Thursday, October 29, 2009

Poetry Stretch Results - Zenos

The challenge this week was to write a Zeno. Here are the results.
Pat Lewis left these two poems in the comments.
    Travel by Armchair
    You can take a trip by Greyhound,
    motorcycle,
    paddle-
    wheel,
    ocean liner
    (package
    deal)—
    I prefer the
    bookmo-
    bile.

    * * * * *
    Weather by The Old Masters
    The Michelangelo thunder
    of an April
    cloudburst
    hints
    at what follows
    a great
    rinse:
    spring meadows in
    Monet
    prints.
Carol Weis left this poem in the comments.
    Great Blue
    The great blue heron tries to hide
    itself in tall
    grasses,
    yet
    passers see this
    nature’s
    pet,
    take photos to
    not for-
    get.

    © Carol Weis. All rights reserved.
Greg K. of GottaBook shares a poem for Halloween.

Kate Coombs of Book Aunt left this poem in the comments.
    October 31st
    Night. A graveyard. A single boy
    walks soft as a
    new-raised
    ghost,
    with each step re-
    gretting
    most
    making that quick,
    daylit
    boast.
Laura Purdie Salas left these poems in the comments.
    Weapons Make the Warrior?
    Marching in time, but out of time
    into the harsh
    light of
    day:
    Emperor Qin’s
    army.
    They
    wield bronze swords in
    arms of
    clay.

    * * * * *
    Putting the Art Before the Horse
    In Emperor Qin’s afterlife,
    he would rule by
    timeless
    force.
    But death had its
    way, of
    course.
    Lesson? Don’t ride
    a clay
    horse.
Amy Ludwig Vanderwater left this poem in the comments.
    One Hen Speaks
    We make eggs inside our bodies.
    Roosters chase us
    make us
    mate.
    Every egg is
    tempting
    fate.
    Farm life or your
    breakfast
    plate?
Julie Larios of The Drift Record shares two poems. And yes, the first title is longer than the poem! And the second? Well, I dare you to read it without snarfing (which is exactly what I did)!

Tanita Davis shares a poem entitled On Intentions to Speak to Richard Peck at a Writer's Conference.

Jone of Check It Out and Deo Writer shares some zenos she wrote with her students and one of her own.
This was darn hard. Here's the poem I came up with.
What secret incantations do
you write upon
the sky?
Light
poems on a
summer
night
flash on, flash off --
"Hold me
tight!"
It's not too late if you still want to play. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll add it to the list.

4 comments:

  1. That's a lovely contribution, Tricia. I have to say that this stretch produced some great results, from silly to sublime. Nicely done, everyone!

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  2. Once again I'm delighted that this new verse form evoked so much interest and effort. Thanks, Tricia, for your nifty contribution. And a bow to all for joining in the spirit of the zeno.

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  3. These are harder than they look!!
    I actually wrote one that I *think* follows all the rules -- it's about my ongoing love affair with Richard Peck. It's the best kind of affair - the kind he knows nothing about.

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  4. I have two places to look for trying out that poetry stretch form, "zeno"
    School: http://maclibrary.wordpress.com/?p=39
    Personal: http://deowriter.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/playing-with-the-zeno-poetry-form/
    Thanks for stretching us!

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