capricious wet behind the ears such is March
A 3-5-3 haiku for your enjoyment. Written for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday Taste the rainbow, color poetry challenge for March 01st, 2022. Green is the color today, but I’m using the alternative meaning of the word. *wink*
the crinkling noises an explosion of earth songs jade pulse of Gaia
And another haiku– 5-7-5, this time using jade as the synonym for green.
I must confess I started to work on a longer poem without constrictions of syllables– wanted to see what would come of it.
I was quite pleased with the 20-lined poem that resulted– 8-8-8-10–but when I tried to identify it: what is a poem of 5 quatrains, 3 with trochaic octameter and 1 with iambic pentameter called? I couldn’t find it anywhere.
(perhaps I’m too tired from sniffles? Words get blurry right now).
Disappointed.
So then I forced the lovely poem into 4 stanzas of 5 lines and for that, I found the syllabic form:
Quintain: The Spanish quintain (also known as the quintilla) is a type of
five-line poetry that is
eight syllables in length,
each line written in iambic tetrameter
But when it told me that the form follows a rhyme scheme of ABABB, I folded. Big disappointment as I’ve lost the willingness to rhyme this late in the game.
But it makes me wonder, how do you guys approach syllabic poetry?
I usually write the poem before confining the words into a form.
Give me hints, please.
I’ll post what I have as a free-style poem in the morrow.
Spring brings hope and color to our lives. I know. My mask is doing double duty, but the eyes are suffering. I also know that if I zoom in on the discomforts, that’s all I'll reap of the season as it unfolds when what I want is to dare to go deeper, fully, sprightly. So, I'll zoom out, listen and look at myself from above — woke to the healing rhythm of the life that’s exploding around me.
“If you’ve never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.” ~ Audra Foveo “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” ~ Margaret Atwood “Oh, Spring is surely coming. Her couriers fill the air; Each morn are new arrivals, Each night her ways prepare, I scent her fragrant garment, her foot is on the stair. "To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple life.” ~ John Burroughs
Photo Image by tung256 from Pixabay
Happy new month. I wish you miracles.
- This Happened To Me: Thank You, Susi, The Short Of It - November 8, 2024
- Clasp The Hands and Know: A Poem by John Masefield - November 7, 2024
- Wordless Wednesday - November 6, 2024
Your haikus are great, Selma! I understand your acceptance of leaving your poem as it is. I don’t know if I could deal with the frustration of trying to fit it into syllables if I wrote it in free-form first. The lines you shared were beautiful. I really love the quotes you included. That first one from Foveo was powerful. 🙂
Yvette. Thanks, my sweet. I didn’t see your link in Mr. Linky. I’m sure you’d have rocked it. Anyway, you’re sweet to read and comment on mine. I so appreciate the support that you so generously extend me here and on Twitter. Thanks most sincerely. I bless you. xoxo
BTW, FYI, I posted that unmalleable poem as it was borne and shaped. Huh. Now they exist out there in the blogsphere of all lovely places. Yay. No pressure, I still bless you. xoxo
I haven’t written this week’s poem yet, but I’m hoping to get to it at some point this week. 🙂
<3
Sending you a hug and a big smile, Annette. And blessings too.
Lovely haiku. I write to what I think works, then I check it in the counter program. And if need make adjustments.
But I start with the form I want to use above my blank space so I have an idea of where I want to go.
I had to make some adjustments to the piece I wrote for this prompt. 🙂
Have a wonderful day. Cheers, Jules
Jules, I read the piece you wrote for this prompt. Impeccably lovely. Love how you used green. hehe. Very creative.
Thanks for telling me a little about how you approach these. I try to do the same, but this one had a mind of its own. But like parents know, we love our babies regardless. Thanks for the comment, Jules. I bless you.
Each piece we write is a part of ‘us’.
Sometimes it is hard to let them go…
Thanks for the sweetness. This is so true: everything, a mirror of us. Thanks, Jules.
💖
Hi Selma your Haiku are beautiful, I think they are perfect. I understand what you are saying about your longer poem, poems don’t have to rhyme to be beautiful they just need to be from your heart .
