By Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley
Here's an interesting poem type. It uses a type of stanza we haven't talked about before: the tercet. A tercet is simply a stanza with three lines, but they are used so little that Spell Check thinks it isn't a word at all.
A villanelle has five tercets and then a quatrain, totaling 19 lines. The rhyme scheme is ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA. So you basically have to accept the fact that you're going to be repeating words. Instead of one of my hastily-written example poems, we're going to use a poem old enough that we don't have to worry about copyright.
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
By Dylan Thomas
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Well, I guess you could probably repeat words a little less than this one does. Anyway, because of the way the rhyme works, this is a very lyrical poetry form, and it sounds very traditional. Personally, I think it's really fun, and will likely attempt my own soon.
Thank you for reading!
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Saturday, April 18, 2015
How to Write a Ballade
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
First of all, I'm teaching you how to write a ballade, not a ballad. A ballad has much fewer rules and is much more well-known, though they are both known for their use of refrains. Ballade is pronounced "baa (like the sound a sheep makes) laid". So, on to how to write one of these things.
A ballade is make up of four stanzas. The first four are long, with seven, eight, or ten lines (but apparently never nine) and the last one is short, four or five lines. Each stanza ends with the same line, or refrain. Now, keep in mind that though the first three stanzas can be seven, eight, or ten lines long, they all must be the same length. Now for my example.
Hot Chocolate
I never had much care for coffee shops
My brother and I, we hated the smell
Of those ground dark beans everyone adores
Some people every day make their stops
At these legal addiction stores, and shell
Out money galore, at which I laugh, except
When sitting at Starbucks, with a cup of hot chocolate
It was a long time before I liked the idea
Of going into any coffee shop, despite
How much my elders loved these stores
Why chose a drink shop over a pizzeria?
Even into my teen years, I had a child's appetite
Which disliked anything of coffee, though I loved
Sitting at Starbucks, with a cup of hot chocolate
More recently I have found the tranquility
Of a coffee shop, is quite nice, though still
I am not so fond of the scent behind the doors
But in them I find there is an odd sincerity
Of musty darkness, and the people who fill
My cup, and so now a new place that I dream
Is sitting at Starbucks, with a cup of hot chocolate
It is another place where I know what to expect
A place to regroup when the world has shoved
And this place I now like is, it would seem,
Sitting at Starbucks, with a cup of hot chocolate
Okay, to be clear, you don't have to use the wacky rhyme scheme I used. (If you're confused, I used ABCACD(Ref) EFCEFG(Ref) HICHIJ(Ref) DGJ(Ref)) (If you're even more confused now, I don't blame you.) Anyways, the only important part of the rhyme scheme was the refrain. Seriously, the rest of it can just not rhyme, as long as you've got the refrain. And normally, you wouldn't mess with the refrain like I did with the added "When" and "Is", but I sort of wrote myself into a corner. Honestly, that's why the rhyme scheme is so weird. I had planned on ABCABC(Ref) DEFDEF(Ref) GHIGHI(Ref), but I couldn't get the third and sixth lines to rhyme and still make sense with the refrain. There's a tip to be learned here. When your rhyme scheme fails: complicate!
Anyway, I hope I have left you informed rather than confused, and once again, I hope to see the cool poetry you guys come up with.
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
First of all, I'm teaching you how to write a ballade, not a ballad. A ballad has much fewer rules and is much more well-known, though they are both known for their use of refrains. Ballade is pronounced "baa (like the sound a sheep makes) laid". So, on to how to write one of these things.
A ballade is make up of four stanzas. The first four are long, with seven, eight, or ten lines (but apparently never nine) and the last one is short, four or five lines. Each stanza ends with the same line, or refrain. Now, keep in mind that though the first three stanzas can be seven, eight, or ten lines long, they all must be the same length. Now for my example.
Hot Chocolate
I never had much care for coffee shops
My brother and I, we hated the smell
Of those ground dark beans everyone adores
Some people every day make their stops
At these legal addiction stores, and shell
Out money galore, at which I laugh, except
When sitting at Starbucks, with a cup of hot chocolate
It was a long time before I liked the idea
Of going into any coffee shop, despite
How much my elders loved these stores
Why chose a drink shop over a pizzeria?
Even into my teen years, I had a child's appetite
Which disliked anything of coffee, though I loved
Sitting at Starbucks, with a cup of hot chocolate
More recently I have found the tranquility
Of a coffee shop, is quite nice, though still
I am not so fond of the scent behind the doors
But in them I find there is an odd sincerity
Of musty darkness, and the people who fill
My cup, and so now a new place that I dream
Is sitting at Starbucks, with a cup of hot chocolate
It is another place where I know what to expect
A place to regroup when the world has shoved
And this place I now like is, it would seem,
Sitting at Starbucks, with a cup of hot chocolate
Okay, to be clear, you don't have to use the wacky rhyme scheme I used. (If you're confused, I used ABCACD(Ref) EFCEFG(Ref) HICHIJ(Ref) DGJ(Ref)) (If you're even more confused now, I don't blame you.) Anyways, the only important part of the rhyme scheme was the refrain. Seriously, the rest of it can just not rhyme, as long as you've got the refrain. And normally, you wouldn't mess with the refrain like I did with the added "When" and "Is", but I sort of wrote myself into a corner. Honestly, that's why the rhyme scheme is so weird. I had planned on ABCABC(Ref) DEFDEF(Ref) GHIGHI(Ref), but I couldn't get the third and sixth lines to rhyme and still make sense with the refrain. There's a tip to be learned here. When your rhyme scheme fails: complicate!
Anyway, I hope I have left you informed rather than confused, and once again, I hope to see the cool poetry you guys come up with.
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
How to Write a Pantoum
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
A rare and interesting type of poetry is the pantoum. It is made up of a series of quatrains (four-line stanzas) with the second and fourth lines of each stanza being the first and third lines of the next. Sort of like poetry juggling. Because of the repetitive style, this style of poem is very good for themes of nostalgia, memories, and the like. Here's another one of my on-the-spot poems for an example:
I let out a sigh
I don't want to leave
My homeland behind
What can a child do?
I don't want to leave
Sadly, in the end
What can a child do
When the time has come?
Sadly, in the end
Nothing can be done
When the time has come
And I have left
Nothing can be done
I let out a sigh
For I have left
My homeland behind
Obviously very rough, and my repeated lines aren't always exactly the same, but you get the idea. It has kind of a cool feel, huh? Obviously, though, you have to be careful with this one. Partly, this is because it is easy to make it boring. Partly it's because it's really easy to get yourself stuck when you're trying to get the second-to-last stanza to actually make a final stanza that makes some sort of sense.
But doesn't this seem like the sort of poem that would be fun to make really long? And, once again, I've found another poem type that I'd like to do a contest with.
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
A rare and interesting type of poetry is the pantoum. It is made up of a series of quatrains (four-line stanzas) with the second and fourth lines of each stanza being the first and third lines of the next. Sort of like poetry juggling. Because of the repetitive style, this style of poem is very good for themes of nostalgia, memories, and the like. Here's another one of my on-the-spot poems for an example:
I let out a sigh
I don't want to leave
My homeland behind
What can a child do?
I don't want to leave
Sadly, in the end
What can a child do
When the time has come?
Sadly, in the end
Nothing can be done
When the time has come
And I have left
Nothing can be done
I let out a sigh
For I have left
My homeland behind
Obviously very rough, and my repeated lines aren't always exactly the same, but you get the idea. It has kind of a cool feel, huh? Obviously, though, you have to be careful with this one. Partly, this is because it is easy to make it boring. Partly it's because it's really easy to get yourself stuck when you're trying to get the second-to-last stanza to actually make a final stanza that makes some sort of sense.
But doesn't this seem like the sort of poem that would be fun to make really long? And, once again, I've found another poem type that I'd like to do a contest with.
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Acrostic Poem Contest
We're back to a poetry contest, so we thought it would be cool to do an acrostic poem contest. No theme, you can write about anything you want (that's appropriate) as long as it's an acrostic.
Include "acrostic contest" in the subject line.
Submit to windowtothesoulcontests@gmail.com.
Submissions must be attached in doc., docx., or txt format.
You may include a short, 200 word bio, plus a picture.
You may also include links, either in your bio or separate from them.
Submissions must be PG-13 or cleaner.
ALL rights remain with the creator, we only ask that we be allowed to display your poem and bio on the website and newsletter, but if you would rather we didn't, let us know in the email. It will not impact your chances of winning.
Please do not include your name in the attached document, only in the body of the email.
You must be the sole creator of your poem, or have the permission of all the other creators and have been an integral part of making it.
Previous and simultaneous submissions are welcome.
You may submit as many pieces as you'd like.
The deadline is March 20th.
Results will be published April 1st.
