Streambed's Ripple

Streambed's Ripple a form created by Lillibet known on Allpoetry as Streambed.

It is:

Stanzaic: Written in 3 ten line stanzas

Syllabic: 10/8/10/8/10/10/10/8/10/8

Refrain:  Requires the last half of L5 to repeat in each stanza

Rhymed: xaxaBbxaxa xcxcBbxcxc xdxdBbxdxd

Metric: Written in iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter

Example poem

Love's Corset     (Streambed's Ripple)

For centuries we have believed

the attributes of form

as they relate to motherhood

ought be considered norm.

So bind yourself with stays and lace

before you paint or rouge your face.

For parturition hips must be

expanded, round and warm.

The breasts to suckle one or more

are ample to conform.

A standard then however wrought

in western cultures seem

to drive the fashion engines to

promote this female scheme.

So women then with stays and lace

constrict themselves so men will chase.

But girls have found and boys have too

that essence reigns supreme,

and being kind and being true

is what will fuel love's dream.

Once one is found to share your heart,

then regulate your mind

and recognize that devotion

provides the stays that bind.

I'll bind my love with stays and lace

to make sure romance stays in place

and corset non-complying thoughts

and set them far behind.

For nothing fits the human soul

like lovers so aligned.

© Lawrencealot - April 19, 2014

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Zejel

Zejel

The zejel is a Spanish form which my Spanish friends have not heard of. They tell me though that it is pronounced the-hell, with the stress on the second syllable. (How the hell do they know?)

My example in this form is about how men can't help thinking about sex. I hope this doesn't offend anyone, and get me a reputation as a male chauvinist pig. As I'm always saying, the opinions expressed in the poem are not necessarily those of the poet himself. (See also my Masefield parody.) 

I checked on the web how many times a day men are reputed to think about sex. The consensus seemed to be that it was about 200. The lowest figure came from the Ladies Home Journal, which said "4 or 5". The highest came from the film Simply Irresistible, which says 278 - apparently it uses this as a running gag. (One site actually topped this with a claim of "every 8 seconds", which works out at 450 times an hour, but I think that writer may have been shooting from the hip, as it were.)

Anyway, here's the poem: 

Proposition

Mostly, sex tops men’s agenda.

I’m not one to buck the trend - a

Red-blooded repeat offender.

Hurrying for the morning train,

Spirit not damped by teeming rain,

There’s only one thing on my brain:

All the time I think of gender.

At the office, deep in filing,

Boredom on frustration piling,

Even then, a woman smiling

Makes me feel all warm and tender.

Are you female and eighteen plus?

A good sport and adventurous?

We have a great deal to discuss.

Come back to my hacienda!

The first stanza, known as the mudanza, has three lines, rhyming aaa. All the other stanzas - as many of them as you like - have 4 lines, rhyming bbba, the a rhyme harking back to the first stanza. So the overall rhyming scheme for the poem is aaa/bbba/ccca/ddda/...

Colloquial language tends to be used, and 8-syllable lines are usual (though not obligatory), so that's what I've used here. I have interpreted the term "8-syllable line" to mean "a line with 8 syllables", and I suggest that you should do the same. However, in Spanish poetry syllable-counting works differently, and the term "8-syllable line" is liable to be interpreted as "a line in which the last stressed syllable is the seventh"; such a line might have 7 syllables, or 8, or 9, or even more. (I wonder whether the Spanish write haiku?)Pasted from <http://volecentral.co.uk/vf/zejel.htm>

Thanks to Bob Newman for his wonderful Volecentral resource site.

Example Poem

Toothless Smile      (Zejel)

The tortoise lived out on a heath

with only sage to hide beneath

his home he never could bequeath.

While I am taxed for my household

and pay and pay until I'm old,

and shall until I'm dead and cold

and I'm ensconced beneath a wreath.

My brilliant smile was once okay,

before my teeth all went away;

my progeny will have to say,

"He kept his house but lost his teeth."

