Last week I shared a rather lengthy Rant poem. This week I am journeying to the opposite end of the poetry terrain and presenting some much shorter poems. Variety is good for us...
During my school days I loved athletics. I built a reputation as a sprinter. I could run run quickly over short distances, but longer forms of running such as cross country were very much a personal challenge. Maybe that's why I enjoy short poems so much...
When we write short poems they require a certain sharp focus. The writer has less time and words in which to deliver the desired outcome. The aim is to be pithy and engaging within a few lines and leave the reader both satisifed and surprised.
So here are few examples of recent short form poems I have lifted from my notebooks and polished for readers to consider. They quite unashamedly lean on wordplay and deal with totally unrleated subjects and have arisen arose organically in recent times.
They currently sit in my poetry vault awaiting further consideration and possible assignment onto a broader stage. I urge every one to occasionally take a short cut and see what it leads to...
Hyenas Ha Hugly
They’re quite unattractive
There’s few creatures meaner
So I really do think
The laugh’s on the hyena.
Alan j Wright
Gratitude
Montecristo Island
there’s a three year wait
for approval
to visit
the island of Montecristo
where visitor numbers
are capped at one thousand
per year
a sanctuary for goats
they check those numbers carefully
i ponder the question-
is this the real count of Montecristo?
These all made me smile, and I especially liked the meaner/hyena attempt at rhyme. And paying for books with turnips is funny! I guess I'd have to be a farmer to try that at Barnes and Noble.
ReplyDeleteSmiles are good. I like that response. Barnes and Noble are not known for accepting turnips as legal tender, unfortunately.
DeleteI'm especially enamored of Montecristo! Here's to short form! I will take your advice and comb my vault for possibilities.
ReplyDeleteAgreed Patricia, -here's to short form poetry! May you have success in your poetry vault searching for examples.
DeleteIt feels like the only pics of hyenas are of those terrifying growls. Now I wonder if they'd like a new reputation but don't know how. Love the 'turnip' & 'count', Alan, poetry playtime! Happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteIt's true Linda, hyenas do need to take a chill pill. Their personality profile is not that great. So gald you enjoyed the poems shared here. Wishing you an equally grand weekend.
DeleteI love these! I'm sharing the hyena poem with my students. It's been a challenging year. We all need a giggle. Thanks, Alan!
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda. Giggles are good. I have a poem about that hidden away somewhere... Hope my hyena behaves.
DeleteOh, my friend, you are not writing poems (yes you are are); you are writing jokes! Thanks for the pithy giggle.
ReplyDeleteI guess you are on the money with this assertion Heidi. My desire for humour is a strong inner push. I am an avowed joke teller afterall. Pithy giggles has a certain ring to it...
DeleteThanks for the fun shorties. :) Montecristo is my fave. Now I will have to contemplate my turnips. . . . ~ Jama
ReplyDeleteThank you Jama. Montecristo did give me a chuckle as I was writing it, I must admit.
DeleteI'm groaning at the punchlines -- especially the hyena and the Monte Cristo!
ReplyDeleteThey're a bit like Dad jokes, Mary Lee. My cousin refers to me as the painful punster. It can't be high art all the times, now can it?
DeleteI love the turnip poem especially!
ReplyDeleteThis is Jone posting.
DeleteThank you Jone. The wordplay opportunity easily won me over when it came to the Turnip Poem.
DeleteThanks for all the grins Alan, love those turnip books!
ReplyDeleteThanks for turning up for the turnips, Michelle. Much appreciated.
DeleteSo clever! I especially like the Montecristo poem. Thank you for the laughs!
ReplyDelete