Send any questions to windowtothesoulcontests@gmail.com. I hope to see lots of submissions, we love reading your work, and even if you don't win, you have put yourself out there, which takes bravery. Trust me, I know how terrifying the submission process can be.
We have one other contest open, an art contest, which you can find here.
Include "acrostic contest" in the subject line.
Submit to windowtothesoulcontests@gmail.com.
Submissions must be attached in doc., docx., or txt format.
You may include a short, 200 word bio, plus a picture.
You may also include links, either in your bio or separate from them.
Submissions must be PG-13 or cleaner.
ALL rights remain with the creator, we only ask that we be allowed to display your poem and bio on the website and newsletter, but if you would rather we didn't, let us know in the email. It will not impact your chances of winning.
Please do not include your name in the attached document, only in the body of the email.
You must be the sole creator of your poem, or have the permission of all the other creators and have been an integral part of making it.
Previous and simultaneous submissions are welcome.
You may submit as many pieces as you'd like.
The deadline is March 20th.
Results will be published April 1st.
Send any questions to windowtothesoulcontests@gmail.com. I hope to see lots of submissions, we love reading your work, and even if you don't win, you have put yourself out there, which takes bravery. Trust me, I know how terrifying the submission process can be.
We have one other contest open, an art contest, which you can find here.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
How to Write a Spenserian Sonnet
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
We've already shown how to write the two most common sonnets, so here's a slightly less known one. The Spenserian sonnet was invented by Edmund Spenseras, the author of The Faerie Queene, and has a rhyme pattern of ABAB BCBC CDCD EE. Each stanza tends to show or develop a single idea. Here's an example:
Sonnet LIV
Of this World's theatre in which we stay,
My love like the Spectator idly sits,
Beholding me, that all the pageants play,
Disguising diversely my troubled wits.
Sometimes I joy when glad occasion fits,
And mask in mirth like to a Comedy;
Soon after when my joy to sorrow flits,
I wail and make my woes a Tragedy.
Yet she, beholding me with constant eye,
Delights not in my mirth nor rues my smart;
But when I laugh, she mocks: and when I cry
She laughs and hardens evermore her heart.
What then can move her? If nor mirth nor moan,
She is no woman, but a senseless stone.
Can you see the individual ideas in each stanza? The first sort of sets the scene as a part of the stage. The second talks about the emotions he feels, and the third talks about how his love reacts to it. (Raises the question, why does he love her?) The last one shows his conclusion.
This poem has a cool progressive sound due to the rhyme. This poem type doesn't have a specific meter, but the lines are about the same length. Like many poems, you could change it by having the last line of each stanza much shorter or the last two lines much shorter, or longer.
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
We have an art contest open for submissions, see the guidelines here.
We've already shown how to write the two most common sonnets, so here's a slightly less known one. The Spenserian sonnet was invented by Edmund Spenseras, the author of The Faerie Queene, and has a rhyme pattern of ABAB BCBC CDCD EE. Each stanza tends to show or develop a single idea. Here's an example:
Sonnet LIV
Of this World's theatre in which we stay,
My love like the Spectator idly sits,
Beholding me, that all the pageants play,
Disguising diversely my troubled wits.
Sometimes I joy when glad occasion fits,
And mask in mirth like to a Comedy;
Soon after when my joy to sorrow flits,
I wail and make my woes a Tragedy.
Yet she, beholding me with constant eye,
Delights not in my mirth nor rues my smart;
But when I laugh, she mocks: and when I cry
She laughs and hardens evermore her heart.
What then can move her? If nor mirth nor moan,
She is no woman, but a senseless stone.
Can you see the individual ideas in each stanza? The first sort of sets the scene as a part of the stage. The second talks about the emotions he feels, and the third talks about how his love reacts to it. (Raises the question, why does he love her?) The last one shows his conclusion.
This poem has a cool progressive sound due to the rhyme. This poem type doesn't have a specific meter, but the lines are about the same length. Like many poems, you could change it by having the last line of each stanza much shorter or the last two lines much shorter, or longer.
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
We have an art contest open for submissions, see the guidelines here.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
How to Write a Rondeau Poem
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
Let me guess what you're thinking. "What the heck is a rondeau? Is that French?" Now let me answer. A rondeau is a kind of poem, nowadays with fifteen lines, containing only two rhymes, three of which are refrains. And yes, it's French.
So, once again, what the heck is a rondeau? They're actually fairly complicated poems, but luckily, the meters are completely variable, so you can ignore that. They have three stanzas, the first being five, the second being four, and the last being six.
Now, it only has two rhymes, meaning you're going to be using the same ending over and over again. Plus, each stanza has a refrain, which starts with the first line, and continuing with the last line of the other two. (I know, this is complicated.) By the way, a refrain is when the entire line is repeated. These poems also have a tendency to use the same words at the end of the lines, unlike most poems, which try to avoid that. Here's a visual aid:
1 A (Refrain)
2 A
3 B
4 B
5 A
6 A
7 A
8 B
9 A (Refrain)
10 A
11 A
12 B
13 B
14 A
15 A (Refrain)
Make a bit more sense? Originally, the subjects were usually love, or nature, or some other light and happy thing, but now, as with most poetry types, it can be about anything. Here's one I found, for illustration.
Listen, Everyone!
By Jehan Valliant (14th century, I'm sure the copyright's gone)
Listen, everyone! I have lost my girl
For he who finds her, on my soul
Even though she is fair and kindly
I give her up heartily
Without raising a stink at all.
This girl knows her graces well
God knows, she loves and is loyal
For heaven’s sake, let him keep her secretly
Listen, everyone! I have lost my girl
Look after her well, this pearl
Let no one hurt or wound her
For by heaven, this pretty
Is sweetness itself to everybody
Woe is me! I cry to the world
Listen, everyone! I have lost my girl
Let me guess what you're thinking. "What the heck is a rondeau? Is that French?" Now let me answer. A rondeau is a kind of poem, nowadays with fifteen lines, containing only two rhymes, three of which are refrains. And yes, it's French.
So, once again, what the heck is a rondeau? They're actually fairly complicated poems, but luckily, the meters are completely variable, so you can ignore that. They have three stanzas, the first being five, the second being four, and the last being six.
Now, it only has two rhymes, meaning you're going to be using the same ending over and over again. Plus, each stanza has a refrain, which starts with the first line, and continuing with the last line of the other two. (I know, this is complicated.) By the way, a refrain is when the entire line is repeated. These poems also have a tendency to use the same words at the end of the lines, unlike most poems, which try to avoid that. Here's a visual aid:
1 A (Refrain)
2 A
3 B
4 B
5 A
6 A
7 A
8 B
9 A (Refrain)
10 A
11 A
12 B
13 B
14 A
15 A (Refrain)
Make a bit more sense? Originally, the subjects were usually love, or nature, or some other light and happy thing, but now, as with most poetry types, it can be about anything. Here's one I found, for illustration.
Listen, Everyone!
By Jehan Valliant (14th century, I'm sure the copyright's gone)
Listen, everyone! I have lost my girl
For he who finds her, on my soul
Even though she is fair and kindly
I give her up heartily
Without raising a stink at all.
This girl knows her graces well
God knows, she loves and is loyal
For heaven’s sake, let him keep her secretly
Listen, everyone! I have lost my girl
Look after her well, this pearl
Let no one hurt or wound her
For by heaven, this pretty
Is sweetness itself to everybody
Woe is me! I cry to the world
Listen, everyone! I have lost my girl
Friday, January 2, 2015
Holiday Poetry Contest Winner
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
Happy new year, everyone! And congratulations of the winner of our Holiday Poetry Contest! You were asked to send us poems about any holiday you could think of, and you did. Let's have a drumroll, please. Our winner is...
Jade Sparks! Well done, Jade. And this isn't your first time winning one of our contests, now is it? Anyway, here was the winning entry:
Veteran’s Day
By Jade Sparks
Strong and brave
Their lives they gave
All hell broke loose
No hope of a truce
Youths that fought
Parents that shot
Lakes of thick blood
Bullets like a flood
Screams of the dying
Snarls of the lying
The bellows of guns
The sacrifice of sons
A mother's loud cry
A sisters desperate 'why'
Freedom had its cost
Love ones had been lost
Terrors eat the mind
Bodies they could not find
Limbs that were no more
Fire, blood, and gore
Man's innocence snatched away
The price they did pay
For generations to be free
And hope of a child's destiny
I am a Christian writer, who wants to glorify God with the talent He has given me. The LORD is my inspiration and my rock. He has shown me many things about the world and the many different people in it. Without Jesus, I would be a writer without a pen, staring at a blank page and wondering what to do with it. My favorite things in the world are pens and paper. When you put the two together, wonderful things are created.
