Day 18 ~ “Brevette”

 

Brevette Poem ~ This LOOKS simple – THREE WORDS? Yeah, but it can be tricky ~ No titles needed (although it is okay to use a title) ~ just three words and three lines

A POEM WITH ONLY THREE WORDS? Yikes!!

There are a FEW particulars to this poetry form created by Emily Romano. Here’s a little grammar for you – this poem consists of TWO NOUNS and ONE VERB . . . and the first noun needs to be a SUBJECT, while the second noun needs to be an OBJECT:

LINE 1: a subject (noun)

LINE 2: a verb (the verb has a space between each letter:  v e r b)

LINE 3: an object (noun)

They need to STAY in that exact order and yes, there is ONE MORE THING!! In order for the verb (and ONLY the verb) to stand out, it is spaced out, letter by letter.

Titles are optional, otherwise, there is NO punctuation, and all words are lower case ~ the trickiest part of this poetry form is the formatting – Word will try to change the first letter of each line into a capital letter – change it back to lowercase – if there is an “i” in your verb [line 2], Word also freaks out because of the space between each letter and so it wants to capitalize the letter “i” ~ CHANGE it back to lowercase.

THREE WORDS – don’t be adding “helping verbs” or “articles” – that’s cheating. Coming up with a subject and an object for the nouns is surprisingly difficult. Seriously, this is trickier than it seems, but SO MUCH FUN!! And it’s easy to get carried away, as evidenced by the numerous examples.

 

(These examples are from previous years by poets who are all still participating this year. Permission was granted to use them in my how-to book ~ STILL COMING … eventually, so I’m assuming they are good with me sharing them here as well).

 

                             life

                        s t o k e s

                        embers     

                                      © 2018 Aubri Wilson

 

dreams

f o l l o w

passion    

          © 2017 Stephanie Abney

 

                        sun

                        d i s t r i b u t e s

                        comfort

                                      © 2018 Deborah Royal

        poetry

        b r i n g s

        clarity

                    © 2020 Stephanie Abney

 

 

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 to them as soon as they create them and especially once 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.

Day 17 – EASTER SUNDAY ~ “Free verse” poem or prose

~ EASTER SUNDAY ~ “Free verse” poem or prose

So, today is Easter for some, Passover for others, and could have any other type of meaning (or not) for still others. 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 (or any style) about Easter, the Savior, Passover, spring, or anything at all that you choose to write about. Use any poetic form you wish, or prose, or a journal entry. Share it only if you wish – I imagine some work will feel too personal to share today and some work will be just what the rest of us need to hear (well, to read, technically). [You will find very few here in the comments - most participants share their poetry on FB and other social media].

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.

Prose is pretty much any literature; the written word, containing sentences and paragraphs, rather than the form, lines, and stanzas found in most poetry. Both are great. Write away ~ on whatever is meaningful to you today. Nature, family, life, love, religion, the Savior, Easter, whatever comes to mind ~ go for it.

 

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 to them as soon as they write them and 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.

Day 16 ~ “Naani” Poem

(Heads up: Easter Sunday will be free verse if you want to start collecting your thoughts and ideas now ~ whatever you want to create) . . .

Okay, so let’s get started for today, Saturday ~ this is a poetry form that I’ve only tried once before, a couple of years ago. It might be kind of new to you, too. It hails from India.

“Naani” is one of India’s most popular poetry forms. “Naani” basically means an “expression of one and all.” It was created by well-known Indian poet, Dr. N. Gopi, the vice-chancellor of Telugu University.

There are only TWO rules to this poem ~

It is FOUR lines long, no more, no less.

And when you count up ALL the syllables in ALL FOUR LINES, there should be AT LEAST 20 syllables and NO MORE than 25 syllables.

And there is no rhyming required, but of course, you are free to rhyme whenever you wish. Either way . . .

Sounds easy enough, but accomplishing that may be harder than you think.

Although, no subject matter requirements are suggested, from everything I read, Naani poems generally are about relationships, the current state of affairs, the human condition, and/or emotions. So, basically, you’re wide open.

One more thing, the first line usually – but not always – states the subject of the poem.

 

I highly suggest you use one of those handy, dandy free online syllable counters ~ all you have to do is plop your entire 4-line poem into the box, click the “Count Syllables” bar at the bottom and it will count them for you – remember you are looking to have at least 20 but no more than 25 syllables per Naani poem. Cheers!!
 

How Many Syllables 

So here’s mine from 2020, during the height of the pandemic:

 

 

Day in and out

I sit inside and wonder

Will things ever

Get back to normal

        © Stephanie Abney 2020

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 to them as soon as they create them and especially once 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.

Day 15 ~ Octopoem

Today let’s try a fun little poem that has 8 lines. It’s called an “Octopoem.” It has very specific requirements:

Pick a topic of your choice and describe it in EIGHT lines. Each line can be as long as you choose and does not need to rhyme or anything of that nature.

HOWEVER, the only thing you DO need to follow is the order of the descriptions you use for each of the 8 lines about your poem.

