain"

But I suppose that wasn't so bad,
finding our way to the triad
of Confederate Generals
who fought to maintain protocol
in a war that drove people mad--

when even sons fought their own dads
and the deaths of the myriad
Americans grew mystical.
But I supposed that wasn't so bad.

We saw the granite picture and
followed the yellow path, our hands
holding our hands against a crawl,
knowing we had no chance to fall,
still we fell and said, with hearts glad,
"But I suppose that wasn't so bad."

*****

As you can see, my A rhymes were: bad, triad, mad, dads, myriad, and, hands, glad.

My B rhymes were: Generals, protocol, mystical, crawl, fall.

Yes, there was a little slant in my rhymes, but there's nothing wrong with that.

*****

There are variations of the rondeau, including the rondeau redouble, rondel, rondel double, rondelet, roundel, and roundelay. Of course, poets tend to break the rules on each of these as well, which is what poets like to do. Because rules and poets don't get along sometimes, right?

*****

Here are a couple other online resources on the rondeau:

* Wikipedia entry

* from Alberto Rios

*****

Check out other Poetic Forms.

I've been adding Poetic Forms irregularly for the past 4 months. While everything is in the Poetic Forms category in the left-hand toolbar, I realize it's in a rather random order. So here's an alphabetized list up to this point of the Poetic Forms we've covered so far:

• Abstract (or Sound) Poetry
• Acrostic Poems
• Alphabet Poetry
• Anagrammatic Poetry
• Concrete Poems
• Epitaphs
• Fibonacci Poetry
• Found Poetry
• Haiku
• Hay(na)ku
• Insult Poetry
• Kyrielle
• Limericks
• List Poem
• Occasional Poems
• Odes
• Pantoum
• Shadorma
• Triolet

This list will continue to grow with the blog, but I figured a little order every once in a while might be helpful.

Have a great weekend!

Okay, I admit it: I'm not going to be writing any dirty limericks, though I'm sure you've all heard a few in your time. And I can't really stop anyone from sharing one or two below in the comments (that's what they're there for, I guess--that is, for dirty limericks).

The origin of the limerick is shrouded in some mystery, but most sources seem to point to the early 18th century--one theory being that soldiers returning from France to the Irish town of Limerick started the form, the other theory pointing to the 1719 publication of Mother Goose Melodies for Children. Either way, Edward Lear popularized the form in the mid-19th century.

Basically, the limerick is a five-line poem consisting of a triplet split by a couplet. That is, lines 1, 2, and 5 are a bit longer and rhyme, while the shorter lines of 3 and 4 rhyme. After studying many effective limericks, there is not a precise syllable count per line, but the norm is about 8-10 syllables in the longer lines and around 6 syllables in the shorter lines.

Here's one of my basic examples:

My eldest son's scared of small flames,
and I know just what is to blame:
those Frankenstein movies,
though they can be goofy,
burn monster and my son the same.

*****

Here are some other resources related to the limerick:

• Wikipedia limerick definition
• Limerick examples (including many of Lear's)

*****

Check out other Poetic Forms.

The kyrielle is a French four-line stanza form that has a refrain in the fourth line. Often, there is a rhyme scheme in the poem consisting of the following possibilities:

• aabb
• abab
• aaab
• abcb

The poem can be as long as you wish and as short as two stanzas (otherwise, the refrain is not really a refrain, is it?), and, as with many French forms, it is very nice for stretching your poetic muscles.

Also, tres importante! Your lines must contain 8 syllables. I've written an example below to show how this poem works (on a technical level).

"She's not a Pretty Singer"

Evening cell phone conversation--
he rakes his hair with long fingers
that were once filled with devotion,
though she's not a pretty singer.

He never was a man to say,
"baby," or let his eyes linger,
and she only likes boys who stay,
but she's not a pretty singer.

So he offered his warm coat to
another to start a fling her
aging looks could never undo,
and she's not a pretty singer.

Some say she moved to another
state and made her name selling or
buying something, though why bother
when she's not a pretty singer?

*****

Here are some other resources on the kyrielle form:

• http://members.optushome.com.au/kazoom/poetry/kyrielle.html
• http://www.noggs.dsl.pipex.com/vf/kyrielle.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrielle

*****

Check out other Poetic Forms.

Hay(na)ku is a very simple poetic form, and it's also one of the newest. It was apparently created in 2003 by poet Eileen Tabios.

Hay(na)ku is a 3-line poem with one word in the first line, two words in the second, and three in the third. There are no restrictions beyond this.

A really basic example:

Boys
chase girls
on the playground.

There are already some variations of this new poetic form. For instance, a reverse hay(na)ku has lines of three, two, and one word(s) for lines one, two, and three respectively. Also, multiple hay(na)ku can be chained together to form longer poems.

*****

Here are some links to other hay(na)ku sites:

• The Hay(na)ku Verse Form, a 21st century poetry form, by Joan Zimmerman
• HAY(NA)KU POETRY blog

*****

Check out other Poetic Forms.

