Friday, June 27, 2025

Poetry Sisters Write Raccontinos

This month the challenge was to write a raccontino. The first time I saw this form was in the Helen Frost verse novel Spinning Through the Universe: A Novel in Poems from Room 214 (2004). This was released in an updated form in 2016 as Room 214: A Year in Poems.

A raccontino is a form that follows these rules:

  • composed of couplets (any number)
  • even-numbered lines share the same end rhyme
  • the title and last words of the odd-numbered lines tell a story

I wrote a raccontino in April as part of my National Poetry Month project. That poem was based on a proverb. Having the end words of the story in place made it easier to write the full poem. That is the approach used this time as well. I tried a number of different storylines. These two are my favorites.

Rules

patterns and stitches were
followed with precision true

each knit and purl carefully made
as needles clicked and flew

grandma taught me to
craft love in vibrant hues

but creative license will be
an urge hard to subdue

when rules are broken
imperfections will shine through

My second poem uses a quote from Claude Monet as the story.

I Would Like to Paint
 
with colors wild as the
sea, joining in delight
 
lines and curves that bend a-way
and back again to unite

bold shapes. The finished canvas holds a
field with one red kite

in the sky like a bird
soaring in its flight.

With bold strokes it sings
praise to summer sunlight.

Poems ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2025. All rights reserved.

You can read the poems my Poetry Sisters have written at the links below. 
Would you like to try the next challenge? We're writing sedoka. You can learn more about the form at Writer's Digest. You’ve got a month to craft your creation(s), then share your offering with the rest of us on July 25th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems! 

I hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by our pal Tanita. Happy poetry Friday all!

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Friday, May 30, 2025

Poetry Sisters Writen Golden Shovels

Hello Poetry Friday friends! I took the month of May off (mostly) after posting daily for National Poetry Month. If you didn't see my poems, I spent April writing poems in "different" or uncommon poetic forms on a variety of topics.. You can find all the poems written this month on the page NPM 2025 - Uncommon and Unusual Forms. 

I also shared these poems on my Instagram, which is a good place to view them all in one place. Here's a snapshot of some of the poems.

This month the challenge was to write a golden shovel using a line from the Elizabeth Bishop poem Letter to N.Y. I chose two different lines and wrote poems about Paris. 

In dreams, I wander Paris, taking
midnight strolls, watching cabs
trundle over bridges in
the city's heart. In the
café's glow, the middle
notes of an accordion sing of
romance under the
glow of streetlamps painting the night.

In Paris, residents wake on one
quiet street, whispering secrets to every side
of the Seine. Sleepy facades of
café windows reflect dawn as the
city stirs. Charming old buildings
ooze romance. The day rises
to meet new dreams, unfolding with
tenderness and hope, as the 
young and old eagerly greet the sun.

Poems ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2025. All rights reserved.

You can read the poems my Poetry Sisters have written at the links below. 
Would you like to try the next challenge? We're writing the raccontino, a form I was introduced to in a Helen Frost verse novel. You can find information on the form and an example in this document. You can use this raccontino worksheet from Helen Frost as a guide. You’ve got a month to craft your creation(s), then share your offering with the rest of us on June 27th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems! 

I hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Karen Edmisten.

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Wednesday, April 30, 2025

NPM 2025 - Poem 30

For National Poetry Month this year, I am writing poems in uncommon, unusual, or inventive poetic forms. The only rule I have set for myself is that I choose forms I am unfamiliar with. Here are some of the resources I am referencing. 

Today, I'm sharing a Zeno.
In 2009, I had the pleasure of introducing a new poetic form invented by J. Patrick Lewis. Here's Pat's explanation.

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 halfway there and then again halfway there, and so on ad infinitum. I'm dividing each line in half of the previous one. 

Here's Pat's 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.

You can read the original post, which includes examples Pat wrote at Monday Poetry Stretch - the Zeno.

The pitcher stands upon the mound 
the crowd awaits 
he throws 
fast 
bat connects - CRACK!
ball flies 
past 
the outfield wall
 homerun
BLAST!