My vision is to give kids and young adults clean books and touching poems. There are many books out there for these age groups that certainly should not be there. Why take a child's innocence away when there are many other ways to entertain a child? I wish to help children love history by adding small elements of it into my literature and give teens positive messages. I have been told I have an old soul and I believe God gave me it to bring Him praise.
Check out my blog: http://lovedreamstowrite.blogspot.com/
Or follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/JadeSparks_
Congratulations, again, and thank you for the poem, it certainly was touching.
We currently have a prose contest open, with the prize of an ebook! Check it out here.
Happy new year, everyone! And congratulations of the winner of our Holiday Poetry Contest! You were asked to send us poems about any holiday you could think of, and you did. Let's have a drumroll, please. Our winner is...
Jade Sparks! Well done, Jade. And this isn't your first time winning one of our contests, now is it? Anyway, here was the winning entry:
Veteran’s Day
By Jade Sparks
Strong and brave
Their lives they gave
All hell broke loose
No hope of a truce
Youths that fought
Parents that shot
Lakes of thick blood
Bullets like a flood
Screams of the dying
Snarls of the lying
The bellows of guns
The sacrifice of sons
A mother's loud cry
A sisters desperate 'why'
Freedom had its cost
Love ones had been lost
Terrors eat the mind
Bodies they could not find
Limbs that were no more
Fire, blood, and gore
Man's innocence snatched away
The price they did pay
For generations to be free
And hope of a child's destiny
I am a Christian writer, who wants to glorify God with the talent He has given me. The LORD is my inspiration and my rock. He has shown me many things about the world and the many different people in it. Without Jesus, I would be a writer without a pen, staring at a blank page and wondering what to do with it. My favorite things in the world are pens and paper. When you put the two together, wonderful things are created.
My vision is to give kids and young adults clean books and touching poems. There are many books out there for these age groups that certainly should not be there. Why take a child's innocence away when there are many other ways to entertain a child? I wish to help children love history by adding small elements of it into my literature and give teens positive messages. I have been told I have an old soul and I believe God gave me it to bring Him praise.
Check out my blog: http://lovedreamstowrite.blogspot.com/
Or follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/JadeSparks_
Congratulations, again, and thank you for the poem, it certainly was touching.
We currently have a prose contest open, with the prize of an ebook! Check it out here.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Writing an Acrostic Poem
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
Acrostic poems can be really fun to write, but also kind of difficult. There is only one rule to writing acrostic poems, and that is that it must be an acrostic. An acrostic is usually a couple of words that spell something else, like FBI, except the letters combined actually mean something. With a poem, that could be the first letter of each line, first word of each line, or also the last of the lines. It can rhyme, have meter, all of that, but it isn't required.
I'll try one of my own. It'll spell "writing".
Wonderful, like making a dream and living through it
Riddle-like in the making, so hard to see an hear
Inspiration comes slow at times, others like rushing rain
Thoughts fill my head, I worriedly begin to fear
Ideas, are they good enough? Why does this bring pain?
Never, though, will I give up, though it bring me tear
For the greatest joy I find, is when at my desk I sit
This is extremely rough, I wrote it in like ten minutes. If the rhyme scheme seems odd, it's ABCBCBA. It would probably make more sense like this: odds go ABBA and evens go AAA. Anyway, though this is a rather badly-done poem with zero editing (edit your poems, guys, I know it's hard) it is an acrostic. Actually, only almost. You may notice that I forgot about the lettering on the last line, because I was focusing on the rhyme.
This, of all poem types, probably needs most editing, because you need it to spell something, but it also needs to sound good, and you may have to worry about meter and rhyme scheme as well. Let's edit mine so that it actually spells "writing", rather than "writinf", and try to make it sound better.
Wonderful, like making a dream and living through it
Riddle-like in the making, so hard to see an hear
Inspiration comes slow at times, at others like rushing rain
Thoughts fill my head, I worriedly begin to fear
Ideas, are they good enough? Why does my dream bring pain?
Never, though, will I give up, though it bring me tear
Greatest joy I always find, when at my writing desk I sit
I really didn't change much, which is why they always say to give your writing a break before trying to edit. Sometimes, months after writing them, sometimes more than a year, I'll come back to read my poems and end up editing them, even thought that wasn't my intention. Anyway, despite the fact that it's still considerably clunky, it is actually an acrostic now.
I can't wait to see you guys' acrostic poems, I think they're so cool. We'll have to have an acrostic contest sometime.
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
We have one prose contest open for short stories containing sacrifice, see the guidelines here.
Acrostic poems can be really fun to write, but also kind of difficult. There is only one rule to writing acrostic poems, and that is that it must be an acrostic. An acrostic is usually a couple of words that spell something else, like FBI, except the letters combined actually mean something. With a poem, that could be the first letter of each line, first word of each line, or also the last of the lines. It can rhyme, have meter, all of that, but it isn't required.
I'll try one of my own. It'll spell "writing".
Wonderful, like making a dream and living through it
Riddle-like in the making, so hard to see an hear
Inspiration comes slow at times, others like rushing rain
Thoughts fill my head, I worriedly begin to fear
Ideas, are they good enough? Why does this bring pain?
Never, though, will I give up, though it bring me tear
For the greatest joy I find, is when at my desk I sit
This is extremely rough, I wrote it in like ten minutes. If the rhyme scheme seems odd, it's ABCBCBA. It would probably make more sense like this: odds go ABBA and evens go AAA. Anyway, though this is a rather badly-done poem with zero editing (edit your poems, guys, I know it's hard) it is an acrostic. Actually, only almost. You may notice that I forgot about the lettering on the last line, because I was focusing on the rhyme.
This, of all poem types, probably needs most editing, because you need it to spell something, but it also needs to sound good, and you may have to worry about meter and rhyme scheme as well. Let's edit mine so that it actually spells "writing", rather than "writinf", and try to make it sound better.
Wonderful, like making a dream and living through it
Riddle-like in the making, so hard to see an hear
Inspiration comes slow at times, at others like rushing rain
Thoughts fill my head, I worriedly begin to fear
Ideas, are they good enough? Why does my dream bring pain?
Never, though, will I give up, though it bring me tear
Greatest joy I always find, when at my writing desk I sit
I really didn't change much, which is why they always say to give your writing a break before trying to edit. Sometimes, months after writing them, sometimes more than a year, I'll come back to read my poems and end up editing them, even thought that wasn't my intention. Anyway, despite the fact that it's still considerably clunky, it is actually an acrostic now.
I can't wait to see you guys' acrostic poems, I think they're so cool. We'll have to have an acrostic contest sometime.
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
We have one prose contest open for short stories containing sacrifice, see the guidelines here.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Winners of the Autumn Contest
Our autumn contest has concluded! Originally this was for all three categories, but we didn't get any for art, so the categories are now poetry and short stories. Drum roll for the winners, please.
The winner of the poetry category is Lead Good's "Nostalgic Autumn"!
Bright leaves crunch under paw as I walk. Dark has come and the streets are lit by harvest moon and streetlights. Doorbells ring almost continually and I pin my ears at the obnoxious noise. I pick my furry black paws up high, jumping over a puddle of rain water gathered in an indent in the sidewalk, created by a massive tree root. I pass in front of a large white stucco house. Children stand on the porch. The children scream and hide behind the porch railings. I huff and roll my eyes at them, stopping.
I can still see you. Humans are so stupid.
"The black cat! The black cat!" cries a little girl in a pink tutu.
She points with a plastic wand and I flick my tail in annoyance.
"Ooooooohhh, careful!" warns a teenage human carrying a bowl of shiny, crinkling wrappers.
I stretch to avoid the temptation of the shining things.
It would be best not to get trampled by little humans just to get a shiny.
My ears flick and my back bristles as the teenager crows, "You'll have bad luck if it crosses your path!"
Why is bad luck always my fault?
I sniff precociously and raise my chin. My whiskers quiver in the fall breeze as I saunter down the street once more. I swish my tail at them as I go, frowning and hissing when they run away without paying any attention to me. I pin my ears.
Be that way then.
The children are laughing and going to the next porch. I break into a trot and hurry down the street. The license on my collar begins to jingle. The rough leather strap buckled around my neck rubs irritatingly. I shake my head, ears twitching back and forth.
The soft glow of Master's porch light filters down the steps as I mount them. I hop up the steps and then trot in my "kitty door". I scowl and glare around the kitchen as the wire scrapes across my back.
That thing wants to take the hair right off my body. Only dogs would make humans invent such a foolish contraption.
I trot down the hall, claws clicking against the tile floor. I make my way to the living room. It's dark except for the tiny lamp on the table at the far side of the room. I pause in the doorway and rub my side against the wall, entering as Queen of Master's House.