Here's one of my earliest published poems from a 2006 issue of Children, Churches & Daddies.

"RE: your hips"

OK
time to get serious...

Don't you think it's about time you dropped a few pounds?

No diet, No exercise...
No BS,
Only safe, substantial results in a few weeks,
period.

It only takes 24 bucks
to see if this is what you've been searching for
the last few years...
we bet it is.

This poem is not my typical style. In fact, I had very little involvement in composing this poem outside of how the line breaks were structured. This is a "found" poem that was originally a spam message found in my e-mail inbox.

Found poetry is all about taking words not originally meant to be a poem (as they originally appeared) and turning those words into a poem anyway. You can use newspaper articles, bits of conversation (something I've done more than a few times with my 4 and 6 year olds), instructions, recipes, letters, e-mails, direct mail and even spam e-mail (they had to have some value, eh).

With found poetry, you do not alter the original words, but you can make line breaks and cut out excess before and/or after the poem you've "found." The power of  found poetry is how words not intended as poetry can take on new and profound meanings as found poems.

For instance, the spam e-mail I received above gave me a little chuckle at first. But then, the content stuck with me, and I began thinking about two different sides of this message. First, obesity is more of a widespread problem now than at any other time in human history. Second, more people have eating disorders (whether eating too much or too little) and body image issues now than, perhaps, at any other time in human history, too.

As a result, this poorly crafted spam message that was intended to try and get people to check out some dietary product takes on a much more powerful commentary as a found poem. For some, it will draw a smile. For others, it will speak to the problems of overeating and lack of exercise. For still others, it will symbolize how people are harming themselves physically and mentally by placing too much emphasis on their body image.

Not every found poem has to make a commentary, but this is one example. For "writing" your own found poems, you just need to continue doing what all writers do: Pay attention to your surroundings. If you find something interesting, see if it'll work as a poem.

*****

Also, if you're reading this blog in the United States, have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!

*****

Check out more Poetic Forms.

This week, my oldest son (6) started kindergarten (and riding the school bus), and my youngest son (4) started preschool. Besides making me feel sentimental and teary eyed about how fast my little guys are growing up, the beginning of school reminds me of my own days as a youngster. While both my boys know computers about as well as I do, back in the day we were just tackling the alphabet in kindergarten.

And so, of course, today I want to cover the alphabet poem.There are many different ways to write an alphabet poem.

You can write a poem where the first letter of each word is a different letter of the alphabet:

Kangaroos queried zebras
for clues about disappearing
x-ray machines, but those
striped horses were pathetic:
"You never ogle vain
underoos." Even jumping
retain less gibberish.

A tactic for writing this poem is to write out the alphabet ahead of time so that you can pay attention to which letters have been used and which letters are still up for grabs. This poem will stretch your mind in unexpected ways.

Of course, you can also do this consecutively through the alphabet:

A barbaric canopy divided elephant
flag givers high in jumping karate leg
mounts nevermind old pirate quarrels
registered self-employed tax-paying
units vacated wordlessly xylophonic
yesteryear zealots.

So yeah, I'm totally not proficient with the alphabet poems, but you get the idea, right? (I'm sure both my sons could do a better job.)

Another method for alphabet poems is to go through the alphabet using the first letter of the first word for each line:

After much deliberation,
Bob decided he should
Cancel his appointment with the
Dentist, because he has an
Ear ache, not a tooth ache.
Figuring this fact out
Gave Bob all the help
He needed to say,
"I need to cancel tomorrow's appointment
Just because I now
Know what is wrong with me.
Last week, I somehow
Made the mistake of
Not knowing my
Own teeth from my ears.
Please forgive the
Questionable error in
Recognizing simple
Symptoms."
Then, Bob called
Up his town's
Very good ear specialist,
Who understood from Bob's background in
Xylophone playing and excessive
Yelling made him prone to
Zealot ear canal damage.

You can always flip the alphabet, too. That is, instead of going A to Z, you could write these pieces from Z to A. It's all about having fun and stretching your mind. Kind of like school.

*****

Check out other Poetic Forms.

One thing I would like to do with this blog is present a picture of the different poetic forms available to poets. I will lump all these in the Poetic Forms category in the left-hand toolbar. By knowing the different forms, you can experiment and ultimately grow as a poet and as a writer.

In this post, let's look at Abstract or Sound Poetry. Apparently, abstract was a term used by Dame Edith Sitwell to describe poems in her book Facade. There are different definitions provided below, but this form of poetry is more about how sounds, rhythms, and textures evoke emotions than about the actual meanings of words.

For instance:

My rat-a-tat-tat hat
was smacked and whacked
by Thedulius Jack-a-bat-snat
while holding his gat.

Obviously, the draw of these lines is the sounds produced more than figuring out who is doing what. Abstract or Sound Poetry is definitely a fun form to play around with.

And as promised, here are some definitions to check out (for poets who need meanings):

• Abstract Poetry
• Sound Poetry
• Nonsense Verse