© Lawrencealot - April 16, 2014

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Dansa

Dansa

The dansa is an Occitan verse form i.e. it's from the troubadour territory of southern France. All the verses except the first are the same: they rhyme aabb with the last line a repeated refrain. The first verse has five lines, and consists of the refrain followed by four lines similar to all the other verses. No particular metre is essential, but Skelton says six-syllable lines are common in Occitan verse, so that's what I used.

A Load of Rot

Mulching is the future!

Let those clippings lie there,

Proving how much you care.

For lawns needing nurture,

Mulching is the future.

Don’t clear up that cut grass!

Lie down; let the urge pass.

Be at one with nature -

Mulching is the future.

You need no-one’s pardon;

This is your own garden.

For your private pasture,

Mulching is the future.

Your leisure is well-earned.

Relax; don’t be concerned.

Look, see the big picture:

Mulching is the future.

What you leave will decay.

It will provide one day

Nutrients and moisture.

Mulching is the future.

Don’t get up; better far

To stay right where you are.

As with any creature,

Mulching is your future.

I saw a lawnmower on sale with the slogan "Mulching is the future". I found it a catchy slogan but a depressing thought. Still, there had to be a poem in it... It was just a question of finding a suitable verse form. I think the dansa was a fair choice.

I cheated slightly by altering one word in the final repetition of the refrain.  Poetic licence.

Pasted from <http://volecentral.co.uk/vf/dansa.htm>

Thanks to Bob Newman for his wonderful Volecentral resource site.

My example poem-

Since Bob used a slogan, I did too.

Intrigue     (Dansa)

Does she? Or doesn't she?

If you but only knew.

Instead you have no clue.

So what is it to be?

Does she? Or doesn't she?

A guy, you can just ask,

it's such a simple task

It can't sound like a plea,

Does she? Or doesn't she?

Why should you really care

what color is her hair.

But when it comes to me,

Does she? Or doesn't she?

© Lawrencealot - April 12, 2014

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Zanze

• The Zanze is a verse form with variable syllabic pattern introduced by Walden Greenwell.
  
  The Zanze is:
• a poem in 16 lines made up of 4 quatrains.
• syllabic, 8-8-8-8 6-6-6-6 4-4-4-4 2-4-6-8 syllables per line.
• rhymed, Abab cdcd efef gagA.
• L1 is repeated as L16, L5 is the repetition of first 6 syllables of L1, L9 is the repetition of first 4 syllables of L1 and L13 is the repetition of the first 2 syllables of L1.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1882#baccresiez

My Thanks to Judi Van Gorder for the wonderful resource at PMO

Although the rhyme pattern suggest there is one refrain, ther are actually four!

My Example poem

Now I Lay Me Down, Let's Sleep      (Zanze)

If you wait 'til the morning dear

I'll be more sober and awake

It's better when my head is clear,

I'll know you then for heaven's sake.

If you wait 'til the morn

I'll treat you like a queen

and not as a lowborn

with limbs to come between.

If you wait 'til

the time is right

I know I will

give you delight.

If you

forgive my beer

I promise I'll come through.

If you wait 'til the morning dear.

© Lawrencealot - April 7, 2014

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Termelay

• The Termelay is similar to the Roundelay. This invented verse form was created by Viola Berg.
  
  The Termelay is:
• a hexastich, a poem in 6 lines.
• syllabic, 4-4-4-8-8-4 syllables per line.
• unrhymed.
• composed with a refrain, L3 is repeated as L6.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1882#baccresiez

My Thanks to Judi Van Gorder for the wonderful resource at PMO

My example poem

What Do Nattering Nannies Know?    (Termelay)

When power groups

say "No you can't",

Do something else.

Some want constraints acts that seem fine;

Just stick a finger in their eye.

Do something else.

© Lawrencealot - April 7, 2014

Photo Credit: Viewed on FaceBook

All rights belong to the photographer, if anyone can give

me his name I would  love to provide attribution.

