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I found a site that has free poetry classes that gives quality one on one instruction in subjects such as meter, rhyme, syllabic verse, haiku and the use of refrains and figurative language. I am trying it out by taking the beginning classes in Meter and Refrains and now have added the beginning haiku class. It moves at your pace and although it begins with basics it never hurts to review if you are already accomplished in those subjects or if you are like me, I always start at the beginning and I always learn something new. There are also advanced courses in some of the subjects. I have gotten very helpful feed back from all three instructors so if anyone is interested in honing your skills you can go to All Poetry. Here is a poem I wrote for an assignment to write 10 lines in trochaic octameter. I wrote as an example of Czech -Fourteenth Century Traditional Couplets. Trochee Understand that writing metric feet times eight will spread trochaic lines so long, without some music words could look and sound archaic. Struggling all the day away, producing one more passing piece, forced to step from comfort zone and I don't have the expertise. Stretching, trying drills of merit. Why is it so hard when writing words with forward accents, backward to the normal pattern? Fighting instinct, placing faith in hearing senses, stressing left instead of right though lots of gerunds help the process. Ending rhyme ahead of running out of options, plotting plodding tempos ever ending lines on weak and falling sounds. Hopeful, here's my poem pending. . . . --------------------------------------- --- Judi Van Gorder