[Stylist] a poem

Wed Dec 21 22:32:11 UTC 2022

Hi there-

I like your question about the importance of form elements like meter, rhyme, and  the actual positioning of lines, words, etc.

Form is a priority when writing verse forms like sonnets, haiku, etc.  A poorly structured sonnet is a nightmare to read.

I write  free verse because it allows the flow of ideas and agility of the words and other elements to work together. There are also complimentary elements  to include but  the guidelines and rules are not as rigid as traditional forms.

Studying how other poets write is important, too. I read poetry everyday and participate in a poetry group where we share poems from other poets and then study them and  from this we each write a new poem. This kind of generative approach works very well once you find a core group who works well together.

Rhyming, the use of imagery, alliteration, repetition, meter and pacing and line structure are what helps me the most other than the actual subject matter and eliminating  words that do not feel essential to the poem. 

What makes a good poem for me as a reader is  wanting to go back and read it again and afterwards, thinking about the poem. It sticks with me and holds a place marker in my brain.

Same could e said with a song and the lyrics.

Best,

Annie

Ann M. Chiappetta, M.S.

Making Meaningful ConnectionsThrough Media 

914.393.6605 USA

 <mailto:Anniecms64 at gmail.com> Anniecms64 at gmail.com

All things Annie:  <http://www.annchiappetta.com> www.annchiappetta.com 

From: Stylist <stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Richard R. Thomas via Stylist
Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2022 8:43 AM
To: Writers' Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Richard R. Thomas <richardrthomas48 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Stylist] a poem

I liked it.

I like the use of the image of shifting, wind blown sand crystals.

They form shapes and go in only 1 direction as does time.

And, as I think she is musing on,  time is the conductor of all things and events as we watch, listen with appreciation, to the music of the spheres as it were.

Again, prettyinteresting use of imagery.

I have wondered about technical breakdowns of some of these poems as to meter.

How do the various authors count various syllabols and various linguistic helper words.

Is it even  important in todays free-wheeling poetry environment?

I really don’t know and have been writing my lyrics as a sort of rhyming prose to avoid the complexities of formal structure but do want to do things quite well so am asking.

I don’t mean any criticism, just interested in what you pros do or appreciate when reading a poem so I can apply current norms to my song lyrics.

Thanks Ann and other writers:

Richard R. Thomas (Rick USA)  

Sent from Mail <https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986>  for Windows

From: Ann Chiappetta via Stylist <mailto:stylist at nfbnet.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, December 20, 2022 4:20 PM
To: Writers' Division Mailing List <mailto:stylist at nfbnet.org> 
Cc: Ann Chiappetta <mailto:anniecms64 at gmail.com> 
Subject: [Stylist] a poem

Origin of Planets

Jennifer Foerster

In this version, the valley

lime green after rain

rolls its tides before us.

A coyote bush shivers with seed.

We hold out our palms as if catching snow—

our villages of circular tracts

overcast with stars.

We have been moving together in sequence

for thousands of years, paralyzed

only by the question of time.

But now it is autumn under bishop pines—

the young blown down by wind feed

their lichens to the understory.

We follow the deer-path

past the ferns, to the flooded

upper reaches of the estuary.

The channel snakes through horsetails

and hemlock as the forest deepens, rises

behind us and the blue heron,

frozen in the shallows.

The shadow of her long neck ripples.

Somewhere in the rustling tulle reeds

spider is casting her threads to the light

and we spot a crimson-hooded fly agaric,

her toadstool’s gills white

as teeth as the sun

                bleeds into the Pacific.

We will walk the trail

until it turns to sand

and wait at the spit’s edge, listening

to the breakers, the seagulls

as they chatter their twilight preparations.

What we won’t understand

about the sound of the sea is no different

than the origin of planets

or the wind’s crystalline structures

irreversibly changing.

The albatross drags her parachute

over the earth’s gaping mouth.

We turn back only for the instant

the four dimensions fold

into a sandcastle—before its towers

are collapsed by waves.

The face that turns

toward the end of its world

dissolves into space—

despite us, the continuum

remains.

Ann M. Chiappetta, M.S.

Making Meaningful ConnectionsThrough Media 

914.393.6605 USA

 <mailto:Anniecms64 at gmail.com> Anniecms64 at gmail.com

All things Annie:  <http://www.annchiappetta.com> www.annchiappetta.com 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/stylist_nfbnet.org/attachments/20221221/71cec177/attachment.html>