Tag Archives: poetic forms

July 30, 2026 · 11:48 am

One-hit Wonder

As a child of the 80’s and a music fan, I know the wonder and addiction of a great one-hit wonder. 

 A-ha, “Take On Me”

Tommy Tutone, “867-5309 / Jenny”

Big Country, “In a Big Country”

To name just a few. I can give you the first few bars of a one-hit wonder and you would be able to identify it… “We can dance if we want to / We can leave your friends behind.” I know you started to sing this outloud.

As a poet, I could live with having a one-hit wonder poem. I have about 300 poems published in books, unknown amount of original poems submitted for the weekly #BornBattleReady poetry challenge. And the scraps of paper, notebooks, that contain rough drafts and poems that just haven’t found a home and I can confidently say I have over a 1000 poems.

The world of poetry is vast, and many poets, like Emily Dickinson, William Blake, and Henry David Thoreau, just to name a few, became famous after they passed away. I would rather have a one-hit wonder than become famous after death.

No one can predicate a one-hit wonder (or any success for that matter). But if I could choose one poem to be my one-hit wonder I would choose one of my earlier poems, “Air Jordans and Big Gulps.”

“Air Jordans and Big Gulps”

i wear

                   AIR JORDANS

when I work

                                           the graveyard shift

                                           at 7-11

                                                                   (24 hour convenience store)

They do not match the Smock

                               (a dull pepper green)

                               Or my name tag

                               (red stickered first name)

“i I.D. it’s my job”

i wear

                   AIR JORDANS

when I work

                                           cleaning the nacho cheese

                                           and chili dispenser

                                                                   (free for your chips or dogs)

They do not match the bottles

                               (40oz. and up)

                               or the cans

                               (lined like a library)

“please have I.D. ready”

i wear

                   AIR JORDANS

when I work

                                           counting cigarette cartons

                                           and filling the shelves

                                                                   (Camels are on special)

They do not match the coffee

                               (freshly made every hour)

                               Or the Styrofoam cups

                               (one lid fits all sizes)

“Must be 21 or older to purchase alcohol”

I think this poem reflects my style the best. There is a form to the poem, but yet stretches the theme creatively through that form. I do use everyday life as a theme to highlight the depth of living, which this poem does. And it is autobiographical. I still have the first draft of this poem on the inside of a cigarette carton I used to write it on during my graveyard shift.

I have better written poems. I have more heart wrenching poems. I have poems about my family, my children. Poems about fate. Poems written in poetic forms from the 14th century. 

But one-hit wonders are powerful, unique, and addictive to listen to… to read in this instant. And I could die happy if this poem was my one-hit wonder.

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June 2, 2025 · 8:56 pm

PAD 2025: Poem 4

One of the most creative poetic forms is the nonce. Which is a poetic form the poet designs for a specific poem. The poet decides the rules for a poem. On day 20 the prompt was rest. I had a line start in my head, “In the stillness of love.” 

And I wrote this poem. I am using the photo option because I couldn’t figure out how to get WordPress to keep the line breaks correct.

The idea of the rules came to me as I started the first draft. The first rule was that I would use a descriptive word followed by a simile. Through the edits, I had to work with both the descriptive word and a creative simile to match it. The third stanza went through a ton of revisions.

As I rewrote my ideas, I noticed that I had unintentionally used alliteration in the first stanza. So, I added that as a rule, and had to rework the second and third stanza again. I didn’t want the alliteration to be overbearing, but wanted it to be clear as the descriptive word was introduced in the second line.

I also went with the imagery of my hands in a type of prayer. Again, this idea came from the first stanza. Which happens sometimes, the base idea is easily transcribed on the page, then the poem is constructed from there. Honestly, the first stanza is almost as is. It is the example of the power of the muse. The other two stanzas took work.

I also like using line breaks and spaces in my more free form poems. It is something I did when I was a younger poet. I like how spaces and tabs can create flow, tells the reader to breathe. As I reworked the poem, the line breaks started to materialize as I scribbled on my yellow legal pad. But the final rules for the look was cemented when I transferred the poem to a Google doc. I could firmly set the rule for spaces and see how it moved on the page.

