‘Tis Poetry Month once again, a time to celebrate this art form that can stretch, inspire, and amaze us in ways unique from prose. Award-winning poet Pattiann Rogers identified at least one element of that uniqueness: the music of poetic language.
But is the composing of such music reserved only for experts? That question brings to mind another quote:
Such encouragement for us amateur-poets to give it a try and be stretched, inspired, and amazed when we create our own music of poetic language—unsophisticated as it may be.
This year I’ve experimented with three forms: Shadorma, diamante, and quadrille.
The Shadorma is of Spanish origin. It contains six lines, each with a specific syllable count that follows this pattern: 3/5/3/3/7/5.
Early morning on our deck offered inspiration for this Shadorma:
Dawn Rising
Sunbeams climb
Dusky shadows fade
Breezes kiss
Robins trill
Nasturtiums spangle with dew
Morning masterpiece
The diamante (diamond) form derives its name from its shape. It was created by American poet Iris McClellan Tiedt in 1969.
The pattern for diamante is more complex than Shadorma. The first half of the poem relates to the one word of the first line; the second half to the one word of the last line. These two lines often present opposites. The middle line provides a bridge between the two.
Each of the seven lines requires a certain number of words of a certain part of speech:
- Line 1: 1 word (subject/noun)
- Line 2: 2 adjectives that describe line 1
- Line 3: 3 -ing words that relate to line 1
- Line 4: 4 nouns (first 2 relate to line 1, last 2 relate to line 7–if you’re writing about opposite topics)
- Line 5: 3 -ing words that relate to line 7
- Line 6: 2 adjectives that describe line 7
- Line 7: 1 word (subject/noun)
This diamante began to take shape as I considered the transformation Christ can make in a person’s life. A list of R-words began to grow—repentance, redeemed, restored, so I pursued the pattern.
A Transformed Life
Ruin
Repugnant, reprehensible
Rebelling, ravaging, retaliating
Rashness, recalcitrance, remorse, repentance
Returning, Releasing, Receiving
Redeemed, restored
Renewal
The Quadrille form first appeared at www.dversepoets.com in 2016. The only requirement is to include 44 words (excluding the title). They believe that “limitation can happily breed extreme creativity.” Each Monday they provide a word-prompt, and participants must use that word in their poems.*
I chose my own word from John 15:1, 5—vine. And while I played with possibilities, my poem began to fit a pattern. Every line contains seven words except the last, which contains nine.
First, the scripture, as a point of reference:
And now, the poem.
Bonded to the Vine
Praise to the Gardener of our souls!
Once we’re grafted to his Vine, he
Prunes away withered branches of worthless folly,
Waters us with his life-giving, spirit-strengthening Word,
And produces pleasing fruit with boundless sufficiency.
Such beauty results when we’re bonded to the Vine!
Remember the quote of Christopher Fry at the beginning of this post–“Poetry is the language in which man explores his own amazement?”
I wonder if he knew that the pleasure in exploring our amazement—whether as poets or not—is greatly enhanced when we include the Genius behind all things amazing.
* https://dversepoets.com/2017/09/11/quadrille-40/
Photo credits: http://www.canva.com; http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.pickpik.com; http://www.pexels.com (3); http://www.commons.wikimedia.org.
Nancy, your poems are so inspirational! I have not only NOT tried these types of poems, but you have challenged me to stretch myself in this poetry month (and beyond!). We all have our song to sing, just as each type of bird is given its characteristic tune. May we never be afraid that one song is better than the next when we sing with love for Him!
Blessings always!
Amen and well said, Martha! Have fun with these new poetry forms!
Why do you consider yourself an amateur poet? I my opinion, the poetry you’ve shared is outstanding. 🙂
Aw . . .thank you, Nancy. I consider myself an amateur because I’ve never taken a poetry class and haven’t earned any credentials as a poet. What I have learned came from teaching poetry to fourth graders (and writing alongside them) for twenty years. I enjoy playing with words, fitting them together into a pleasing whole, much like some people enjoy completing jigsaw puzzles.
Abraham Lincoln may have gone to school for a total of one year, was primarily self educated, and was a pretty good president! You write with passion. You can’t always be taught that.
Thank you so much for your encouragement, Nancy! Praise God for the passion he’s put in my heart.
Thanks for sharing, my friend. I must admit I tried poetry a few years ago and I found it can be rather difficult
Have you tried some of these forms? I think their formats lend themselves well to us amateurs!
I tried it a time or two, but it didn’t turn out so well 🙂 🙂
I love learning these different formats. Thanks for sharing this. I plan on trying!!
I’m so glad you want to give it a try, Jean. You’ll have to come back and share YOUR poem/s, or post them at your blog!
Lovely – I have to borrow some of this info to introduce these forms to my students.🌹
I’m so glad you find them worthwhile for your students, R-H!
The pictures are beautiful – and so is your poetry. I love to write but never had much luck with poetry. Thanks for the information you shared. I will pass it on to my daughter, who loves to write poetry.
Thank you, Barb. It IS fun to find the perfect picture to illustrate a point, a quote, or a scripture (although sometimes the free offerings on “Creative Commons Liscense” don’t offer much!) I hope your daughter enjoys working with these forms!
Hi Nancy,
That’s some detail work for sure. My poetry isn’t as precise. Thank you, Gary.
Gary Avants Forbear Productions * *garyavants66@gmail.com garyavants66@gmail.com
You’re welcome, Gary. I suppose taking pleasure in the detail work is a result of OCD! 😄
My goodness, poetry can be far more technical than I ever realized. The uneducated poet in me tends towards short phrases and rhyming. The diamante is especially complex to me. It’s a wonder you came up with a poem meeting all of its requirements!
Thank you, Dave. Once you dive into creating a diamante you discover it’s not as complicated as it sounds from the instructions. For me, rhyming poems are more of a challenge!
You’re quite multi-talented. These poems are wonderful–filled with awe and wonder, a gracious acknowledgement of the glory of our God. Thanks for introducing such wondrous poem forms to us all–we’re indeed greatly blessed to see how the spoken word, the written word, can expand our hearts to receive more of God’s wonder.
Thank you, Dayle. As always, I have to thank God for his inspiration and guidance. (Isn’t it fun to work together with Him?!)
Wow! I took a poetry class at our local Ohio State University branch in the early 1970s but never heard of these types. I’ve written a sonnet but that’s about it! Thanks for educating me. I love learning new things. I think that these formats lend well to a math major. It provides a specific construction which appeals to me. Your poetry is beautiful and inspiring.
At least two of these forms were invented more recently since you took that class, Cheri. I’m impressed you committed yourself to a whole course on a subject outside your major, also that you tackled the sonnet form. It intimidates me! Thank you for your encouragement. Poetry IS a fun exercise in creativity and playing with words!