Master is lying in the middle of the floor on his back. There is a puddle of red stuff on the floor by his face. Sniffing, I trot to his side and climb up on his chest. Sitting there, I see a hole in his forehead. Purring, I bend down and begin to lick the wound. Master doesn't move as I clean the red stuff off his face.
Silly Master. What did you do now? It's alright. Kitty is here to fix it.
I purr happily, sitting back to survey my work. Master keeps sleeping. I lay down on his chest and relax, swishing my tail back and forth contentedly.
See, you silly little humans. I'm not bad luck.
The winner of the poetry category is Lead Good's "Nostalgic Autumn"!
Nostalgic Autumn
By Leah Good
Sweet donuts, cider, and tea.
Crisp air, crisp apples, and leaves.
Warm snuggly leggings and sleeves.
Orange with yellow and green.
Country fairs with squash and gourds.
Pumpkin pie and Indian corn.
Winter coats soon to be worn.
Afternoon hikes and painted trees.
Clouding breath and frosty grass,
Cold-nipped nose and fingertips.
Rosy cheeks and cocoa sips.
Roaring fires and Jack Frost glass.
Hayrides at dusk of shortened days,
And stomachs filled with turkey.
Indian summer and harvest moons.
And fall is almost over.
I would also like to include the honorable mention of Hannah Fromm's "I Hate Fall", due largely to the pure uniqueness of the poem.
Another drum roll! The winner of the short story category is Cherise Taylor's "Black Cat's Luck: A Hallow's Eve Tail"!
Black Cat's Luck: A Hallow's Eve Tail
By Cherise Taylor
By Cherise Taylor
Bright leaves crunch under paw as I walk. Dark has come and the streets are lit by harvest moon and streetlights. Doorbells ring almost continually and I pin my ears at the obnoxious noise. I pick my furry black paws up high, jumping over a puddle of rain water gathered in an indent in the sidewalk, created by a massive tree root. I pass in front of a large white stucco house. Children stand on the porch. The children scream and hide behind the porch railings. I huff and roll my eyes at them, stopping.
I can still see you. Humans are so stupid.
"The black cat! The black cat!" cries a little girl in a pink tutu.
She points with a plastic wand and I flick my tail in annoyance.
"Ooooooohhh, careful!" warns a teenage human carrying a bowl of shiny, crinkling wrappers.
I stretch to avoid the temptation of the shining things.
It would be best not to get trampled by little humans just to get a shiny.
My ears flick and my back bristles as the teenager crows, "You'll have bad luck if it crosses your path!"
Why is bad luck always my fault?
I sniff precociously and raise my chin. My whiskers quiver in the fall breeze as I saunter down the street once more. I swish my tail at them as I go, frowning and hissing when they run away without paying any attention to me. I pin my ears.
Be that way then.
The children are laughing and going to the next porch. I break into a trot and hurry down the street. The license on my collar begins to jingle. The rough leather strap buckled around my neck rubs irritatingly. I shake my head, ears twitching back and forth.
The soft glow of Master's porch light filters down the steps as I mount them. I hop up the steps and then trot in my "kitty door". I scowl and glare around the kitchen as the wire scrapes across my back.
That thing wants to take the hair right off my body. Only dogs would make humans invent such a foolish contraption.
I trot down the hall, claws clicking against the tile floor. I make my way to the living room. It's dark except for the tiny lamp on the table at the far side of the room. I pause in the doorway and rub my side against the wall, entering as Queen of Master's House.
Master is lying in the middle of the floor on his back. There is a puddle of red stuff on the floor by his face. Sniffing, I trot to his side and climb up on his chest. Sitting there, I see a hole in his forehead. Purring, I bend down and begin to lick the wound. Master doesn't move as I clean the red stuff off his face.
Silly Master. What did you do now? It's alright. Kitty is here to fix it.
I purr happily, sitting back to survey my work. Master keeps sleeping. I lay down on his chest and relax, swishing my tail back and forth contentedly.
See, you silly little humans. I'm not bad luck.
Cherise Taylor resides on a farm in Glen Elder, Kansas with her parents, three sisters, her dog; Ocie, and her cat; Sea Monkey. She is attending Sterling College where she is working toward a double major in Writing and Editing and Psychology and Counseling.
She has been writing for more than ten years and won several state level awards in Kansas and Mississippi. Her first published work was Scarlet Light (2013) and her second was Beautiful Scars (2014), both published under the pen name 'Laine Colarossi.
You can see her blog here: http://theauthorslair.blogspot.com/
She has been writing for more than ten years and won several state level awards in Kansas and Mississippi. Her first published work was Scarlet Light (2013) and her second was Beautiful Scars (2014), both published under the pen name 'Laine Colarossi.
You can see her blog here: http://theauthorslair.blogspot.com/
Congratulations, winners! Well done! We hope to see more of your work in the future.
We have another contest up, a holiday-themed poetry contest. You can see the rules here.
We have another contest up, a holiday-themed poetry contest. You can see the rules here.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
How to Write Free-Verse Poems
Post by Catsi Eceer, co-founder
I was looking through the poetry posts earlier, and realized that we'd never done a post on free verse poems. Seeing as I write free verse almost exclusively, I thought I'd step up to the plate and scribble something down.
Here I am twenty minutes later, still staring at a blank screen.
The funny thing about free verse poetry is that, well, they're free verse. There's no specific rhythm or meter. They don't need to rhyme. They don't really need to do anything, except convey an emotion. There are no rules to them. Which makes it rather difficult for me to write about them.
A free verse poem is basically a bunch of words. But somehow, the words need to convey the emotion the writer means them to convey.
Ack. I'm explaining this miserably.
Okay, I'll use a poem of mine as an example. I wrote this one a while ago, but I kinda like it.
Step one: Find some inspiration.
I was helping out in children's church one Sunday, and there was something about hearing each of the kids pray in turn while my sister played softly on her guitar that just made me want to capture that moment in a poem. It was the kind of bitter-sweet feeling that makes you want to cry when there's really no reason to.
You can tell a story with your words, or capture a moment in time, or carry an emotion. How you choose to write it is up to you.
Step two: Choose your words. And choose them carefully.
When you're writing free verse, a large vocabulary is your friend. Being able to choose just the right word is very important to the quality of the poem. Because most free verse poems are quite short, each word counts.
Step three: Just write.
After that, just let the words spill out. There's no "right way" to do this. I think everyone writes a little differently. Some people might write all of the poem at once, then go through and edit. I tend to edit as I write, meaning I'll go back and fix up each line as I put it down. Do whatever works for you.
Step four: Fix it up.
Try reading your poem out loud. Even though it doesn't have a set rhythm, the words should still flow. Make sure all of the lines run smoothly into one another, and the stanzas into one another.
That's pretty much it. Foureasy steps to writing a free verse poem.
Since I promised you an example, here's mine:
Amen
Any questions? Got a poem you want to share? Let me know in the comments!
Catsi Eceer is an aspiring author of fantasy and dystopian novels. To learn more about her, visit our "About Us" page.
We have two current contests, one is a holiday poetry contest, which you can find here. The other is an autumn contest for poetry, prose, and art, but the deadline is just days away! See the guidelines here.
I was looking through the poetry posts earlier, and realized that we'd never done a post on free verse poems. Seeing as I write free verse almost exclusively, I thought I'd step up to the plate and scribble something down.
Here I am twenty minutes later, still staring at a blank screen.
The funny thing about free verse poetry is that, well, they're free verse. There's no specific rhythm or meter. They don't need to rhyme. They don't really need to do anything, except convey an emotion. There are no rules to them. Which makes it rather difficult for me to write about them.
A free verse poem is basically a bunch of words. But somehow, the words need to convey the emotion the writer means them to convey.
Ack. I'm explaining this miserably.
Okay, I'll use a poem of mine as an example. I wrote this one a while ago, but I kinda like it.
Step one: Find some inspiration.
I was helping out in children's church one Sunday, and there was something about hearing each of the kids pray in turn while my sister played softly on her guitar that just made me want to capture that moment in a poem. It was the kind of bitter-sweet feeling that makes you want to cry when there's really no reason to.
You can tell a story with your words, or capture a moment in time, or carry an emotion. How you choose to write it is up to you.
Step two: Choose your words. And choose them carefully.
When you're writing free verse, a large vocabulary is your friend. Being able to choose just the right word is very important to the quality of the poem. Because most free verse poems are quite short, each word counts.
Step three: Just write.
After that, just let the words spill out. There's no "right way" to do this. I think everyone writes a little differently. Some people might write all of the poem at once, then go through and edit. I tend to edit as I write, meaning I'll go back and fix up each line as I put it down. Do whatever works for you.
Step four: Fix it up.
Try reading your poem out loud. Even though it doesn't have a set rhythm, the words should still flow. Make sure all of the lines run smoothly into one another, and the stanzas into one another.
