So, today is Easter. Let’s
just abandon all the rules (as some of you fabulous poets out there prefer to
do anyway) and write a free verse poem about Easter or anything you choose. I just want to point out
that “free verse” is NOT the same thing as “blank verse.”
Blank
verse IS unrhymed but surprisingly, it DOES have rules - rules
that pertain to things like “iambic pentameter” with unstressed/stressed
syllable patterns or “trochee” with stressed/unstressed or even more craziness,
how about dactyl blank verse with has stressed/unstressed/unstressed syllable
patterns? There is also “anapest blank verse” – yeah, we’ll just stop there.
So, we are not writing blank verse today ~ just free verse. And if nothing
strikes your fancy – just use a favorite poetry form that we have used earlier
this month.
FREE
VERSE is basically random, without any fixed metrical patterns
of any kind and while there is no need to rhyme, it’s totally fine if you wish
to use rhyme, but there is no need to count syllables or to worry about much of
anything – just let it come. But free verse is actually tricky to make it feel
cohesive, but once you get it just how you want it – you will be most happy
with it. Free verse poems can be long, short or anything in between, as long as
it seems to have a good flow, then you are good to go.
Nature, family, life, love,
religion, Easter, whatever comes to mind ~ go for it.
So, for examples today I’m
sharing two free verse poems that I wrote a few years back. I wrote “Hope” in
2015 and have shared it every year since because I love it and for today, it
works well for Easter. The second poem, “Dishwater Redemption” was first written
in the mid-1970s when I had young children but I rewrote it a bit in 2007.
Anyway, for what it’s worth, here are two free verse poems:
HOPE
Hope
creates options.
It
still can happen.
In
fact, anything CAN happen.
Hope
is what we cling to.
I
hope I am doing enough.
I
hope people understand the purity of my motives.
I
hope my family will all be together in the hereafter.
Why
do I have hope?
Because
I believe what Christ said when He came.
I
believe He really did die for our sins and that
through
the atonement of Christ
and
the power of the resurrection;
I
can be raised up unto life eternal with my loved ones.
That
is what I hope for.
And
because I have hope
.
. . I keep trying.
© 2015 Stephanie Abney
Dishwater Redemption
The
house is quiet.
My
husband and children are asleep.
The
silence of the room is interrupted
Only
by the sounds I make while washing the dishes.
As I
pick up each dish and rinse away our dinner,
I am
reminded of the meal we enjoyed together.
The
chatter of the children as they spoke of their day
Lingers
in my mind and I feel a sweet contentment.
I’m
nearly done when I notice my well-used cookie sheet,
Standing
at the back of the dish drainer;
Even
though I have washed it thoroughly,
It
really doesn’t look very clean.
The
evidence of so many batches of cookies baked
Over
and over again until it looks tarnished and brown.
When
it was new, it sparkled and shined.
Now
it is discolored and scratched.
And
for some reason, tonight, this bothers me.
I
take the cookie sheet from its resting place and
Plunge
it back into the warm, soapy water.
But
I am unable to rid it of the baked-on grime.
I
reach in the cupboard for an S.O.S. scouring pad
And
go after the suspect brown specks with renewed vigor.
I
pay special attention to the inside corners of the cookie sheet.
This
proves to be especially satisfying and I continue until it shines.
It
has been reborn and I can see my reflection in it.
And
suddenly, I realize… I am like the cookie sheet.
I’m
not dirty by any means, but perhaps,
Not
quite clean enough either; I have lost some of my sparkle.
Leaning
against the sink I know what I must do.
I
will take upon me the S.O.S. scouring pad of repentance
And
work and pray hard to be shiny and clean,
Until
the Savior’s image shows in my countenance.
I
plan to keep my cookie sheet as bright as it looks today
And
with a few repairs here and there, and a heart full of love,
I
can do the same for myself, that I might be more useful
To
those I share this earthly space with.
Who
knew? Sometimes, there’s not much difference between
A
neglected ol’ cookie sheet and a life too busy to notice
Some
of the sparkle and shine has faded.
Yes,
S.O.S. pads are a beautiful thing.
~ © Stephanie
Abney 2007
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 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 your 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.
Photo credit: Myriam at Pixabay (hands)
