Thursday, April 08, 2010

Poetry Stretch Results - Reverso

The challenge this week was to write in the form of reverso. Here are the results.

Harriet of spynotes shares a poem entitled Tafelmusik.

Heart
To hear
Is
A small shift
With a flick of the bow,
Like two sine waves crossing,
At once
Coming together and
Flying apart,
A duet.
A duet
Flying apart,
Coming together and,
At once,
Like two sine waves crossing
With a flick of the bow,
A small shift
Is
To hear
Heart.

Julie Larios of The Drift Record shared this poem.

It’s a neat trick,
This slick reversal:
Can I handle
The movement, the tick to tock,
the click to clack of it,
the back to back -
I mean, the down to up?
I love the frown-to-smile of it,
The way that Singer sang it.
I’ll try it.
I’ll try it
the way that Singer sang it:
I love the frown-to-smile of it -
I mean, the down to up,
the back to back,
the click to clack of it,
the movement, the tick to tock.
Can I handle
this slick reversal?
It’s a neat trick.

Pat (is that you Mr. Lewis?) left a poem entitled Nicholas Needham: Book Head-Case and Bookcase Head.

You can read him like a book
Nicholas Needham—take a look:
As he grew a book-case head
For he read and read and read
He would need ‘em through the years
Bookmark nose and bookend ears
Grew enormous bookworm eyes
Nicholas Needham, child-size,
Barely three feet from the floor
Sprouted up and read some more
Lucky, as a little weed,
Nicholas Needham learned to read.
Nicholas Needham learned to read
Lucky, as a little weed,
Sprouted up and read some more
Barely three feet from the floor
Nicholas Needham, child-size,
Grew enormous bookworm eyes
Bookmark nose and bookend ears
He would need ‘em through the years
For he read and read and read
As he grew a book-case head
Nicholas Needham—take a look:
You can read him like a book.

Nicole Marie Schreiber shares a poem entitled A Look in the Mirror.
With pen in hand,
still I stand,
all astonishment,
as
my reflection
speaks.

“You are a writer?”

“No.”
I shake my head.

It all means nothing.

Fingers aching.
Pages blanking.
Words not flying,
Stories dying.

Such a sham.

I’m not
a real writer.

I am
false.
False.

I am
a real writer.

I’m not
such a sham.

Stories dying,
words not flying,
pages blanking,
fingers aching…
it all means nothing.

I shake my head.
“No!
You are a writer!"
speaks
my reflection,

as
all astonishment,
still l stand,

with pen in hand.

Kate Coombs of BookAunt shared two poems!

If it rains
the sun will bow her head
like a yellow flower
and blue will turn gray,
night seep into day.
All will be mysterious.
All will be mysterious—
night seep into day
and blue will turn gray.
Like a yellow flower
the sun will bow her head
if it rains.
--Kate Coombs, 2010, all rights reserved

Once upon a time
a boy set out on a quest.
He crossed mountains.
He forded rivers.
He sought his fortune.
He met an old man—
he was given an amulet.
He asked a question:
He spoke to the sun.
He spoke to the moon.
His way was long...
He grew strong.
He grew strong.
His way was long.
He spoke to the moon.
He spoke to the sun.
He asked a question—
he was given an amulet.
He met an old man.
He sought his fortune.
He forded rivers.
He crossed mountains.
A boy set out on a quest
once upon a time.
--Kate Coombs, 2010, all rights reserved

Mary Lee of A Year of Reading took a quote and turned it into a reverso.

Jone of Deo Writer shares a library/book inspired reverso.

Carol Weis shares a poem entitled Scorching Spring.

Soaring temperatures
Accelerates blossoms
Scorches spring
Rips off t-shirts
Tosses on shorts
Heat
Heat
Tosses on shorts
Rips off t-shirts
Scorches spring
Accelerates blossoms
Soaring temperatures
© 2010 Carol Weis

M.F. Atkins of World of Words shares a reverso for spring.

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.

9 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Let me try this commenting thing again. :-)

    Criminy, but my hat is off to Marilyn Singer. After scritching and scratching I only came up with one I call

    Epitath/Reverso Curse

    Epitath:

    Uncle!
    I cry
    Over you

    Reverso Curse:

    Over you
    I cry
    Uncle!

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  3. Thank you Tricia, for these weekly challenges and themn posting. This was fun.

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  4. Great idea and devilishly tricky to do.
    You can see my initial efforts at http://thehittingtheroadagainblues.blogspot.com/2010/04/reversos.html
    Please feel free to add them if you wish.

    Bob Hale

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  5. Oh, how fun! They're all wonderful. I like Greg's, too.

    I love love love this book.

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  6. Here's my start:

    "How do you do
    Mirror Mirror?"

    Mirror, Mirror:
    "How do you do?"

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  7. The title of that one is:

    Ode to Marilyn Singer

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  8. I am a preschool teacher that discovered Mirror Mirror at the local library. I decided to give the genre a try, hope you like it.

    Battle of the Sexes

    Battle of the Sexes
    Girl fighting the masses,
    What a struggle. Oh!
    Boy, he grows into the crown.
    Is the one who knocks,
    The Man.


    The Man is the one.
    Who knocks?
    The crown he grows into.
    Oh boy!
    What a struggle.
    Fighting the masses?
    Girl!
    Battle of the Sexes

    ReplyDelete