Friday 5: Top 5 Poetic Forms Tough Enough to Take Your Love
Posted by Cait in News on Feb 10th, 2012 | 3 comments
With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, I’ve got to say it: Love hurts. Love unleashed via blank verse hurts even more – no rules, no end in sight, no reason, and, most often, not even a little bit of rhyme… What’s an emotionally communicative (but results-oriented) writer to do? Continue stanza after stanza of “daffodils / sunshine / & / / lollipops?”
“No!”" I say. “Enough / !!!” Clearly some structure is called for – a few rules to straighten out these heartstrings. As a service, then, to everyone who’s ever loved, and everyone who’s ever been loved, and all those other people who, as of yet, fit neither group but have fantastically vivid dreams, I present:
Top Five Poetic Forms Tough Enough to Take Your Love
- Photo poems – a photo poem is worth a thousand words, especially when “roses,” “red,” “violet,” and “blue,” are all you can think of right now…
- Sestinas – or, better yet, shrinking lonesome sestinas! That sounds romantic, right? Right? Bueller? For the full how-to: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5792
- Sonnets – now in both ol’ fashioned romantic and new meta chic!
- Haiku – because if you can’t say it in three lines, seventeen syllables and at least one reference to nature, it’s clearly just a sex thing. Which leads me to…
- Full-body poetics – sleazy innuendo or emergent artform?* Try it out as a pick-up line on your sig other / unsuspecting subway passenger and report back. We’re all ears (and eyes, and, well, yes).
No matter which form you choose, enjoy expressing that love, readers, and be sure to post any additions, outrages or wild successes in the comment section below. Happy loving, all!
*I did actually find sites to link to for this, but they were either surprisingly dry or 100% NSFW. Oh well. Guess you’ll just have to come up with the rules on your own for this one… Wink wink. / Nod.
3 Responses to “ “Friday 5: Top 5 Poetic Forms Tough Enough to Take Your Love”
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Rhyming couplets most oft do the trick
In conveying your thoughts both sloppy and slick -
If you can’t put in simply in well metered rhyme,
Then what you think is love may be just wasted time.
If one is alone on V-Day they can spend a whole day attempting a sestina and forget their loneliness.
And for V-Day I like the acrostic poem, using the name of one’s Valentine: http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poetryclass/acrostic.html
Something like this:
Cause her lists are always fun
And make Fridays go better
I think she belongs in everyone’s
Top 5 list as a favorite internetter
Astonishing prizes, &
An NYWC founder to croon Rat Pack tunes – it’s the
Red and Black party tomorrow.
Organizer, you’ve done a great job -
Need more butlers, though. Please ring Bates.