Because of the challenge of writing and posting a poem in a day, I went with the ending as I wrote it. I am unsure of the ending at the moment. I may revise it later, but the poem is presented here as it was written for that day. 

Have you ever designed your own rules for a poem? Share your experience in the comment section.

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May 30, 2025 · 9:06 am

PAD 2025: Poem 2

Robert Lee Brewer has some favorite prompts he uses for the PAD challenge. One of them is the BLANK prompt. Robert gives a word and the filler BLANK with it. As poets we are supposed to use it as the title of the poem. This poem was written for the prompt, New (Blank).

“New Hands”

I wish I had new hands.

These do not write great poetry

or handle precious things properly.

–

My hands are callous and scarred

from traveling too far 

from other hands

that only wanted

to know

I would never let them go.

–

These hands have broken 

bread with no intention

of keeping

the promises set

at a table

I was invited to

but no longer 

have a seat at.

–

I wish I had new hands.

These ache

with the weight

of carrying

the expectation

of caring 

for a family tree

I’ve never enjoyed 

the shade of.

I planted my own sapling

in soil I created

by breaking the stones

that held generational sins.

–

I wish I had new hands.

These are pale

from years spent in darkness,

fighting against the scales

Fate used in measuring

my worth.

No matter what I paid,

what dreams I placed 

on the plate,

it never balanced

my life’s fulcrum

because Fate

kept its thumb

on the plot

I thought I was writing.

–

I wish I had new hands.

These are failing

in doing the work

of living a life

worth holding on to.

Poetic Form: Spoken Word

I sat with the idea for this poem for a while because of doubt. I am not sure what triggered the idea of having new hands, might have been just noticing my hand as I drank my coffee, but I was unsure of the idea. The idea of replacing my hands simply seemed unrealistic.

The line, “I wish I had new hands” just kept running through my head. I considered some poetic forms that use a refrain for the idea. Poetic forms like the quatern, the dansa, and the kyrielle. But as I wrote down a few lines, the forms didn’t feel right.

I actually tried to come up with some new ideas for the prompt, like “A New Day”, “New Words”, and some other ideas written on a post-it note. But I couldn’t shake the idea of new hands. I couldn’t shake the doubt either.

In fact you can read the doubt in the first stanza. 

I’ve learned over the years to trust the muse more than doubt. It is hard, but once I take the first steps into the idea my creativity takes the wheel. Besides a few edits, this poem is as it was written on the yellow legal pad I used for writing during the PAD challenge. I wanted to write in longhand for each first draft during the challenge.

I also stayed with the more negative idea of why I needed new hands. But kept the idea of a refrain to start each section that dealt with the reason for why my hands were falling. I also focused on how the poem sounded as if I was at a poetry slam. That is why there is inconsistent rhyming, alliterations, and different line breaks.  I do hope to use this poem in a poetry slam this summer.

The writing of “New Hands” highlights the battle I face sometimes between doubt and the idea the muse gives to me. 

Please feel free to share how you deal with doubt in the comment section.

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February 28, 2025 · 4:29 pm

The Creative Process Part 2

Every week there is a poetic battle challenge (X account is @The_PoetryArena) I compete in on a regular basis. Prompt word is revealed on Wednesday. Then poets submit their poems on Friday / Saturday. Five poems are selected as finalists on Monday. The community votes on Tuesday and then Wednesday the winner, crowned as the Voice Of Valo(U)r, provides the next prompt word.

This morning the muse hit me again as I was driving to school. I had this idea of “sheltering in place”. And I honestly don’t know where the idea came from, but as I was driving the idea blossomed into an idea of a newscast stating the command.

Again, when I got to school I started jotting down the idea. The first draft was kind of short and actually more like just the idea. I had some lines down but more notes of imagery and theme.

Then came the second draft.