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2025. All rights reserved.
(1908) Roger Bresnahan, catching for the New York Giants while a Pittsburgh Pirate player is at bat. , 1908. [Sept. 18] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/89714219/.

And that is a wrap on another National Poetry Month project. I hope you've enjoyed exploring some new forms this month. You can find all the poems written this month on the page NPM 2025 - Uncommon and Unusual Forms. Thanks so much for joining me on this journey. Until next time ...
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Tuesday, April 29, 2025

NPM 2025 - Poem 29

For National Poetry Month this year, I am writing poems in uncommon, unusual, or inventive poetic forms. The only rule I have set for myself is that I choose forms I am unfamiliar with. Here are some of the resources I am referencing. 

Today, I'm sharing a sidlak.
A sidlak is a 5-line syllabic poem that includes a color word. The first four lines are written in 3/5/7/9 syllables, with the syllable count of line 5 left to the poet's discretion. Line five includes a color that portrays the whole poem or the writer's feelings without any syllable count restriction. You can learn more about this form at Poetry Magnum Opus.

A Sidlak for Summer Rain

thunder rolls
lightning splits the sky
heavy raindrops driving down
to earth, rising scent of petrichor
day wrapped in gray

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2025. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to see what new poetic form I've chosen. You can also read the other poems I've written this month.

To see what others are writing this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2025 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.            

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Monday, April 28, 2025

NPM 2025 - Poem 28

For National Poetry Month this year, I am writing poems in uncommon, unusual, or inventive poetic forms. The only rule I have set for myself is that I choose forms I am unfamiliar with. Here are some of the resources I am referencing. 

Today, I'm sharing a solage.
A solage is a very short poem that has two small lines that rhyme and ends with a single word. It was invented by Australian poet Cameron Semmons. I learned about the form in a document written by Cameron entitled How to write your own Solage. 

A Trio of Solage Poems

peacock struts with tail unfurled  
surveying pieces of his world  
ego  


parrots mimic every sound  
echoes of the voices found  
gossip


in the reeds, the heron stands  
fishing on the wetland strand 
breakfast

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2025. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to see what new poetic form I've chosen. You can also read the other poems I've written this month.

To see what others are writing this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2025 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.            

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Sunday, April 27, 2025

NPM 2025 - Poem 27

For National Poetry Month this year, I am writing poems in uncommon, unusual, or inventive poetic forms. The only rule I have set for myself is that I choose forms I am unfamiliar with. Here are some of the resources I am referencing. 

Today, I'm sharing a raccontino.
Helen Frost used this form in her book Spinning Through the Universe: A Novel in Poems from Room 214. A raccontino is a form that follows these rules:

  • composed of couplets (any number)
  • even number lines share the same end rhyme
  • the title and last words of the odd numbered lines tell a story

Since the title and end words need to form a story, I chose a proverb to be my story. That means this form wrote like a golden shovel with a few extra rules. I have highlighted the title and end words so that you can more easily read the story.

Absence

the quiet months of winter makes
the world seem still, wrapped in frosted hue

but as the Earth awakens, the
sky welcomes wings that once withdrew

the swallows return and my heart
finds joy in pairings where two

in graceful arcs their swift flights grow
into a vibrant pulse of life anew

despite deep love for snow, I am now fonder
of the sights and sounds that spring imbues

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2025. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to see what new poetic form I've chosen. You can also read the other poems I've written this month.

To see what others are writing this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2025 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.           

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Saturday, April 26, 2025

NPM 2025 - Poem 26

For National Poetry Month this year, I am writing poems in uncommon, unusual, or inventive poetic forms. The only rule I have set for myself is that I choose forms I am unfamiliar with. Here are some of the resources I am referencing. 

Today, I'm sharing a naani.
A naani is a 4-line poem containing between 20-25 syllables. There are no other rules or guidelines. You can read more about this form at Shadow Poetry.

In morning's soft light,
heron casts its shadow—
gracefully poised, waiting
for the river’s secret catch

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2025. All rights reserved.

I hope you come back tomorrow to see what new poetic form I've chosen. You can also read the other poems I've written this month.

To see what others are writing this month, check out  Jama Rattigan's 2025 National Poetry Month Kidlitosphere Events Roundup.           

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