You ask how we approach these prompts, personally I decided on which form I am going to do first rather than trying to make a poem fit a type. ….free form poetry is just as worthy as a set disapline of poetry. 💜
Willow. Thanks for reading and liking and engaging me like this. So glad you read my notes too. The poem I was working on did me one better. It asked for no confinements. I let it. Today I posted it as it came to me. No pressure, but if you have the time to interact with it, the poem would love it, I know *wink*
I enjoy your poetry as well. Always learn something from you. Thanks. Blessings.
Lovely response to the prompt. I feel your frustration, but when our brain fog is here, it’s here. I don’t think I’d like to free-style and then try to fit it into a specific count. I choose my form first, and then write the words, counting as I go. Wishing you all the best, Selma. Hugs 💕🙂
Thanks, Harmony. I appreciate this. I do that as well, but this one pulled me otherwise. And yes, fog.
All the best. xoxo #peace
I love your description of March. I too find the mask helpful in combating both allergies and cold weather asthma–I always cover my mouth and nose in winter.
As to how I approach poetry–I find short forms, like haiku or shadorma are easy to just write. But for longer more complicated forms I often do what you do–start with something freely written and look for a form that works with it. I’ve been known to take rhyming forms and do them without rhymes too–I often do that with pantoums.
Thanks for sharing your process, Kerfe. I’ve never written a pantoum. I might try some day soon. But in truth, poems can go in many different directions. That’s the beauty. But since HERE we tackle syllabic poetry I want to stay within the form. I’m no expert. An enthusiast at best and I love being here. Thanks my sweet. I bless you.
Love your words! I try to think of style first. Or I write it out and then remove “extra words” and find “a” word that says the same – doesn’t always work—-I like brevity. My muse has been hibernating! I hope she wakes up soon!! 💕
Thanks, Ruth, thanks for sharing all that with me.
World events have me shaky. I know we all are. Some days I don’t know how to think about what’s happening in Ukraine. God bless them.
I enjoyed these Selma 😊
I appreciate you, Ingrid. Be well, dear one. I bless all your endeavors. Adore your poetry book. Stellar, for sure! Wow. Thanks.
Thank you Selma! 😍
The picture and tankas are simply sweet. Reading both was such a pleasure. Beautiful!
Thanks, Smitha. The pleasure is mine. Stay well.
Selma, all the poets’ approaches are wonderful ways to write poetry. Do what works best for you. For syllabic poetry, I never try to write in sentences… instead, I like to write in phrases. Word groups become memorable. You did a fabulous job with both of your verses. <3
Colleen I sincerely appreciate your comment. Thanks, sweet lady. I hear you and bless you.
You got this, Selma. <3
For me, it depends on the form and what is most important for me to convey – if I have a particular image or thought that I want to convey, I’ll allow it to cross lines, for example. I guess I’m not being helpful – I do it differently every time!
-David
Thanks so much for giving me an idea of how you do it, David. I appreciate this. xo
Hi Selma, your haiku are amazing.
You ask how we get to these prompts. I decide whether to do rhyme or free verse or syllabic poetry then write whatever comes to my mind on a piece of paper
If it’s a syllabic poem, I write phrases and count syllables. If it’s a poem, I write freely, and if it’s a rhyme, I waste a lot of time thinking about a specific rhyming word.😊🤗
Aww, Thanks Jane. I appreciate you sharing your process with me. Such valuable comment. I bless you. XoXo
I liked both of these haiku very much, glad they found their way to the page even if it was by a circuitous route. I don’t write enough poetry to have much to say about process. Sometimes I like the constraints of a specified form, more than having to decide for myself. I just try to get out of the way if something seems like it’s sprouting and I let it grow where it will.
Oh, yes. Best get out of the way when that happens. It’s good rule of thumb to live by. Thanks enormously for reading and commenting. I bless you.
I loved this and your process to get there 🙂
They were fabulous!
Kudos to you!
So pleased you thought so, dear Cindy. Be well, dear friend. Sending you calming vibes.
You’re so welcome Selma! 💕