Day 21 ~ How to Write a “Pensee Poem” for “30 Poems in 30 Days” for #NationalPoetryMonth

I really love this poetic form. My students wrote such great poems when we did this in class. Check it out:

This form is called a “Pensee Poem” – “pensee” is a French word that means “a reflection or thought.” 

It is a five-line, untitled, structured poem that does not rhyme. Each line has a specific number of syllables and addresses a specific part of the poem ~ see box below.
The thing to watch out for is to follow the pattern, including WHAT should be expressed on each line, using a SPECIFIC number of syllables ~ and remember – THIS poem does not rhyme.     

                           

Newborn
Precious and sweet
Sleeps peacefully in my arms
How do you like the world so far?
I wish you could tell me.        

        © 2014 Stephanie Abney   

  

OK, below I will take apart the above poem to show you step-by-step:

 

Line	Pattern	Example
Line 1	Subject (2 syllables)	Newborn
Line 2	Description (4 syllables)	Precious and sweet
Line 3	Action (7 syllables)	Sleeps peacefully in my arms
Line 4	Setting (8 syllables)	How do you like the world so far?
Line 5	Final thought (6 syllables)	I wish you could tell me.

Here are a few more examples:

Freedom

Our liberties

Granted unto us by God

Outlined in our Constitution

Thank-you Founding Fathers  

           © 2014 Stephanie Abney

Penguin
Dressed in a tux
Slides on his tummy for fun
In Antarctica on ice slopes  Such a happy fellow 

             © 2016 Stephanie Abney

             

Ice cream

Cold, smooth and sweet

Makes its way to my tummy

At the end of a trying day

For now, all is just fine.

          © 2016 Stephanie Abney

   So, go ahead and try several ~ perhaps one about an emotion, an animal, one of your favorite foods, or a time of year (holiday/season), an event, or something in nature. What comes to mind?

 

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright for to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or you FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.