Monday, March 05, 2012

Monday Poetry Stretch - The Zeno

Last week I was feeling Fibonacci.  Since I'm still in a mathematical mood, this week I'm feeling Zeno. The Zeno is a poetic form that was invented by our esteemed Children's Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis. Here's Pat's explanation of the form.
I've invented what I had called a “hailstone," after the mathematical "hailstone sequence." It has nothing to do with Mary O'Neill's Hailstones and Halibut Bones, but it would no doubt instantly be confused with it. Hence, "hailstone" is problematic. So I call the form a "zeno," so named for Zeno, the philosopher of paradoxes, especially the dichotomy paradox, according to which getting anywhere involves first getting half way there and then again halfway there, and so on ad infinitum. I'm dividing each line in half of the previous one. Here's my description of a zeno:

A 10-line verse form with a repeating syllable count of 8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1.
The rhyme scheme is abcdefdghd.
Here are two examples.
Sea Song
A song streaming a thousand miles
may sound like a
fairy
tale,
but it’s only
love’s bulk-
mail
coming out of
the blue...
whale. 
Why Wolves Howl
Gray wolves do not howl at the moon.
Across a vast
timber
zone,
they oboe in
mono-
tone,
Fur-face, I am
all a-
lone.

Poems ©J. Patrick Lewis. All rights reserved.
So, that's the challenge for the week. What kind of Zeno will you write? Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

8 comments:

  1. Metamorphosis

    The caterpillar humps along
    one small green leaf
    at a
    time,
    and then he stops,
    changes
    clothes,
    from a story
    into
    rhyme.

    © 2012 Jane Yolen, all rights reserved

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jane's lovely poem violates the rhyme scheme of the zeno (as defined by me—ha!),
    but I think her variation is preferable to my initial definition, which is exceptionally
    strict. In other words, rhyming lines 4,7, and 10 may put an undue burden on the
    form (and the poet). Rhyming lines 4 and 10 only (as Jane does) may make for a more appealing poem. Thanks, Jane.
    xo, Pat
    J. Patrick Lewis

    ReplyDelete
  3. J. Patrick--I agree about skipping the line 7 rhyme. It makes for a smoother poem. Didn't do that, but great idea! :)

    March

    The sky is gray and I am gray,
    wanting what's not—
    soft earth,
    wings,
    white crocuses,
    leaves, to
    sing
    like a young breeze,
    kite heart,
    spring.

    --Kate Coombs, 2012
    all rights reserved

    ReplyDelete
  4. this breaks a couple of rules, but...

    Texas Toast

    when it’s snowing in Montana,
    and blustery
    on the
    coast,
    I’m glad I’m here
    in Dal-
    las,
    where they serve up
    Texas
    toast.

    © julie krantz 2012, all rights reserved

    ReplyDelete
  5. Robins knitting cushions of twigs,
    busy making
    a new
    nest.
    They gather more--
    hair is
    best!
    Owl: whooooo needs sleep?
    quiet,
    rest?


    http://writtenforchildren.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Piano Lessons

    That jar of jellybeans atop
    her big upright
    fired my
    quest.
    Thirty minutes
    daily.
    Keys!
    I still like the
    black ones
    best.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Tricia,
    I wrote mine here:
    early clues of springtime burst forth
    forsythia
    yellow
    bloom
    weather forecast:
    rainy days
    loom
    I retreat to
    writing
    room

    ReplyDelete
  8. CLEANING MY ROOM

    Dutifully cleaning my room
    every weekend
    is a
    bore
    I want to hide
    in a
    drawer,
    Life, a never
    ending
    chore.

    (c) Charles Waters 2012 all rights reserved.

    ReplyDelete