That's pretty much it. Four
Since I promised you an example, here's mine:
Amen
Head bowed, eyes closed
A dozen hands-folded kids
The whisper of “Amen”
And the soft strum of the guitar
“Dear God, please help Mommy and Daddy;”
The little girl across from me prays,
eyes squeezed shut tight;
“Make our family happy again.”
“We love you, God:”
The last chorus of Amen
And I look into her eyes
She knows God will make it happen
I want faith like that
so even when it’s tough
I can keep prayingAny questions? Got a poem you want to share? Let me know in the comments!
Catsi Eceer is an aspiring author of fantasy and dystopian novels. To learn more about her, visit our "About Us" page.
We have two current contests, one is a holiday poetry contest, which you can find here. The other is an autumn contest for poetry, prose, and art, but the deadline is just days away! See the guidelines here.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Holiday Poetry Contest
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
This contest is now closed.
Hello everyone! Had a fun Halloween? I sure did, though no one recognized my costume. Seriously, how many creatures have a tail that splits into two? (I was Espeon, by the way.) Because of this wonderful, festive time of year (Halloween, Thanks Giving, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.) Catsi had the wonderful idea of a holiday-themed contest. We're not picky, so you can make it about any holiday you'd like! Valentines Day, Veteran's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Caviar Day... I'm not kidding, that last one is real. Look up "holiday calendar" and you'll find more than enough to write about. Anyway, this is a poetry contest. Any kind of poetry (including freestyle) on any holiday. They can even be mythical holidays. The prize is, as always, as much publicity as we can give you, unless you ask us not to.
Include "holiday contest" in the subject line
Submit to windowtothesoulcontests@gmail.com
Submissions must be attached in doc., docx., or txt format
You may include a short, 200 word, bio, plus a picture
You may also include links, either in your bio or separate from them
Submissions must be PG-13 or cleaner
ALL rights remain with the creator, we only ask that we be allowed to display your poem and bio on the website and newsletter, but if you would rather we didn't, let us know in the email. It will not impact your chances of winning.
Please do not include your name in the attached document, only in the body of the email
You must be the sole creator of your poem, or have the permission of all the other creators and have been an integral part of making it
Previous and simultaneous submissions are welcome
You may submit as many pieces as you'd like
The deadline is December 20th
Results will be published January 1st
I can't wait to see what you guys make! With any luck, we'll have those ads up soon, meaning occasional cash prizes! Remember, if you have any questions, you can either comment down here, or email us at the same address as you submit to.
We have one other contest open, this one for not only poetry, but art and prose as well! See details here.
This contest is now closed.
Hello everyone! Had a fun Halloween? I sure did, though no one recognized my costume. Seriously, how many creatures have a tail that splits into two? (I was Espeon, by the way.) Because of this wonderful, festive time of year (Halloween, Thanks Giving, Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.) Catsi had the wonderful idea of a holiday-themed contest. We're not picky, so you can make it about any holiday you'd like! Valentines Day, Veteran's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Caviar Day... I'm not kidding, that last one is real. Look up "holiday calendar" and you'll find more than enough to write about. Anyway, this is a poetry contest. Any kind of poetry (including freestyle) on any holiday. They can even be mythical holidays. The prize is, as always, as much publicity as we can give you, unless you ask us not to.
Include "holiday contest" in the subject line
Submit to windowtothesoulcontests@gmail.com
Submissions must be attached in doc., docx., or txt format
You may include a short, 200 word, bio, plus a picture
You may also include links, either in your bio or separate from them
Submissions must be PG-13 or cleaner
ALL rights remain with the creator, we only ask that we be allowed to display your poem and bio on the website and newsletter, but if you would rather we didn't, let us know in the email. It will not impact your chances of winning.
Please do not include your name in the attached document, only in the body of the email
You must be the sole creator of your poem, or have the permission of all the other creators and have been an integral part of making it
Previous and simultaneous submissions are welcome
You may submit as many pieces as you'd like
The deadline is December 20th
Results will be published January 1st
I can't wait to see what you guys make! With any luck, we'll have those ads up soon, meaning occasional cash prizes! Remember, if you have any questions, you can either comment down here, or email us at the same address as you submit to.
We have one other contest open, this one for not only poetry, but art and prose as well! See details here.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Reply Poems
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
Reply poems are not like sonnets or haiku, but refer to a completely different aspect of a poem. They are pretty self-explanatory: reply poems are a reply. However, they are specifically to another poem. One of the better-known examples would be "A Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd".
The flower that smiles to-day
Virtue how frail it is!
Whilst skies are blue and bright,
Though left and right there is sorrow
And morality seem only to decay
I need look only to tomorrow
For the Lord guides each and every day!
What can we expect after the Fall?
That the world would be perfect as a doll?
Nay, but the Devil shall not take all
The skies need not be bright,
Nor the flowers gay, for me to know joy
Will a mere day without light
My heart’s happiness destroy?
To last, happiness must be deep
And while I loves the dreams of sleep
I shall not wake to weep
Reply poems are not like sonnets or haiku, but refer to a completely different aspect of a poem. They are pretty self-explanatory: reply poems are a reply. However, they are specifically to another poem. One of the better-known examples would be "A Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and "The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd".
The Passionate Shepherd to His Love
By Christopher Marlowe
Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.
And we will all the pleasures prove
That valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods or steepy mountain yields.
And we will sit upon the rocks,
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
Seeing the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle;
A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;
Which from our pretty lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;
A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my love.
The shepherds' swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.
For thy delight each May morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.
The Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd
By Sir Walter Raleigh
If all the world and love were young,
And truth in every shepherd's tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy love.
And truth in every shepherd's tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy love.
Time drives the flocks from field to fold
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold,
And Philomel becometh dumb;
The rest complains of cares to come.
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold,
And Philomel becometh dumb;
The rest complains of cares to come.
The flowers do fade, and wanton fields
To wayward winter reckoning yields;
A honey tongue, a heart of gall,
Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall.
To wayward winter reckoning yields;
A honey tongue, a heart of gall,
Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall.
Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies
Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten
In folly ripe, in season rotten.
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies
Soon break, soon wither, soon forgotten
In folly ripe, in season rotten.
Thy belt of straw and ivy buds,
Thy coral clasps and amber studs,
All these in me no means can move
To come to thee and be thy love.
Thy coral clasps and amber studs,
All these in me no means can move
To come to thee and be thy love.
But could youth last and love still breed,
Had joys no date nor age no need,
Then these delights my mind might move
To live with thee and be thy love.
Had joys no date nor age no need,
Then these delights my mind might move
To live with thee and be thy love.
As you can see, they sometimes copy the rhyme and/or meter of the original poem, but they won't necessarily. There is nothing specific that needs to be done to make a reply poem, though the most important thing, aside from poem quality, is to make it so that people can tell that it is a reply poem. With the previous one, it is pretty obvious (to those of the time) because the original was a fairly well-known and it has many lines that are quite close to the original. Another option is to do what I did in my poem below, which is to "address" the poem.
First, I'll give you the poem I'm replying to:
Mutability
By Percy Bysshe Shelley
The flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow dies:
All that we wish to stay
Temps and then flies.
What is this word's delight?
Lightning that mocks the night,
Brief even as bright.
Virtue how frail it is!
Friendship how rare!
Love how it sells poor bliss
For proud despair!
But we, thought soon they fall,
Survive their joy, and all
Which our we call.
Whilst skies are blue and bright,
Whilst flowers are gay,
Whilst eyes that change ere night
Make glad the day,
Whilst yet the calm hours creep,
Dream thou- and from they sleep
Then wake to weep
To Shelley’s “Mutability”
By Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley
Wrong! For though much I live is dream,
I know it is only that, no more
But from what you seem
To say, the truth is but sore
But I look around and I see,
Though I could live off dreams if need be,
There are more joys in reality!
I know it is only that, no more
But from what you seem
To say, the truth is but sore
But I look around and I see,
Though I could live off dreams if need be,
There are more joys in reality!
Though left and right there is sorrow
And morality seem only to decay
I need look only to tomorrow
For the Lord guides each and every day!
What can we expect after the Fall?
That the world would be perfect as a doll?
Nay, but the Devil shall not take all
The skies need not be bright,
Nor the flowers gay, for me to know joy
Will a mere day without light
My heart’s happiness destroy?
To last, happiness must be deep
And while I loves the dreams of sleep
I shall not wake to weep
I hope you've enjoyed this, and I hope that you have a good time with your poetry. Perhaps we should have a reply poem contest soon, huh?
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
We have two contests right now, one of which is poetry. To see the guidelines, click here.
Our other contest is an art contest, we extended the deadline! Come see more here.
Our other contest is an art contest, we extended the deadline! Come see more here.