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Duodora

• Duodora is a quatorzain that doesn't claim to be a sonnet. Written in 2 septets, L1 of the first septet is repeated as L1 of the 2nd septet. The form was created by Dora Tompkins who was an editor of the Nutmegger, a poetry magazine published in Connecticut.
  
  The Duodora is:
• a quatorzain made up of 2 septets.
• syllabic, 4-6-5-5-5-10-10 / 4-6-5-5-5-10-10 syllables per line.
• rhymed Axxxxxb Axxxxxb L1 is repeated as a refrain that begins the 2nd stanza. x is unrhymed.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1882#baccresiez

My Thanks to Judi Van Gorder for the wonderful resource at PMO

My example poem

The Sailor and the Rose - 1980        (Duodora)

A round platform

occupied the center

of two acres of

polished hard wood floor.

As a young sailor

from a small town, I was already awed

by the hundreds of couples I suppose.

A round platform

became a stage for a

volunteer to sing

one song with the band.

I was never close

enough to see her. But we stopped dancing

and some (like me) cried as she sang "The Rose."

© Lawrencealot - March 22, 2014

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The Balance

• The Balance attempts to create an ebb and flow rhythm. The rhythm is created by a specific syllabic designation per line as well as an intricate rhyme scheme. This verse form was created by Viola Berg.
  
  The Balance is:
• stanzaic, framed in 4 cinquains. The patterns of the cinquains change from stanza to stanza.
• syllabic,
  stanza 1 =10-8-6-4-2 syllables.
  stanza 2 =2-4-6-8-10 syllables
  stanza 3 =10-8-6-4-2 syllables
  stanza 4 = 2-4-6-8-10 syllables
• rhymed, rhyme scheme Abcde edcba abcde edcbA.
• composed with a refrain, the 1st line of the poem is repeated as the last line.
  Short Balance by Judi Van Gorder
  
  Centered on the page the words resonate
  with sounds of fingers striking
  the computer keyboard.
  Tapping into
  my muse.
  
  Good news,
  the verse in due
  time takes shape, strikes a chord
  without inspiration spiking.
  Centered on the page the words resonate.

Pasted from <http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1882#baccresieze>

Related forms: Baxter's Hexastitch, Butterfly Cinquain, Cinquetun, Cinquino, Crapsey Cinquain, CinqCinquain, Cinquain Chain, Cinquain Swirl,  Didactic Cinquain, Mirror Cinquain, Oddquain Butterfly, Standard Cinquain, The Balance 

My Thanks to Judi Van Gorder for the wonderful resource at PMO

My Sample Poem

Fish wrap is Functional    (The Balance)

The paper tells of babies being born,

while businesses are formed and fold,

and folks grow old and die,

while other's kill

or cheat

to beat

other's for thrill

or just because they're high.

The earth's getting too hot or cold;

associations steer and hold in scorn

those men who break from ranks and won't adorn

concepts as right, because they're old.

Opinions satisfy,

candidates will

just tweet

or greet

with smarmy skill

while business goes awry

and we the sheeple, are controlled.

The paper tells of babies being born.

© Lawrencealot - March 7, 2014

Baccresiezé

Pathways for the Poet by Viola Berg (1977) appears to be a book for educators. Classic poetic forms as well as many invented forms that can be used as teaching tools or exercises for use in workshops or classrooms are included. Some of these invented forms I have found in use in internet poetry communities, a testament to their staying power. On this page I include the syllabic invented forms found therein which appear to be exclusive to the community of educators from whom Ms. Berg drew her support. I have yet to find these in any other source. I have included the metric invented forms on a separate page. Whether classroom exercise or sharpening your skill as a writer, some of these forms can be fun to play with.

• Baccresiezé is an invented form, apparently created as an exercise in repetition. This verse form has two and a half different refrains. It is attributed to E. Ernest Murell.
  
