At such a sight
As the moon at night
So high, so bright
My thoughts take flight
The sheer delight
Of its vibrant white
Its pungent bite
Some day might
Emit its light
To end my plight
Leaving me quite
Without foresight
Indeed contrite
All this I write
So slight
And yet, so recondite
Today, I attempt to compose an ELFCHEN or, in English, an ELEVENIE
Wikipedia defines an Elevenie, or Elfchen, as follows:
“An elevenie (German Elfchen — Elf “eleven” and -chen as diminutive suffix to indicate diminutive size and endearment) is a short poem with a given pattern. It contains eleven words which are arranged in a specified order over five rows. Each row has a requirement that can vary.”
A simple form, similar perhaps to Haiku, Senryu or Tanka, in which the poet attempts to carry an idea within a set format of words and lines which imposes certain strictures of thought and form on the author.
The usual format requires a short verse of eleven words in five lines in the form – 1, 2, 3, 4, 1. An order which I have reversed in my last of the 4 elfchen below . . .
ELEVENSIE 1 . . . On Poetry
Poetry
Felt experience
Not always beautiful
But rich in meaning
Worthwhile
ELEVENSIE 2 . . . On Age
Years
Bring age
Not necessarily wisdom
Learn from your experience
Grow
ELEVENSIE 3 . . . On Lockdown
Constriction
Distorting minds
Playing with normality
Threatening well earned contentment
Lockdown
REVERSE ELEVENSIE 4 . . . On Covid19
Puzzlement
Why let us suffer
Whilst time passes
Our lives
Wasting
Photo by Joe on Pexels.com
I carry my age so lightly,
With others help, don’t get me wrong,
I’ll manage to last till midnight.
Give me the time to linger long.
For patience is a true virtue,
And I’ve not knowingly done wrong.
So grant me one last interlude,
Give me the time to linger long.
And when my time at last does come,
My final lucid grateful song
Will say as they whisk me away,
‘Thanks for the time to linger long.’
NOTE:
Kyrielle is a French form of rhyming poetry written in quatrains (a stanza consisting of 4 lines), and each quatrain contains a repeating line or phrase as a refrain (usually appearing as the last line of each stanza). Each line within the poem consists of only eight syllables. There is no limit to the amount of stanzas a Kyrielle may have, but three is considered the accepted minimum . . . The rhyme pattern is completely up to the poet.
[ From: http://www.shadowpoetry.com ]
Photo by Jacek Mleczek on Pexels.com
Reverse Cinquain: Simply a Crapsey Cinquain in which the syllable count appears in reverse order. Adelaide Crapsey’s cinquains utilized a syllable count of 2-4-6-8-2. Therefore, the syllable count of the Reverse Cinquain is 2-8-6-4-2.
Composed in response to Abigail Gronway’s Challenge: at: https://darksideofthemoon583.com/2019/03/08/5-line-poem-challenge-6-reverse-cinquain/
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
As I sit with pen in hand
Considering what my muse demands,
Oft an idea comes to mind;
So many thoughts are inter-twined.
First a ruling I must make,
What form shall my poem take?
Rondeau, ode, or Villanelle,
Sonnet, haiku, kyrielle?
I’m excited, I am ready,
I’m inspired, feeling heady.
Ah, when the mot juste does occur,
How joyously my line will purr.
But then my thoughts will always turn
To all those words which I shall spurn.
Those rhymes which never quite will fit,
And where those phrases should be split
Have I spelt that word correctly?
I must check it out directly.
Then the punctuation too;
Comma or colon? Wish I knew.
Capitals to start each line?
Will they add to my design?
Perhaps it’ll prove less nondescript
If I centre all the script.
Can I improve the way it flows?
Better check that I suppose.
Then, of course, must choose a title,
That indeed will be most vital.
Decisions made, about to publish.
Please don’t tell me it’s all RUBBISH.
Followers of Roland’s Ragbag will know that, on occasion, I enjoy attempting a, for me, unaccustomed poetic form. I was again encouraged to do so earlier today by a post on Linda Luna’s blog: ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ . Please do take a look at her description of the Decastitch and, in particular at her outline of a particular variation of this many-faceted form named the ‘Ravenfly’. Her blog contains a clear outline of the form, which I quote as follows:
In summary, the Ravenfly is:
• A decastich (10-line poem) written in 3 stanzas: 2 quatrains and 1 couplet.
• Syllabic count: 8-7-8-7, 8-7-8-7, 10-10
• Rhyme scheme: abab cdcd ee
• Meter is optional
Return me to when I was young
And life had not yet happened;
The loves I’ve had, the songs I’ve sung,
But now I’m truly saddened,
For life has bitten me so hard,
Removing joy and pleasure,
Leaving my swollen heart so scarred
The pain I cannot measure.
My memories of youth are dear,
The future – still obscure, unclear.
A full account of the Decastich and its many different guises can be read on the Poet’s Garret website (q.v.).
I have posted my above attempt at ‘The Raven’ to the ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ Challenge.
The LANTURNE is a traditional poetic form which has a five-line verse, normally without rhyme, supposedly in the shape of a Japanese lantern.
It has a syllabic pattern of one, two, three, four, one.
Below ,I have composed six loosely connected verses in this form . . .
Raise
your voice
make it ring
don’t let it die
sing
Vows
last long
when new but
promises soon
die
Love
yields hope
but time tells
and soon it dies
hurt
Life
brings joy
But sorrow
Intrudes too soon
… Damn!
I
alas
will die soon
leaving this life
hurts
Cry
and ask
this fool world
to forgive your
tears
William Blake … ‘The Vision Of Christ Resurrected’
A Haiku, when written in English, is a 3-lined unrhymed tercet.
A Poetic TERCET is essentially a verse of three-lines all of which end in the same rhyme and often written in iambic pentameter. I print three of my own such Poetic TERCETS below . . .
THE DOUBTING THOMAS
To start each morning he would kneel and pray;
He needed that to get him through the day.
At least his god would let him have his say.
THE BOMBAST
He loved to speak and then have the last word.
His friends, such as they were, called him absurd,
The rest just closed their ears and nothing heard.
THE CHOICE
God said to Man I’ll give to you a choice,
Believe in me and then with me rejoice,
Or be a Trappist monk and lose your voice.
Today I am ‘having a go’ at the Etheree poetic form. It is somewhat similar to the Cinquain and the Rictameter, both of which I have tackled previously. The Etheree is a ten line form ascending in syllable count for ten unrhymed lines, and it should focus on a single idea or subject. Thus the syllable count is in the form: 1.2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
This can be altered to give a Reverse Etheree: 10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1.
The form is attributed to an American poet, Etheree Taylor Armstrong of Arkansas (1918 – 1994). Little seems to be known of her life except the poetic form she devised.
Notes adapted from ‘The Poets’ Garret’ et al.
I have attempted both forms below – on the subjects of ‘Idleness’ and ‘Life’ …
Today I vow to spend in idleness,
to do no more than listen keenly,
allow the world to speak to me,
while I, in turn, consider
which way my life now leads,
trying to find peace
within my mind
that will see
my life
through.
Life,
in truth,
defeats me.
Midst storm and stress
I struggle to keep
that equilibrium
which holds me in its stillness,
waiting with some trepidation
for that final push to reach the stars
where my disquietude will cease to be.
Verses and sketch by: Roland (WHB)
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