Verse Form Practice

[Tinker]

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:

1. stanzaic, written in 5 tercets.
2. syllabic, 8-8-3 syllables per line.
3. rhymed, rhyme scheme aax bbx ccx ddx eex; x being unrhymed.
4. 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

[Tinker]

Form for this week is the Aquarian

The Aquarian is a stanzaic form, found at PoetryStyles.com, which is pretty simplistic. It was created by A Marie Mazz. The elements of the Aquarian are:

1. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
2. syllabic, 2-4-6-2 syllables per line.
3. unrhymed.

[Tinker]

One More Time

Dishes
constant clean up
never ending nuisance
again

bother
not really work
scrape, rinse and load washer
again 

no help
others ignore
does no one know how to?
again

boring
mundane duty
abhorrent assignment
again

again
and again and . . . . 
from mealtime and snack time 
again
          ~~Judi Van Gorder

An Aquarian

 




 

[Tinker]

So I lied, here is another Form for the Week, the Tanaga.

The Tanaga is a Filipino stanzaic form that was originally written 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. The poems are not titled. Each is emotionally charged and asks a question that begs an anwer. This form was found at Kaleidoscope.  The elements of the Tanaga are:

1. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
2. syllabic, 7-7-7-7 syllables per line.
3. rhymed, originally aaaa bbbb cccc etc., modern Tanagas also use aabb ccdd etc or abba cddc etc or any combination rhyme can be used.
4. composed with the liberal use of metaphor.
5. 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 Notes: ▼ I know I deviate in syllable count in L11 but it had to be done and I give it a title. Rules are just tools to be bent to the will of the poem. Written this morning while watching out my front window, a little bird just sitting on St Francis's head.

[A. Baez]

I'm not at all sure I could rise to the challenge of writing a decent poem in Compound Word Verse within any length of time, but I just wanted to comment that I love yours, "Beyond the Grave." Obviously, great care must be taken at the outset to choose wisely one's stem word. Your poem flows so smoothly that the reader is scarcely conscious of the strict parameters in which you're working. To top it off, you've managed to conjure a distinctly Halloweeny atmosphere! Nice read, and I'll have to pull it up again next Oct. 31!

[Tinker]

Thank you A.B,  Some of these invented forms don't always produce high poetry but they are fun practice. 

I also belong to another writing community that has a lot of contests and challenges, some daily, some weekly, some monthly.  2 of the forums offer weekly forms challenges, they are not judged and I wonder if any of the poems are really even read others but I use them both as inspiration to maintain a writing discipline and experiment with patterns. Plus I eventually I want to write an example poem for all of the genres and forms I have documented in the reference section of this forum.   

Sometimes I combine the two challenges because one of the forums switches from forms to devices or even genres or themes so I can put the two together and write one poem.    Part of the challenge is there isn't a lot of time to develop the piece.  Consequently I often snatch a topic and challenge my typing fingers to run with it.   Holidays, current events, and simple moments like watching a bird land on the head of statuary outside my window provide fodder.

~~Tink 

[A. Baez]

Wowee, spontaneity like that definitely isn't my forte, but I admire people who can rise to such challenges with any modicum of style! Certainly, that's a highly ambitious goal of yours to produce an example of each genre and form you've documented in the reference section here--because there are a lot! I'm really looking forward to delving into that section more, because reading about and seeing examples of all the different modes really can broaden one's imagination. Even as a voyeur, one may imbibe an idea that later may inform one's work, even if only indirectly.

[Tinker]

A new week, a new form.  An added challenge, today is Veteran's Day here in the US, use that as the theme.  

The Tableau is an invented stanzaic form that paints a single image in keeping with the name of the form, tableau meaning picture. Created by Emily Romano at ShadowPoetry.com, who suggests the word "tableau" be included in the title. I personally think this is gimmicky and don't think it would do your poem justice to use it.  The elements of the Tableau are:

1. stanzaic, written in any number of sixains.
2. syllabic, 5 syllable lines.
3. rhyme at the discretion of the poet.
4. written describing a single image.
5. written with a title that includes the word "tableau".  (In my opinion, optional.)

