Rhopalic Verse: (from Greek "rhopalon"--a club which is thicker at one end)
Lines in which each successive word has one syllable more than the one before it.
Here is an example.
TAPESTRIES
Small spiders filigree
the garden greenery
with silken precision. Delicately, definitively,
they network tapestries
that capture
more
than morning's glorious
dew.
Poem ©Avis Harley. All rights reserved.
So, your challenge is to write a rhopalic verse. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results later this week.
My first attempt....
ReplyDeleteOn First Seeing the Rhopalic Verse
You've gotta
Be kidding
OK, fine. It's not really that poetic....
Avis always makes these forms seem so easy, ya know? Guess I'm gonna have to work a bit harder to be Rhopalic.
WAKE UP CALL
ReplyDeleteMy eardrums
Are thankful
For
Hummingbirds
Chirping sonatas
At daybreak.
(C) Charles Waters 2013 all rights reserved.
ALARM CLOCK
ReplyDeleteI adore humingbirds harmonizing
Good morning America!
At sunrise.
(C) Charles Waters 2013 all rights reserved.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRoot-bound
ReplyDeleteRoots buried
in bottoms
of sturdy flowerpots
twine, tangle, multiply.
They defy ceramic limitations
with ropey casual
grace. Until repotting,
when sudden silvery revelations
fall unbound,
pale, languid, sinister
as maiden Rapunzel’s
hair.
—Kate Coombs, 2013
all rights reserved
Spring Cardinal
ReplyDeleteShe rarely composes
verse. Pending motherhood
and constant foraging necessitate
close focus. However, encumbrances unfavorable
to shaping poetry monopolize
her routines
so fully
she cannot imagine
hours squandered figuring lineation
or finding metrical felicities.
Her only redemption,
though meager,
is noting likenesses, haphazardly.
Not really metaphors.
Just scattered images, analogies
of little consequence:
her partner’s
red feathers
like berries ripening,
her hatchlings
all sleeping noiselessly
as rabbits.
©2013 Steven Withrow, all rights reserved
Alas--I wrote one, pushed the publish button, and it disappeared into the ether.
ReplyDeleteJane
Thanks, Charles, for putting me on the bird trail. Both solid small poems.
ReplyDeleteKate -- Way to rock the adjectives! "Ropey casual grace" -- I can see that.
Oh, Jane, a promised (then vanished) poem from you is like a map of a tantalizing country...
Thanks, Steven! I'm really enamored of "hatchlings/all sleeping noiselessly/as rabbits." And Charles, more great birds! I was intrigued that you noticed one could start with 2 syllables and go to 3 since the rules say nothing about starting with 1 every time.
ReplyDeleteNice to be back after a rich alphabetical month of poetry books from Tricia.
Kate, Steven and Jane. Once more (and not for the last time) all of you push me to better myself through your writings. Jane, I'm sorry yours went POOF. Yet I know it kicked fanny because you've never posted stuff that didn't.
ReplyDeleteLove these rhopalics, one and all. Their rhythms are stupendous!
ReplyDeleteI have read this blog for quite some time and have wanted to join in the conversation but just never had the courage. The robin's nest right outside our family room window gave me the perfect inspiration, so here goes:
ReplyDeleteTwigs, entwined perfectly,
hug hatchlings, noisily adorable.
Eat, Mama; hastily regurgitate
for babies unable
to wrestle
earthworms
for themselves. Finally
grown, spreading untested
wings, slowly fluttering hesitantly
away.
Left behind
are
twigs: empty reminders
of springtime, discarded.
Love it, Kary--welcome to the fray!
DeleteLove your poem, Kary. Glad you joined the fray!
DeleteI have always been hesitant to post a poem, but I was moved by the robin's nest right outside our family room window. So here goes....
ReplyDeleteTwigs, entwined perfectly,
hug hatchlings, noisily adorable.
Eat, Mama: hastily regurgitate
for babies unable
to wrestle
earthworms
for themselves. Finally
grown, spreading untested
wings, slowly fluttering hesitantly
away.
Left behind
are
twigs: empty reminders
of springtime, discarded.
Twigs, entwined perfectly,
ReplyDeletehug hatchlings, noisily adorable.
Eat, Mama; hastily regurgitate
for babies unable
to wrestle
earthworms
for themselves. Finally
grown, spreading untested
wings, slowly fluttering hesitantly
away.
Left behind
are
twigs: empty reminders
of springtime, discarded.
Twigs, entwined perfectly,
ReplyDeletehug hatchlings, noisily adorable.
Eat, Mama: hastily regurgitate
for babies unable
to wrestle
earthworms
for themselves. Finally
grown, spreading untested
wings, slowly fluttering hesitantly
away.
Left behind
are
twigs: empty reminders
of springtime, discarded.
Nice work, Kary! I enjoyed the fluctuating movement in this.
ReplyDeleteKary, I like "unable to wrestle earthworms." Nice picture you've painted!
ReplyDeletePeace
ReplyDeleteis not
a given,
nor can it be
taken from a war;
it is a gift
bestowed on
those who
love.
Love
ReplyDeletealways
finds a way;
In the deepest,
darkest, human heart
there dwells a tiny seed -
once touched, will burst forth
and overwhelm
the foulest,
blackest
hate.
At
ReplyDeletethe end
of the day;
it gets
dark.