An octopoem has 8 lines describing the topic (or pet or person, whatever):

line 1: color
line 2: season
line 3: place
line 4: weather
line 5: clothing
line 6: furniture
line 7: TV show
line 8: food

Here’s one I wrote ~

My Grandson, My Friend

His favorite color is green.
He is a breath of fresh Spring air.
He loves to be wherever I am.
We love to play in the rain.
If it's green, it's clean and ready to wear.
When I can't find him he's usually hiding behind a chair.
If “Wild Kratts” is on, we are good to go.
He likes to eat everything as long as it is a peanut butter sandwich.

© 2015 Stephanie Abney 

 

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 to them as soon as they create them and especially once 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.

 

Day 14 ~ Pyramid Poem

A pyramid poem is another one of those format poems that LOOKS simple, and it actually IS simple . . . if you follow the rules!! It’s one of those “parts of speech” poems; great for classroom teachers. It has some repetition in it, which is part of its charm. Here we go:

When all is said and done – if you center the words (which I realize you can’t do in the comment section of the blog or on FB – but when you save it for yourself, center the words so the poem is in the shape of a pyramid.

Here is the format ~ use ONE word for the part(s) of speech indicated on each line BUT THE CATCH IS ~ once you have selected a word for NOUN – it needs to be used EVERY time a NOUN is called for in the poem, same for the adjective you choose and so forth (syllable counts, word counts, and rhyming are not a requirement, although some may occur), but using the same word for a particular part of speech IS a requirement:

Line 1: noun

Line 2: adjective noun

Line 3: adjective noun verb

Line 4: adjective noun verb adverb

Line 5: adjective noun verb adverb prepositional phrase

 

And if you need a refresher course on “prepositional phrases” you can quickly review this web page: Prepositional Phrases

Here’s an example I found online at www.scholastic.com/ but no author credit was given:

Clouds

Puffy clouds

Puffy clouds float

Puffy clouds float sleepily

Puffy clouds float sleepily across the horizon

                                                                                    ~ Anonymous

  

                                  

Children

Sweet children

Sweet children play

Sweet children play happily

Sweet children play happily at Grandma’s house

                                                                                              © 2015 Stephanie Abney

 

 

  

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 to them as soon as they create them and especially once 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.

 

Day 13 ~ "What If . . . I Might"

 

This is a poem that will get you thinking of many possibilities; some thoughtful, others silly, some adventurous, or even fanciful. Let your imagination go or reach deep into your heart. 

 

Fill in the blanks any way you want – no need to worry about word or syllable count, no worries about rhyming, etc. Changing the words you can create dozens of poems.

 

Line #1:  What if ____________________________
Line #2:  I might ____________________________

(leave a space between lines 2 & 3)
 

Line #3:  What if ____________________________
Line #4:  I could _____________________________

(leave a space between lines 4 & 5)

Line #5:  What if ____________________________
Line #6:  I would_____________________________

(leave a space between lines 6 & 7)
 

Line #7:  Ask a question.

 

 

Have fun!!

HERE ARE MY EXAMPLES - for what they're worth :)

At first, I was planning to write new ones for this year, but the evening got away from me and now it's Wednesday (wee hours of the morning) already and I need to post this. Besides, these (from a few years ago) are not half-bad. I’m anxious to see what you come up with though!! Cheers!!

The first one is silly: 

What if I danced in the rain?
I might get a little bit wet.

What if I sang at the top of my lungs?
I could land a singing contract, I bet.

What if I went back inside and sat down?
I would never know what I might do.

I wonder, would you be so bold, if it were you?

                     © 2011 Stephanie Abney

 

This one is more serious:

 
What if I listened very carefully to the spirit?
I might be surprised at what I hear.
 
What if the Lord has plans I'm not ready for?
I could try to pretend I didn't hear them.
 
What if I listened and obeyed?
I would be more useful to His children.
 
Do you think I'm that strong?

         © 2011 Stephanie Abney

Day 12 - Quinzaine

This one is short and sweet BUT there are VERY specific guidelines to it. Having to fit your thoughts into patterns is good practice for learning to express yourself.

So here ya’ go:

A quinzaine is an unrhymed three-line poem that contains 15 syllables, with a SPECIFIC number for each of the 3 lines. AND there is a format in which the FIRST line MAKES a STATEMENT. You can use the next two lines to ASK a QUESTION about that statement.

The pattern is:

The first line has 7 syllables [make a statement]

The second line has 5 syllables [start your question about your statement]

The third line has 3 syllables [finish your question about your statement]

 

Remember, the first line makes a statement and the next two lines ask a question about the subject.

 

Here's a couple I came up with a number of years ago:

 

We're on earth to serve others.

Why is finding time

hard to do?

     © 2011 Stephanie Abney

 

 

 

 

God sees us as we can be.

Can’t we see others

that way too?

      © 2011 Stephanie Abney

 

YOUR TURN!!

                              (Image by Leejoann from Pixabay)

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 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 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.

