Form Poem Contest

[Pendragon]

Thanks, guys. Hummm... form?

OK, straight Shakespearian sonnet, shall we say with an archaic style of language (think Chaucer here.) Might be fun!

[Pendragon]

No takers? I'm shocked!

[YesNo]

I guess I missed this one.

Killing What Thy Lover Loves

Like Juno loves to punish wayward Jove
By killing what he loves, I'm just as mean.
Those naked nymphs thou hidest in thy grove
Wilst feel fresh hate few nymphs have ever seen.

They'll wish they all were comfortably dead,
But thou shalt watch them scream to my delight.
When death doth take them off to Hades' bed
Their nightmares wilst forever stink of fright.

And thou who thought those nymphs were more than me,
Thy queen, old fart, they die now in thy place
So thou mightst love me just as I love thee
Then cringe when I stare down thy ugly face.

Yea, love means thou dost what, my love, I say.
Thy nymph of choice hath died this sunny day.

[Pendragon]

Wow! Excellent start! More! More!

[tailor STATELY]

Working on it; 1 - very rough draft down.
... got nuthin.

[IceM]

The lady dost love those with threads
whose golden satin shines with time,
whose silk linens coat their beds,
whose eloquent phrases match their rhyme.

The French perfumes adorn her neck,
and Spanish take her plaec to place.
Gold or pyrite--it matters not--
that which gleams gets her heart to race.

With every jewel, there comes a key
to the treasure within her chest.
Beware, for all that which you seek
is lost; her lavish soul lies bereft.

Her current fashion hides the tale
of barren landscapes up for sale.

[jajdude]

Upon Regret, my friend, let's say no more,
It strikes our futile hearts in vain;
It steals our joy and leaves us poor,
Our brimful cheer now 'mersed in pain.

The shadow steals beneath the rock,
The moon hath hid his timid face,
The key now broken in its lock
Hath left us in disgrace.

So rise, my friend, and cast aside
The empty sorrow that serves no good,
Save thy fret for another tide,
And be my brother, as thou should.

We shall regret more in times to come,
Meanwhile let us smile and be numb.

[Pendragon]

Anybody else? Muse?

[Dark Muse]

Anybody else? Muse?

Alas, you have found my one weakness. Iambic pentameter is my kryptonite of poetry.

[moonbird]

Alas, you have found my one weakness. Iambic pentameter is my kryptonite of poetry.

Same here, Dark Muse. I made an attempt at this one and failed completely.

[Pendragon]

OKaaaaay....

I think Yesno nailed down the win with the first entry. I know I have read it and reread it. And I enjoyed it more each time!

jajdude I enjoyed your poem with its continued reminder of the regrets we have in life. Well done.

IceM Your poem was kinda like the Song of Solomon. I kept waiting to see the words "My beloved". Excellent love sonnet. Well Done

But the prize goes to Yesno Congrads!

[YesNo]

Thanks, Pendragon!

For the next contest, the form is common meter or common measure.

Each stanza contains 4 lines. It has an alternating meter, that is, one syllable is unaccented and the next accented. The first and third lines have 4 accents. The second and fourth have either 3 or 4 accents. There is also rhyme on the second and fourth lines and optionally on the first and third.

Deadline: July 31

Here are some examples many people know with bold used to mark the accent and color used to mark the rhymes.

Mary had a little lamb.
It's fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.

The second is a stanza from John Newton's Amazing Grace:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

[Pendragon]

Yee-ouch! I'm hopeless with foot and meter!

[YesNo]

You can do it!

Four lines of iambic tetrameter is all you need. One stanza.

[moonbird]

Guess I'll give it a shot... Someone else please submit one so this poor attempt doesn't win by default.


Colored windows, blues and golds,
They shatter, tinkling down
Like rain of wind-chimes to the floor
Or God's great wrath unbound.