  The Baccresiezé is:
• stanzaic, written in 3 quatrains.
• syllabic, L1,L2,L3 are 8 syllables and L4 is 4 syllables.
• refrained, L4 of each quatrain is a refrain and L1 of the first quatrain is repeated as L3 in the 2nd quatrain. The last 4 syllables of L1 are repeated as the last 4 syllables of L2 in the first quatrain only.
• rhymed, with a complicated rhyme scheme AaxB bxAB xxxB x being unrhymed.
  The Will by by Judi Van Gorder
  
  ---------------I read of love, undying love,
  what does that mean, undying love?
  A rose withers, a blossom falls,
  --------------- what lives will die.
  Love is a will, a rush, a sigh,
  a touch, a cry, a hope, a rock.
  I read of love, undying love,
  --------------- what lives will die.
  Blush of new love we know must fade
  replaced in time with trust and grace.
  In rest, I will my love remain.
  -------------- What lives will die.

Pasted from <http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=1882#baccresieze>

My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for her wonderful PMO resource.

Syllabic 8/8/8/4

Stanzaic Three Quatrains

Refrain

Larry at 3/5/2014 7:30 PM

Corrected Rhyme Pattern:  AA1xB bxAB xxxB   x being unrhymed

My Sample Poem

And Yet We Lived    (Baccresiezé)

We walked across the hot asphalt

bare feet imprint the hot asphalt

embedding footprints in the road

-----------------when we were boys.

Strange things we found became our toys

and after wading in canals

We walked across the hot asphalt

------------------when we were boys.

We drank from hoses, slept outside,

and rode for miles two on one bike.

We never owned a helmet once

---------------when we were boys.

© Lawrencealot - March 5, 2014

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EPJohnson Quintet

This is a form I simply documented, attributing it to

Emily Pauline Johnson, because in the four hundred twenty plus

forms I have documented, I've never come across a quintet with

This rhyme pattern.  I used the first stanza of her poem "The Lost Lagoon" as the template for the metric schema.

The form is stanzaic, consisting of two or more quintets.

It is of Canadian origin.

The rhyme scheme is A1bbbA2 A1cccA2...etc.

 (Indicating that the ending words of L1 and L5 are repeated in each stanza.)

It is syllabic, 8/9/9/9/8

The short lines are anapest, anapest, iamb

da da DUM da da DUM da DUM

With the  middle three lines being iamb,iamb,anapest,iamb

da DUM da DUM da da DUM da DUM

My example poem:

Surviving    

When a brother is left behind

it's seldom thought that his time was due.

No battle raged, and the sky was blue,

the day that Tim told us he was through.

"I've no more strength that I can find."

We would not leave our friend behind.

he talked about his sweet wife, his mom,

his father's farm, his young brother Tom

his faith in God, which so helped becalm

him all things good that he could find.

When we found those we'd left behind

to greet with loving so very warm

and praises we had escaped from harm--

we traveled next to Tim's father's farm

for in our hearts still Tim we find.

© Lawrencealot - February 19, 2014

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Trifrain

This is a form created by Lisa LaGrange on Allpoetry.com

It is Stanzic, consisting of any number of quatrains.

It is isosyllabic, eight syllables per line.

It is metered, generally iambic tetameter, but not limited thereto.

It has a repetition (Refrain) requirement

Except for the refrain, which is the first 4 syllable of line one, repeated twice as line 4, it requires mono-rhyme.

Rhyme pattern: aaaR 

Note: Added 2/23/2014:

The Trifrain is a new form that I added to this blog in January 2014, which is so very like a Monotetra (created in 2003), that I have been contacted with the following message: I think you should be careful when giving credit to a poet for creating a poetic form. You documented that Lisa LaGrange created a new form called a "Trifrain". She now insists that it's her form when in actuality it's nothing more than a modified Monotetra created years ago by: Michael Walker.

I agree with the statement that is it nothing more than a modified Monotetra, but it is just that – modified.  It adds the REQUIREMENT of a REFRAIN (While dropping the requirement of MONO-RHYME.)

Lisa could well have simply credited her writing as  such a modification, without giving it a name.  But now we have a label we can refer to if we wish to write this style. 

