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Here is a new challenge for anyone who wants to play, Form of the Week. It's the Playground, have a little fun with writing.. Once a week, on Thursday, I will post a different verse form and I hope someone will give it a try. Writing with a particular frame for inspiration will probably not create "the great poem" we are all hoping to write someday, but it is good practice in condensing, imagery, word choice, writing technique and will help create and/or help maintain a writing discipline. Practice, stepping outside of our comfort zone, having a little fun with words are all a plus when challenged to write just one poem a week with a prescribed frame. And please not only should you post poems in this thread, comments are always welcome. This week the Verse Form is: Compound Word Verse This invented verse form uses a stem word from the title to end each stanza in a compound form. Created by Margaret R Smith and found at ShadowPoetry.com. (stem word = rain, stanza end words could be rainbow, rainfall, raincoat, raindrop, rainstorm etc.) The elements of the Compound Word Verse are: stanzaic, written in 5 tercets. syllabic, 8-8-3 syllables per line. rhymed, rhyme scheme aax bbx ccx ddx eex; x being unrhymed. each tercet ends with a compound of a stem word in the title. Beyond the Grave This Halloween night please beware, step outside only if you dare, tread gravely. The tortured dead writhe in their beds, breaking free, tearing bonds to shreds, those grave-bound. Seeking live bodies for a home, lonely, lost souls are known to roam from graveyard. They'll snatch you up without a thought, moon shines bright on an empty plot no gravestones. If possessed you'll be the undead, soulless creature without a head and graveless. ~~Judi Van Gorder Meet me at the Playground, let's have some fun. I promise to keep the spooks away. ~~Tink

Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Southeast Asian Verse The Philippine Islands is a Southeast Asia country located in the Western Pacific Ocean. Filipino poetry dates back before colonization and has been an intregal part of the Filipino culture. The earliest Tagalog epics are written in verse. Blue by Joel Josol A favorite of mine, a modern day, Filippino poet. Dawn, at the pier, without you, its blue cast holding tent, veils the colors of the day. The sky moves clouds, bluish grey and half-asleep, over waters undisturbed in its blueness. I sit at the platform's edge with crags, in silhouettes, before me watching the horizon lift the veil. The only remnant of the night is the lamp's light walking away, an old man. This beautiful glimpse, this dawn is short-lived, quickly dispersed like your glances. I look down on the waters, my reflection is all blue. Awit literally means song. This stanzaic form seems very similar to the Tanaga. It is unique in that a stanza should be one complete, grammatically correct, sentence. The elements of the Awit are: stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains. a narrative, it tells a story. dodecasyllabic, 12 syllables per line, there is usually a pause after the 6th syllable. rhymed, each stanza mono-rhymed aaaa bbbb cccc etc. composed with each stanza representing a complete, grammatically correct, sentence. composed liberally using various figures of speech. written anonymously. The Tanaga is a Filipino verse form that was originally composed in Tagolog, which to my ear is one of the more musical of languages. (Kumusta ka? Mabuti salam at) The form dates back to the 16th century and has an oral tradition. This old folk form had a resurgence of popularity in the 20th century, died down and resurfaced again mid 21st century. The poems are not titled. Originally it was a compact poem, contained in 4 lines, each is emotionally charged and asks a question that begs an answer. The elements of the Tanaga are: a tetrastich, a poem in 4 lines. However, modern poets have modified it to longer works in a stanzaic pattern of any number of quatrains. syllabic, 7-7-7-7 syllables per line. rhymed, originally monorhymed aaaa. Modern Tanagas also use aaaa bbbb etc., or aabb ccdd etc or abba cddc etc or any combination rhyme can be used. asks a question seeking an answer composed with the liberal use of metaphor. untitled. But in this poetic world we kind of have to title our poems for identity's sake. I'd Like to Think, It Knew Saintly sentinel stands guard, oversees nature's regard. St. Francis in my front yard, stone statue weathered and scarred. The welcome, silent and stead, his story of care is widespread. A brown bird lights on his head to peruse the garden bed. Do you think it may have known what the ancient priest had sown? In Christ he was never alone, love for all life he'd intone. ~~Judi Van Gorder