Day 11 ~ “Tan-Renga” Poem” 2022

This is quite a fun poetry from – we’ve done it before. OK, so don’t freak out, but you’ll need to grab a partner because we are going to write a “Tan-Renga,” which is a Japanese poem of collaboration. It’s fun, really. Here’s the thing – you will need to find someone to write this (SHORT – 5 line) poem with. Even if you live alone, you can find someone. It can be done together, in person, or over the phone, or via text, or email, or whatever works for you. Your partner in writing this poem can be a spouse, a child, a neighbor, a friend; heck, it can be your mail carrier – just someone other than yourself needs to help write this poem.

This is basically a Tanka poem (which we did on Day 2) BUT with one catch ~ one person writes the first three lines (I’ll review the pattern for a Tanka poem below – it’s only 5 lines) and the second person finishes off the poem with the last two lines, almost as if in response to your first three lines.

The name, Tan-Renga (from Japanese) translates as "short linked poem" or "short connecting poem." 

Remember how we did the Tanka poetic form? Rhyming doesn’t even enter in. The only concern is the number of syllables per line:

Line 1 = 5 syllables     (1^st person writes)
Line 2 = 7 syllables     (1^st person writes)
Line 3 = 5 syllables     (1^st person writes)
Line 4 = 7 syllables     (2^nd person writes)
Line 5 = 7 syllables     (2^nd person writes)
 

So, about 5 years ago I had my husband, Jim, write this Tan-Renga with me ~ I wrote the first three lines and he responded with last two lines and together we came up with this:

Our life together

Has had a few learning curves

The highs and the lows

Giving, growing and loving

We have become companions

                 © 2017 by Stephanie and Jim Abney

Since he is wisely asleep at this hour (about 2am Monday morning), I can’t have him help me write another one right now – but we might do it again later and then I can come back and add it or share it on my FB National Poetry Month group. Cheers!!

 

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 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 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.

 

Day 10, 2022 ~ "ing" poems

Let’s go for super simple today – however, sometimes a simple poetry form can be deceiving – some rather profound poems can be produced with some very simple formats.

Today we are going to write an “ing” Poem ~ yep, an “ing” Poem

So, basically, you choose a noun (seasons and animals make good choices, but any noun that comes to mind will be great) and then list 4-6 (give or take) verbs associated with that noun and add “ing” to them. Give it a try – perhaps, create several “ing” poems.

Like this:

NOUN (also is your title)

verb + ing

verb +ing

verb +ing

verb +ing

verb +ing

 

Here are a couple of examples:

GRANDCHILDREN

Laughing
Playing
Loving
Caring
Sharing
Growing

             © 2016 Stephanie Abney

PARADIGM SHIFT 

Wondering

Thinking
Reading
Listening
Considering
Challenging
Understanding
Becoming

            © 2022 Stephanie Abney      

 (Image by Andreas Schau from Pixabay)

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 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 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.

Day 9 - Nonet

 

Day 9 ~ Nonet

This is one of my all-time FAVORITE poetry forms: NONET POEM!!

Basically, the “Nonet poem” is based on the number 9. I first tried writing one of these for the 2014 Poetry Challenge and the two poems that resulted are two of my favorite and so I continue to use them as examples, not that I haven’t written newer Nonet poems, but I love these and the pictures I found to go with them, so . . . if you’ve been around, you have seen these before and if not, get set for lots of FUN!!!!!

A Nonet Poem is based on NINE, in more ways than one ~ it has nine lines and the FIRST LINE has NINE syllables ~ but there are a few more details to know. Here is how you do this poem:

When I looked up the word “nonet” in the dictionary I discovered it stood for 9 musical performers or 9 instruments – and the poem has a pattern that has 9 lines – first line has 9 syllables, each line thereafter has one less syllable, ending with the last line only having ONE syllable. The number of words does not matter, ONLY the number of syllables so it actually provides you with some flexibility. Intriguing, right?

Here is a “look” at this pattern:

* * * * * * * * * (9 syllables)

* * * * * * * * (8 syllables)

* * * * * * * (7 syllables)

* * * * * * (6 syllables)

* * * * * (5 syllables)

* * * * (4 syllables)

* * * (3 syllables)

* * (2 syllables)

* (1 syllable)

It can be about ANYTHING as long as the SYLLABLE COUNTS ARE CORRECT, so PLEASE count them so you can do it correctly.

 

Here is your handy, dandy online syllable counter:

And here are the first two I ever wrote for this poetry form and they remain my favorites:

 

Made chocolate chip cookies tonight

One taste before I go to bed

One bite follows another

I forgot what I said

I’m ready to stop

Well, maybe not

Just one more

Then to . . .

Bed!!

          © 2014 Stephanie Abney

 

“Grandma, may we have a sleepover?”

My precious grandkids ask again.

“We promise to obey you.”

They give a hopeful look.

“We won’t talk in bed.”

That’s what they said.

“We love you.”

I said,

“Yes!”

           © 2014 Stephanie Abney

 

OKAY, your turn – GO!!

AND – here is a free online rhyming dictionary – very awesome and helpful for if/when you get stuck:
Free Online Rhyming Dictionary

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 to them as soon as they create them and especially once 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.