My dilemma, is that I cannot unilaterally decide that the new requirements are insufficient to allow a new name.  Many sonnet forms were invented with merely a change of rhyme pattern, etc…

But I definitely can and will give credit to the inspiring poet upon whose shoulders one is standing.

Example poem:

Nap Time     (Trifrain)

I need a nap to clear my head 

that happens when I go to bed 

to sleep instead, well just instead. 

I need a nap. I need a nap. 

My tasks await, I can't delay 

my puppy sez it's time to play 

my wife wants barking far a way. 

My tasks await. My tasks await. 

I'll get things done I'll catch up soon 

I'll still have all this afternoon 

but with my muse I must commune. 

I'll get things done. I'll get things done. 

My head is clear. I took a nap 

with puppy cuddled in my lap 

I'm better now, My nap's a wrap. 

My head is clear. My head is clear. 

© Lawrencealot - January 30, 2014

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This template shows iambic tetrameter.

Double Refrain Kyrielle

Type: Structure, Metrical Requirement, Repetitive Requirement, Rhyme Scheme Requirement, Isosyllabic, Stanzaic
Description:
This is a kyrielle with two rhyming refrains in the second and fourth lines of each stanza. It has has octosyllabic lines.
Attributed to: “The Dread Poet Roberts”
Origin: French
Schematic:
aB1aB2 cB1cB2 dB1dB2 eB1eB2 fB1fB2, etc.
Rhythm/Stanza Length: 4

Copyright © 2001-2013 by Charles L. Weatherford. All rights reserved.
Pasted from http://www.poetrybase.info/forms/000/96.shtml

My Thanks to Charles for his fine poetrybase resouce.


Example Poem

Hanging Around     (Double Refrain Kyrielle)

I'm getting used to hanging 'round;

I seem to have out-lived my friends

Some friends were shot and some were drowned

I'm hanging on until the end.

In youth we lived a rapid pace-

I seem to have out-lived my friends

Some died in war but with God's grace

I'm hanging on until the end.

Some friends led not such honest lives.

I seem to have out-lived my friends

They did not find themselves good wives.

I'm hanging on until the end.

Some thought that acquisitions won-

I seem to have out-lived my friends

they are all through but I'm not done.

I'm hanging on until the end.

© Lawrencealot - January 26, 2014

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Double Refrain Ballade Supreme

A 35 line isosyllabic form divided into three ten line verses and a five-line envoi. 

Each line is usually eight or ten syllables long.

 It has two refrains. 

The rhyming and repeating structure are thus:

   ababbCcdcD

   ababbCcdcD

   ababbCcdcD

   cCdcD.

Example Poem

Distracted  ( Double Refrain Ballade Supreme)

I wonder why it seems to be 

that what I've planned is still undone 

when evening catches up with me. 

At times I've even not begun 

on plans I'd reckoned might be fun. 

I start my day with plans in mind 

and then some poet's verse I find 

that illustrates I've more to learn 

about those words so well aligned 

and dally there without concern. 

I will admit to OCD 

that leads me to what I should shun- 

a not known form of poetry 

(or one at least I've never spun) 

Always I feel I must try one. 

I start my day with plans in mind 

But 'ere I start I'm 'oft inclined 

to read and let the candle burn 

and ponder what my friends designed,

and dally there without concern. 

I'm after all the invitee, 

as sure as I'm my mother's son, 

they wrote these words for me to see. 

The ticking clock can't be outrun, 

my plans get lost but know-how's won. 

I start my day with plans in mind 

but some how they get left behind 

when I see skills for which I yearn 

where thought and form are well combined 

I dally there without concern. 

Although the Pert chart's undefined 

I start my day with plans in mind 

occasionally I will return 

to readings that were not assigned 

and dally there without concern. 

© Lawrencealot - January 24, 2014

Related forms: Ballade, Ballade Stanza, Ballade Supreme, Double Ballade,  Chanso, Double Ballade Supreme, Double Refrain Ballade, Double Refrain Ballade Supreme, Grand Ballade or Chant Royal.

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