The poem wanted form. This honestly is the magic of writing. I didn’t actually research more traditional poetic forms, I ran with the idea of using a rhyme scheme of AxAxBxBx and so on. I did think about syllable count per line, but decided to run with a more natural break in the lines.

As you can see I had to actually identify the rhyming lines because as I edited for flow and word choice, I got lost on which line needed the rhyme.

Another magical aspect about this poem is that I had no idea how it would end. As I wrote the poem, the theme emerged through the rhymes and play on words. And I also felt the weight of what is going on in our country mix with the tension of what I believe life should be about, come through in the lines as I wrote. I wasn’t planning on a happy ending… but it is an honest ending.

I did some heavy editing on the second draft, then transferred the poem to my computer so I could submit the poem to this week’s battle. And so, it will be interesting to see the poetic journey this poem takes.

The overall process was the same for each poem, but this time there was more work involved in the final draft. Even though I wasn’t using a traditional poetic form (which sometimes calls for a lot of editing) this poem’s creation was more intense. I had to mesh the rhyming rules with my idea. That work was a joy though.

Feel free to comment about your creative process in the comment section or on social media.

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February 27, 2025 · 10:12 am

The Creative Process

Yesterday, the muse hit me as we were on our way to school. I was driving, so I kept repeating some lines of a poem in my head so I could jot them down when I got to my classroom. As it happens, more lines came to me as we got to school.

As soon as I sat down, I released the poem onto a yellow legal notepad. I thought it would be fun to share my creative process on X as I spent time working with the poem.

Here are those posts:

Post One:

Love the creative process… first is jotting down the lines I had in my head as I was inspired on the drive to school…

Post Two:

The second step (for me with poetry) is to consider if the main idea of the poem can be better expressed through a poetic form. So what I will do is consider the rules of longer poetic forms (the poem is a page long at the moment. If a form stands out I will rough draft (cont)

the poem in that form. Then I have to make a hard creative decision. I decide if the poem works in the poetic form, or as written. I will still work on word choice, flow, things like that after that decision… I’ll let you know what I decided when I get the chance…

Post Three:

So step two has been completed. I will not be using a traditional poetic form, I will work with the poem as it was written on the page (step three). Forms I did look at: cywydd deuair hirion, kyrielle, rimas dissolutas, and Ya-du to name a few….

Post Four:

Step three of the process is the work on the poem. I have edited the original draft, but now have rewritten the whole poem on a new sheet of paper working the edits in. The 2nd draft also focuses on line breaks, tempo, things like that… I will rewrite the whole poem (cont)…

a number of times. I do that so I experience the whole poem, not just the edits. When I feel I have the poem ‘right’ I will transfer it to my computer.

Post Five:

Side note for creativity… To a degree I trust my gut regarding decisions about the poem. No poetic form felt like it would enhance the theme of the poem, trust the feel of the words on the page as I write. So, there is always the risk of getting something ‘wrong’ (cont)

in the sense that the poem isn’t the best it can be. Or the bridge to the reader is not strong. But the more one works on their craft, they can trust their gut more, and be OK when it doesn’t seem to hit correctly…

Post Six:

Step 4 is easy. Transfer of the work onto my computer. But step five is a challenge… what to do with the poem. I was going to share it in the next post, but as soon as I do that I can not submit the poem for publication consideration… And I like how this poem (cont)

turned out. I like the imagery and the theme. I want to share it, but am now thinking about seeing if someone else would like it enough to publish it. So, at the moment I am going to submit it to some journals. Hope you enjoyed this look into the process of writing a poem today!

And so I have a new poem in my folder “unpublished 2025” and I am looking for opportunities to submit the poem. 

When I write blog posts (like this one) and short stories, even my novel ideas. Step one is kind of the same. I do like to get ideas down on paper, even if I use my phone to record an idea, like I do when I walk. I personally like the sense of creation as I write. The feeling of the pen, the way the ink evolves into words. 

In some ways, I can’t forget about that idea because it is in the real world. So, would love to hear about your creative process. Share in the comments, or reach out to me on social media. 

Here’s to a creative day!

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