Saturday, June 7, 2014
How to Write A Shakespearean Sonnet
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
Probably the most well-known style of sonnet is the English sonnet, due to it's other name, the Shakespearean sonnet. I'll begin with the sonnet's structure. Unlike the Italian sonnet, which has two sections, the English sonnet has four. The first three are called quatrains, and the last one is called a couplet. The quatrains are each four lines with a rhyme scheme of ABAB, while the couplet is two rhyming lines. They are all written in iambic pentameter, which means that it has ten syllables, the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth of which are emphasized.
So, for example, the first quatrain might be something like this:
One day I woke up and looked around me
And finally saw what it was I had
And asked myself, "How could I not see?"
With all these blessings, I can but be glad
Not very nice, but as you can see I've got the right number of syllables as well as the rhyme scheme. Now for the next one. Remember, the rhyme scheme is the same, but it doesn't have to match up with the last one.
Certain blessings I saw to rise above
That were far greater than all of the rest
These were the things that had my strongest love
And I wondered which of them I loved best
Once again, very pasted together (like the addition of "all of" simply to meet the syllable count) but it works. Here you might see that I'm presenting a question. Normally in an English sonnet, the quatrains bring up a question, and the couplet answers it.
So I asked of each, would I live for them?
For my Lord or my writing I would live
Either brother, oh, I would live for them
For my dearest friend, my life I would give
The only things left now is the couplet. Hopefully that'll turn out better than the quatrain.
I realized then just how I was blessed
That I could not find which one was the best
There we go, finished. If you'd like more examples (and better written ones) just type "Shakespearean sonnet" into your search engine.
Honestly, I usually do rhymed free verse, and am not good at making things fit syllable constraints. But it's good to try new things, and so I've required myself to write a poem of each kind I teach, though I'm not fond of it. Anyway, I hope you guys found this useful, and I can't wait to see your sonnets!
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
We have two contests right now, one of which is poetry. To see the guidelines, click here.
The other one is an art contest. 3D art is allowed to! Come see more here.
Probably the most well-known style of sonnet is the English sonnet, due to it's other name, the Shakespearean sonnet. I'll begin with the sonnet's structure. Unlike the Italian sonnet, which has two sections, the English sonnet has four. The first three are called quatrains, and the last one is called a couplet. The quatrains are each four lines with a rhyme scheme of ABAB, while the couplet is two rhyming lines. They are all written in iambic pentameter, which means that it has ten syllables, the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth of which are emphasized.
So, for example, the first quatrain might be something like this:
One day I woke up and looked around me
And finally saw what it was I had
And asked myself, "How could I not see?"
With all these blessings, I can but be glad
Not very nice, but as you can see I've got the right number of syllables as well as the rhyme scheme. Now for the next one. Remember, the rhyme scheme is the same, but it doesn't have to match up with the last one.
Certain blessings I saw to rise above
That were far greater than all of the rest
These were the things that had my strongest love
And I wondered which of them I loved best
Once again, very pasted together (like the addition of "all of" simply to meet the syllable count) but it works. Here you might see that I'm presenting a question. Normally in an English sonnet, the quatrains bring up a question, and the couplet answers it.
So I asked of each, would I live for them?
For my Lord or my writing I would live
Either brother, oh, I would live for them
For my dearest friend, my life I would give
The only things left now is the couplet. Hopefully that'll turn out better than the quatrain.
I realized then just how I was blessed
That I could not find which one was the best
There we go, finished. If you'd like more examples (and better written ones) just type "Shakespearean sonnet" into your search engine.
Honestly, I usually do rhymed free verse, and am not good at making things fit syllable constraints. But it's good to try new things, and so I've required myself to write a poem of each kind I teach, though I'm not fond of it. Anyway, I hope you guys found this useful, and I can't wait to see your sonnets!
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
We have two contests right now, one of which is poetry. To see the guidelines, click here.
The other one is an art contest. 3D art is allowed to! Come see more here.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Synopsis Contest Winner & Patriotism Poetry Contest Announcement
Our synopsis contest has concluded, and the winner is Azaria Durant!
Congratulations, Azaria, and good luck with your book! If you would like to find out more about Miss Durant, visit her website here, or her facebook here.
I am also happy to announce a new poetry contest! In the spirit of Memorial Day, which just passed, and Independence Day, which is in the month that this contest will close, the theme is Patriotism. While this was inspired by two American holidays, we would love to see poetry of all other countries, though I'm afraid they have to be in English, as Catsi, the other judge, cannot read Spanish. Well, I suppose you could send in something in a different language, but be aware that we aren't very likely to choose a poem we can't understand. Translations are fine, as long as you wrote the original, or were given permission to translate and send it. Any type of poem is fine, and you can submit as many as you want.
Include "Patriotism Contest" or "Poetry Contest" in the subject line
Please send your poem(s) in an attachment (doc., docx., or txt.), one for each poem
Your name or pen name should be in the body of the email, but NOT the attachments
You may include a short bio and links to your website, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc.
This website and its newsletter is teen-friendly, so please, nothing graphic
All rights remain with the poet, we only ask to place the winning and other exemplary submissions on our blog and in our newsletter
If you do not want your poem to appear in our blog or newsletter (many publishers do not accept previously published work) please say so, and we will not
Previous and simultaneous submissions welcome
The contest will end on July 20th and the winners will be announced on August 1st.
Send all submissions and questions to windowtothesoulcontests[at]gmail.com
We have another contest right now. It's an art contest with the theme "mothers". If or more information, click here.
An outlaw fighting for her sister. A slave boy in a desperate flight for freedom. And an ancient curse on a broken golden arrow to decide the fate of both.
Congratulations, Azaria, and good luck with your book! If you would like to find out more about Miss Durant, visit her website here, or her facebook here.
I am also happy to announce a new poetry contest! In the spirit of Memorial Day, which just passed, and Independence Day, which is in the month that this contest will close, the theme is Patriotism. While this was inspired by two American holidays, we would love to see poetry of all other countries, though I'm afraid they have to be in English, as Catsi, the other judge, cannot read Spanish. Well, I suppose you could send in something in a different language, but be aware that we aren't very likely to choose a poem we can't understand. Translations are fine, as long as you wrote the original, or were given permission to translate and send it. Any type of poem is fine, and you can submit as many as you want.
Include "Patriotism Contest" or "Poetry Contest" in the subject line
Please send your poem(s) in an attachment (doc., docx., or txt.), one for each poem
Your name or pen name should be in the body of the email, but NOT the attachments
You may include a short bio and links to your website, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc.
This website and its newsletter is teen-friendly, so please, nothing graphic
All rights remain with the poet, we only ask to place the winning and other exemplary submissions on our blog and in our newsletter
If you do not want your poem to appear in our blog or newsletter (many publishers do not accept previously published work) please say so, and we will not
Previous and simultaneous submissions welcome
The contest will end on July 20th and the winners will be announced on August 1st.
Send all submissions and questions to windowtothesoulcontests[at]gmail.com
We have another contest right now. It's an art contest with the theme "mothers". If or more information, click here.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
How to Write an Italian Sonnet
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
There are essentially two types of sonnets, the Italian sonnet, also known as the Petrarchan sonnet, and the English sonnet, also known as the Shakespearian sonnet. Today I will be covering the Italian sonnet, and I'll cover the English sonnet later.
Italian sonnets, and any sonnet written in English for that matter, generally have iambic pentameter. What on earth does that mean?
Well, to start, meter is the rhythm of a poem, and there are different ways of measuring that. Iambic means that you deal with syllables (rhythm is based in syllables) in pairs, the first syllable being unaccented and the second being accented. This means that more emphasis is being given to the second, fourth, sixth, etc. word of that line as compared to the first, third, etc.
The whole emphasis part is rather hard to notice or cause while writing it, but it becomes important when you consider the word "pentameter", which has the same root as "pentagon". That means that you will have five such pairs per line. So, basically, you need ten syllables per line.
Next, is the rhyme scheme. The Italian sonnet is made of two sections, or stanzas, the first having a ABBAABBA rhyme, which would be something like this:
I saw a bird upon the bough of a tree
His breast was red but his great wings were blue
His bright colors reminded me of you
I wish you could be here with me to see
This bird who reminds me of you and me
Because you know that our love was forever true
And this dear bird brings forth my pain anew
Wings your eyes and breast as your hair should be
So, for every "A" in ABBAABBA, I have a line ending in the long "e" sound, and for every "B" I have something ending in the long "oo" sound. This is a quick love sonnet (well, the first stanza of it) that I whipped up for this, so as I have never been in love and I did this in minutes, it isn't as good as it ought to be. I added random adjectives like "great" to meet the syllable requirements, which isn't something you should do, but it will work as an illustration.
