Dandelions (Poetry Form 73: Paradelle)

A paradelle is an obscure and challenging medieval French fo…
Wait, no it isn’t. It’s a parody which a gentleman named Billy Collins created and passed off as a genuine classical form.
They are actually kind of fun to write, and invariably conjure up something pretentious.

The second part of this poem may or may not be an Ojibwa legend. It features in the poem Song Of Hiawatha, which Longfellow claimed was a faithful recording of the legends of the tribe. In fact, he made stuff up, edited stuff out, and stole stuff from other mythologies, in an imperialistic, cultural misappropriatey sort of way.

Wherever it came from, it’s a nice legend.

The dandelion heads: transmuted from gold into silver
The dandelion heads: transmuted from gold into silver
Ghostly globes, destroyed by a breath of wind
Ghostly globes, destroyed by a breath of wind
The heads of gold destroyed, by ghostly wind, transmuted,
Into silver globes: breath from a dandelion.

Prairie maiden, by the lazy south wind beloved
Prairie maiden, by the lazy south wind beloved
He watched in dismay as her golden hair turned white
He watched in dismay as her golden hair turned white
Wind in the south prairie turned her, golden-hair maiden,
-Lazy beloved – white as dismay. He watched.

Tory Rhetoric, Translated (Poetry Form 72: Nonnet)

I’ve been walking around thinking a nonnet was a nine line version of a sonnet. I was wrong.
It’s actually a nine line reverse ethere (see form 30)

Credit to Ollie Francis whose idea of using poetry to riff on the Tory “mess we inherited from Labour” broken record I’m totally stealing for a second time!
This is what Cameron, Osborne and the rest are really thinking.

The problems that we inherited
From the previous government
In this financial crisis
Have, it must be stated
Enabled us to
Get away with
Whatever
We want!
Wheee!

To Those Who Unlearn (Poetry Form 71: Rispetto)

This is a Rispetto. It’s a Tuscan verse form used, usually, to give respect to a loved one.

To those who were conditioned to be hateful
Learnt prejudice and scorn from those who raised you
But question what you’ve learned – know that I’m grateful
I take this opportunity to praise you.
If you were raised unbigoted, that’s good
But you are doing no more than you should.
Respect to those whose thoughts are independent,
Whose attitude to others is transcendent!

Boss (Poetry Form 70: Rhopalics)

A silly form, this: in each line, each word is one syllable longer than the last one. And that’s it.
It does involve making four syllable words rhyme, which brings us to such poetic atrocities as rhyming “unempowered” with “overpowered”, so, sorry about that!

I wanted undying dedication
From every employee, unswervingly
The rather unpleasant implication:
I preferred underlings unnervingly
Cowed, without unions, unprotected.
All harried, imbalanced, disempowered.
But lately, bizarrely, undetected,
I’ve become completely overpowered.

My loyal underlings radicalized
Brought about absolute revolution.
Though uncouth, primitive, uncivilized.
I applaud committed resolution!

Depressed Feminist Complaint. (Poetry Form 69: Virelai)

I hate virelais
I hate sexism
I hate feeling discouraged.
That is all.

Just please go away
I’ve nothing to say
To you.
The same every day
A boring old play
Not new
It isn’t ok
To treat me the way
You do.

Though maybe it’s true
You’ve taken your cue
From me
You haven’t a clue
The guidelines are few.
I see.
And I’m the one who
Should change and renew
– just be.

And set myself free
From this misery
be gay!
Personality
Not patriarchy
Should pay
You want me to see
It’s really just me?
No way!

Feeding Time (Poetry Form 68: Luc Bat)

Luc Bat is a Vietnamese form which literally means six-eight. So you have alternating lines of six and eight syllables. But there’s also an interlocking rhyme scheme making things horribly difficult.
Hence this isn’t very good at all!
If it were in Vietnamese there would also be a tonal sequence to keep to. Complicated.

He winds himself around
Himself and making no sound he
Leaps with grace to my knee
Wide eyes and pin claws tell me that
It’s time to feed the cat.
I ignore him till he pats my
Face with a soft paw, try
So hard to pretend that I can’t
See, does he think he shan’t
Be fed today? Could I plant such
A thought in him? My touch
Soon tells him that there’s not much chance
Of that. He begins to prance
Around my legs. Feline dancing
Contented little thing!
So I relent and bring out
His food. He gives a shout
Of joy: oh how could he doubt so?
Think I’d ever say no?
His pleasure is profound

Trending Topics (Poetry Form 67: Quatrain)

It’s poem 67, and I’ve not done a quatrain yet.
So here is an angry one about how society loves a tribal, binary concept of identity.
Thanks to fellow transgressor Brooke Magnanti for the first line. You should buy her book, The Sex Myth, even if you’ve decided not to like it.

We like a “them”, we like an “us”
So don’t be “I” or make a fuss.
What use intelligent debate?
We’d rather be told who to hate!

Bilberrying (Poetry Form 66: ABC)

This is an ABC poem. I just wrote the alphabet out and wrote as fast as I could without thinking. There’s kind of a rhyme scheme. I think there may be several. I had to cheat with x and go on a tangent for Z.
It’s no masterpiece, sorry!
God knows why I’m thinking about bilberrying in May.

Are you going to come
Bilberrying with me?
Come! And I will show you
Down among the heather
Each shy little shrub
Frightened of the weather.
Green and shining leaves,
Hide beads of darkest wine
I wish you you’d come and taste the
Juice with me sometime.
Kitchens will fill with flavours
Like heather, sunlight, sky
Meaning we will soon savour
Nectar- bilberry pie!
Open up your mouth
Prepare to taste the wild,
Quite earthy sweetness, do!
Receive what is your due:
Sweet, dark ambrosia
This pie I made for you
Unbeatable the taste
Vineyards cannot compare
With this no time to waste
Xcitement waits out there!
Yes, come outside and feel
Zephyrs dancing in the air!

IDAHO – A Song For The Silent (Poetry Form 65: Canzone)

A canzone is a lot like a sonnet, but there aren’t quite as many rules, so you can mess about with the length and the rhyme scheme.

Canzone is Italian for song. This is a song in honour of the international day against homophobia and transphobia.

 

I’d like to sing a song for those unsung

The ones who do not march in the parade,

The hidden people, lonely and afraid

I’ll sing for those who dare not sing aloud.

The girl who’s known since she was very young

That she was not a boy, but dared not say

And looks at her reflection every day

And tells herself that one day she’ll be proud.

The frail old man whose soul is daily wrung

By terror that his nurses might uncover

The faded, yellow pictures of his lover

And knows that he would never be so cowed.

The teenage riot girl, whose pierced tongue

And steelcapped boots disguise a trembling heart

Each day at school she fears being torn apart

And so she stands aloof, avoids the crowd.

I’d like to sing a song for those who fear.

I’d like the ones who frighten them to hear.