The next stanza is more flexible. While it still should be in iambic pentameter, there are several rhyme scheme's you can use: CDCDCD, CDDCDC, CDECDE, CDECED, and CDCEDC. I'll give another example by completing the poem:
Ah, my dear, I shall never love again
If I can't have your blue eyes and red hair
Then I choose nothing, but to bear my pain
Alone and waiting for death to take me
To heaven, for I know that you are there
And have been, since the day that you were slain
Here I used the last rhyme scheme, CDCEDC, with the "C"s being "ain", the "D"s being "air", and the "E" being "me". I hope this has helped you, and I'd love to see your Italian sonnets, in the comments or in future contests! Keep writing poems, keep trying new things, and keep hoping!
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
There are essentially two types of sonnets, the Italian sonnet, also known as the Petrarchan sonnet, and the English sonnet, also known as the Shakespearian sonnet. Today I will be covering the Italian sonnet, and I'll cover the English sonnet later.
Italian sonnets, and any sonnet written in English for that matter, generally have iambic pentameter. What on earth does that mean?
Well, to start, meter is the rhythm of a poem, and there are different ways of measuring that. Iambic means that you deal with syllables (rhythm is based in syllables) in pairs, the first syllable being unaccented and the second being accented. This means that more emphasis is being given to the second, fourth, sixth, etc. word of that line as compared to the first, third, etc.
The whole emphasis part is rather hard to notice or cause while writing it, but it becomes important when you consider the word "pentameter", which has the same root as "pentagon". That means that you will have five such pairs per line. So, basically, you need ten syllables per line.
Next, is the rhyme scheme. The Italian sonnet is made of two sections, or stanzas, the first having a ABBAABBA rhyme, which would be something like this:
I saw a bird upon the bough of a tree
His breast was red but his great wings were blue
His bright colors reminded me of you
I wish you could be here with me to see
This bird who reminds me of you and me
Because you know that our love was forever true
And this dear bird brings forth my pain anew
Wings your eyes and breast as your hair should be
So, for every "A" in ABBAABBA, I have a line ending in the long "e" sound, and for every "B" I have something ending in the long "oo" sound. This is a quick love sonnet (well, the first stanza of it) that I whipped up for this, so as I have never been in love and I did this in minutes, it isn't as good as it ought to be. I added random adjectives like "great" to meet the syllable requirements, which isn't something you should do, but it will work as an illustration.
The next stanza is more flexible. While it still should be in iambic pentameter, there are several rhyme scheme's you can use: CDCDCD, CDDCDC, CDECDE, CDECED, and CDCEDC. I'll give another example by completing the poem:
Ah, my dear, I shall never love again
If I can't have your blue eyes and red hair
Then I choose nothing, but to bear my pain
Alone and waiting for death to take me
To heaven, for I know that you are there
And have been, since the day that you were slain
Here I used the last rhyme scheme, CDCEDC, with the "C"s being "ain", the "D"s being "air", and the "E" being "me". I hope this has helped you, and I'd love to see your Italian sonnets, in the comments or in future contests! Keep writing poems, keep trying new things, and keep hoping!
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Haiku Contest Winner
I am proud to announce the winning poem of our haiku contest!
Some of you may recognize this as the poem posted in the comments on my "How to Write a Haiku" post, and indeed, it is. Congratulations to our winner, Rosemary Mucklestone. Rosey is a historical fiction and sci-fi writer, and you can find her prose works here.
Everyone congratulate our winner! Good luck for next time, everyone! Our next contest is an art one, the theme being "Mothers", and we have a prose one going on right now (you can find that one here). If you're really more of a poet, sign up for our newsletter, it's up on the right here, and we'll email you June first with a new poetry contest.
The grey morning fog
Rakes its fingers on the ground
Trying to hold on
Some of you may recognize this as the poem posted in the comments on my "How to Write a Haiku" post, and indeed, it is. Congratulations to our winner, Rosemary Mucklestone. Rosey is a historical fiction and sci-fi writer, and you can find her prose works here.
Everyone congratulate our winner! Good luck for next time, everyone! Our next contest is an art one, the theme being "Mothers", and we have a prose one going on right now (you can find that one here). If you're really more of a poet, sign up for our newsletter, it's up on the right here, and we'll email you June first with a new poetry contest.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Rules and Kites
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
I very recently moved from Mexico to the state of Washington. Being who I am, I hated it. I hate change, it's simply who I am. But, with the change came new things, new experiences, and the new experiences brought new views, understanding, and inspiration. This week I went kite flying with my grandma, and I realized how writing is very much like flying, and then I realized that all the arts are like it. Heck, maybe every skill is.
When flying a kite, you have to wait for a good wind. You can, of course, run to make your own wind, but once you run out of room to run, your kite will fall down again. Running can make a poor winds enough to get up to the higher winds, but in and of itself is not enough. To me, the wind represents luck. But to fly a kite well, you need to understand when to let out string, and when not to. If you let out too much string, your kite will fall, but if you don't let out any, it will stay close to the ground, subject to the fickle near-ground winds that constantly die, pick up, and die again.
Your hand, your holding of the string, is rules. All the different writing/drawing/painting/poetry rules that exist are represented by your hand. When you hold it down, the kite catches the wind and soars higher. Once it has enough height, you let out more string, the equivalent of trying some things that aren't in the rulebook, and your potential increases. As you get higher (more skilled), you can let out more string (ignore the rules more).
The greatest writers ignore the rules, because the important things are natural, and the things that can be bent or broken, they can have the skill to do without. Everyone needs to follow the rules at the beginning, to learn, and as they progress, they can do their own thing more. They are at the point where they would fly highest if they just let go of the kite and let it soar on its own. Of course, in real life we never do that because we like to keep our kites.
I am an amateur artist when it comes to drawing. I make some pretty good stick figures, and a single, unpaired eye (I can never make them match) but that's really all. Remember when Josie posted that awesome art tutorial? It made me feel empowered, like I could finally draw something well, but instead I left the instructions and ended up failing, because I'm not at that point in my drawing skills. My kite is crashing into the trees because I give it too much string.
What about you? Are you giving yourself too much string? Too little?
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
We have a synopsis contest currently open, which you can find here. Our haiku contest is past the deadline, and we will announce the winner on the first of May both here and in our newsletter, which you can sign up to here.
I very recently moved from Mexico to the state of Washington. Being who I am, I hated it. I hate change, it's simply who I am. But, with the change came new things, new experiences, and the new experiences brought new views, understanding, and inspiration. This week I went kite flying with my grandma, and I realized how writing is very much like flying, and then I realized that all the arts are like it. Heck, maybe every skill is.When flying a kite, you have to wait for a good wind. You can, of course, run to make your own wind, but once you run out of room to run, your kite will fall down again. Running can make a poor winds enough to get up to the higher winds, but in and of itself is not enough. To me, the wind represents luck. But to fly a kite well, you need to understand when to let out string, and when not to. If you let out too much string, your kite will fall, but if you don't let out any, it will stay close to the ground, subject to the fickle near-ground winds that constantly die, pick up, and die again.
Your hand, your holding of the string, is rules. All the different writing/drawing/painting/poetry rules that exist are represented by your hand. When you hold it down, the kite catches the wind and soars higher. Once it has enough height, you let out more string, the equivalent of trying some things that aren't in the rulebook, and your potential increases. As you get higher (more skilled), you can let out more string (ignore the rules more).
The greatest writers ignore the rules, because the important things are natural, and the things that can be bent or broken, they can have the skill to do without. Everyone needs to follow the rules at the beginning, to learn, and as they progress, they can do their own thing more. They are at the point where they would fly highest if they just let go of the kite and let it soar on its own. Of course, in real life we never do that because we like to keep our kites.
I am an amateur artist when it comes to drawing. I make some pretty good stick figures, and a single, unpaired eye (I can never make them match) but that's really all. Remember when Josie posted that awesome art tutorial? It made me feel empowered, like I could finally draw something well, but instead I left the instructions and ended up failing, because I'm not at that point in my drawing skills. My kite is crashing into the trees because I give it too much string.
What about you? Are you giving yourself too much string? Too little?
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK.
We have a synopsis contest currently open, which you can find here. Our haiku contest is past the deadline, and we will announce the winner on the first of May both here and in our newsletter, which you can sign up to here.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
What makes a poem? (Catsi's Version)
The difference between prose and poetry is pretty obvious when you’re reading it. It becomes less so when you try to explain it.
“Well, poems rhyme,” says a boy that I know. (He’s not a poetry fan.) Sure, some poems rhyme. But many others don’t. Rhythm? Yes, most poems have a set rhythm. But is that really what a poem is? A rhythm?
I think it’s safe to say that the emotion is different in a book and in a poem. A novel is meant to produce emotion. A poem pretty much is emotion.
The best poems that I’ve written have come from pure emotion. When I’m just so happy, or so lonely, or so bitter, that there’s nothing left to do but put the feeling into a poem. They don’t normally rhyme, and, though I try to stick to a rhythm, it doesn’t always go well.
I think that’s how you write poetry. You put emotion into words.
Of course, that’s a lot easier said than done. Often times when I’m writing a poem, I spend more time chewing on my pencil, or flipping through a thesaurus, or banging my head against the keyboard, than I do actually writing. And, as is the case with all of my writing, I use the backspace key more than anything else.
But don’t worry about stuff like syllable count or rhyming or rhythm right off the bat. When you first sit down to write a poem, just get out your emotion. Don’t spend forever looking for the perfect word for that sentence. Just write.
I could try to tell you about all the different kinds of poems, and how to write each one. I’m not sure that would go too well, though, because the kinds of poems that I know about are Poems That Rhyme and Poems That Don’t Rhyme. (Okay, yeah, I know more than that. I know about haiku and limericks because Elisabeth posted about them.)
Most of the poems that I write are free verse. Meaning, I don’t worry about anything except the emotion going into the poem. They usually have a bit of rhythm to them, but they rarely rhyme. But there’s something about well-written free verse poems that is so beautiful, so emotional. I think it’s that there really is nothing else to the poem but emotion. It’s not the words that are in the spotlight—it’s what the author was feeling while writing it.
There are lots of different emotions you can play in a poem. Some poems are just meant to be funny, to make you laugh out loud. Some are angry poems, and you can actually feel how upset the writer was. And then there are the sad poems. The ones that actually make you tear up.
Be creative, and have fun. Poetry isn’t something to stress about. Your first poem won’t be perfect. Mine wasn’t. Mine still aren’t. But with practice, they’ll get better. And you might find that poetry is the best way for you to get out your emotions.
It’s a funny feeling
knowing that you’re losing
everything
Everything
I tried so hard to hold on to
is gone
I’ve lost it all
but somehow
I think I’ve
found
a new kind of
everything
Found, by Catsi Eceer
Any questions or comments? Just want to chat about poetry? Say something in the comments! I’d love to hear from you. :) (<-- Look, a smiley face. I am a human, see?)
Saturday, March 29, 2014
What Makes a Poem?
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
What makes a poem? Words would be the simple answer, just as bronze makes the statue of David, but it doesn't really tell us much. Is a poem defined by its rhythm and rhyme? But what of the free verse? They are poems too, though my dad insists they are prose. If a poem is not the sum of its words, rhythm, and rhyme, what is it? Well, like all art, it isn't a math problem. "The Scream" is not the sum of the canvas and pigments. It is not, even, the sum of its beauty. It's actually a rather ugly painting.
What makes a poem? Words would be the simple answer, just as bronze makes the statue of David, but it doesn't really tell us much. Is a poem defined by its rhythm and rhyme? But what of the free verse? They are poems too, though my dad insists they are prose. If a poem is not the sum of its words, rhythm, and rhyme, what is it? Well, like all art, it isn't a math problem. "The Scream" is not the sum of the canvas and pigments. It is not, even, the sum of its beauty. It's actually a rather ugly painting.
Not so pretty, huh? Yet this is a well-known painting, and one I can relate to. What does this have to do with poems? Well, this is art, and poems are art. Think of it like this, a sonnet is like the beautiful, accurate paintings such as this one:
On the other hand, we have The Scream, which is essentially a free verse. Now, what must any good work of art have or do? It must express. What it expresses is really irrelevant. It doesn't have to be received the same way by different people, either. For example, to me, The Scream represents how the world is awful and distorted to one person when something is terribly wrong, yet the rest of the world does not notice. You may see it differently. Maybe you can't express what it makes you feel, and that is common, art often is that way.
So, what does this mean? Why is this important? Well, as poems are art, they should express something too. Anger, sadness, hate, disgust, or maybe something else, more complicated, or indescribable. This is particularly important with free verse poems, because they don't have beautiful rhyme or pleasant rhythm to help them, they must be pure meaning. With a haiku, a sonnet, or any of the standard poem types, you can look at a list of rules and know if you've done it right or wrong, but with free verse you can't.
I think it is good practice to write in free verse, because we can't pretend our poems are good so easily when we don't have any rhyme to hide behind. We have to make it mean something, or it will just be a jumble of words. A pile of dirty clothes. A sonnet, if it has no meaning, is like a box of folded dirty clothes, it can pretend to be done, but it still won't be, and it will still stink.
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK. You know you've got the right one if the picture is of a dragon holding a crystal ball.
We have a poetry contest currently open to submissions. If you're interested, click here.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Limericks
Post by Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, co-founder
So, my last poetry post was about the Japanese poetry style of haiku. Here we'll look at an other short, but less dignified, poetry type. And, no, it's not Japanese.
Our subject today is the limerick. A limerick consists of five lines, the first, second, and last being seven to ten syllables, and the third and fourth being five to seven. The first, second and last end with the same sound, and the third and fourth will end with their own. We'll use the most well-known limerick as our example. Seeing as no one's quite sure who wrote it, and those who some say did write it are dead, I think I'm safe from copyright problems.
There was a young lady of Niger
who smiled as she rode on a tiger;
They returned from the ride
with the lady inside,
and the smile on the face of the tiger.
As I'm sure you're well aware, this is amusing. And most limericks are amusing, or at least ironic. They also usually deal with a person, who is often unusual, or has something unusual happen to them. And by unusual, I mean Twilight Zone-like. So, let's go about constructing our own, huh?
Once a young girl had a thought
The first line normally introduces the character. Notice that this line is seven syllables.
And such a thing she did have a lot
To be honest, I'm just playing for time here, but it rhymes and is nine syllables, so it'll work for now.
She saw then a fawn
And the thought then was gone
Okay, I put these together because the first on it's own is kind of pointless.
And though she looked, it all was for naught
Yeah, this didn't work out so well, huh? Not very clear or anything, but I'll rewrite it. That's the important thing, you need to just spew something out (because if you think about it your limerick will probably seem stupidly silly, and they're kind of supposed to be that way) and then you fix it, if you can.
Once a young girl had a thought
And such a thing she did not have a lot
She saw then a fawn
And the thought then was gone
Though she looked for the thought, is was for naught
Ta-da! It's still not half as good as the tiger one, but it works, and this is my first limerick that actually does, so I'm happy with it. How about you? Can you write a limerick?
Ah, and a bonus limerick to prove my point about their silliness:
There was a young lady named Bright
who traveled much faster than light.
She set out one day
in a relative way,
and came back the previous night.
I hope you enjoyed this!
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK. You know you've got the right one if the picture is of a dragon holding a crystal ball.
So, my last poetry post was about the Japanese poetry style of haiku. Here we'll look at an other short, but less dignified, poetry type. And, no, it's not Japanese.
Our subject today is the limerick. A limerick consists of five lines, the first, second, and last being seven to ten syllables, and the third and fourth being five to seven. The first, second and last end with the same sound, and the third and fourth will end with their own. We'll use the most well-known limerick as our example. Seeing as no one's quite sure who wrote it, and those who some say did write it are dead, I think I'm safe from copyright problems.
There was a young lady of Niger
who smiled as she rode on a tiger;
They returned from the ride
with the lady inside,
and the smile on the face of the tiger.
As I'm sure you're well aware, this is amusing. And most limericks are amusing, or at least ironic. They also usually deal with a person, who is often unusual, or has something unusual happen to them. And by unusual, I mean Twilight Zone-like. So, let's go about constructing our own, huh?
Once a young girl had a thought
The first line normally introduces the character. Notice that this line is seven syllables.
And such a thing she did have a lot
To be honest, I'm just playing for time here, but it rhymes and is nine syllables, so it'll work for now.
She saw then a fawn
And the thought then was gone
Okay, I put these together because the first on it's own is kind of pointless.
And though she looked, it all was for naught
Yeah, this didn't work out so well, huh? Not very clear or anything, but I'll rewrite it. That's the important thing, you need to just spew something out (because if you think about it your limerick will probably seem stupidly silly, and they're kind of supposed to be that way) and then you fix it, if you can.
Once a young girl had a thought
And such a thing she did not have a lot
She saw then a fawn
And the thought then was gone
Though she looked for the thought, is was for naught
Ta-da! It's still not half as good as the tiger one, but it works, and this is my first limerick that actually does, so I'm happy with it. How about you? Can you write a limerick?
Ah, and a bonus limerick to prove my point about their silliness:
There was a young lady named Bright
who traveled much faster than light.
She set out one day
in a relative way,
and came back the previous night.
I hope you enjoyed this!
Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley is an aspiring author and poet. To learn more about her, see our About Us page. You can follow her on Twitter here: @ElisabethGTK. You know you've got the right one if the picture is of a dragon holding a crystal ball.
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