[Tinker]

On 11/11/2019 at 7:01 AM, Tinker said:

elements of the Tableau are:

1. stanzaic, written in any number of sixains.
2. syllabic, 5 syllable lines.
3. rhyme at the discretion of the poet.
4. written describing a single image.
5. written with a title that includes the word "tableau".  (In my opinion, optional.)

Trophy

Molly brought a gift
in through the front door.
Her play took a shift,
dead mole on the floor.
Now fun is all done,
the trophy is won.
         ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

Happy Monday, here is an easy verse form to tinker with.

Oddquain is a pentastich with odd numbered syllabled lines that add up to 17 syllables invented by Glenda L. Hand.. It is haiku-like in that is compact, utilizing the maximum syllable count of the haiku but breaking it into 5 lines.  The elements of the Oddquain are:

1. a pentastich, a poem in 5 lines or it can be stanzaic, written in any number of cinquains.
2. syllabic, 1-3-5-7-1 syllables per line.
3. usually unrhymed.
4. can be written in variation:

• Crown of Oddquains - written in 5 cinquains. A crown always is written with the last line of the stanza repeated as the first line of the next stanza.
• Reverse Oddquains, written with reverse syllable count 1-7-5-3-1,
• Mirror Oddquain, written in 2 cinquains, syllable count 1-3-5-7-1 1-7-5-3-1.
• Oddquain Butterflies - merges the 2 stanzas of the mirror cinquain by deleting the 1st line of the second stanza, syllables 1-3-5-7-1-7-5-3-1.
  
  They Keep Coming
  
  Bills,
  reminders that nothing's free.
  Services rendered,
  dollars owed,
  Pay!
             ~~jvg

[Tinker]

A fun new form I just discovered and added to the Reference Section, Invented Forms: Dekaaz.

The Dekaaz is a new verse form meant to be voiced out loud. It is a condensed, contemporary, haiku-like verse form invented by Rachel Bagby, an award-winning vocal artist, international speaker, recording artist and author passionate about mentoring women to unleash their voices as instruments of change. She says the Dekaaz is "a modern-day incarnation of the ancient haiku put to work in everyday life."

The elements of the Dekaaz are:

1. a tristich, a poem in 3 lines
2. syllabic, 2-3-5 syllables per line
3. after writing verse, speak it out loud to someone even if the only listener is yourself (Isn't all poetry meant to be voiced out loud?)
   
   #1
   haiku
   heard not read
   shout your truth out loud
          ~~Judi Van Gorder
   
   #2
   sunrise
   new prospects
   burst before my eyes
                          ~~jvg
   
   #3
   woman
   speak your mind
   stand with your sisters
                         ~~jvg
   
   #4
   my man
   make your noise
   I'm still listening
                         ~~jvg

[Tinker]

The Marianne  

Happy Thanksgiving

Holiday rush
freeways backed up and jammed,
families try to beat the push
to reconnect,
a dash.

Laughter and fun
the old and very young
join in thanksgiving, turkey’s done.
Feasting and hugs,
all one!
         ~~jvg

The form of the week is another invented form that was created in the Fifties and Published in Pathways for a Poet long before the internet explosion of invented forms. Pathways includes many invented forms that appear to have been created by teachers as teaching tools.

The Marianne is a verse form that is written with a combination rhyme and syllable count.It was created by Viola Berg . The lines should be centered on the page.  The elements of the Marianne are:

1. a pentastich, a poem in 5 lines. Writing more than one stanza is at the discretion of the poet.
2. syllabic, 4-6-8-4-2 syllables per line.
3. rhymed, axaxa x being unrhymed.
4. titled and centered on the page
   
    

[A. Baez]

You managed to very effectively capture the mood of Thanksgiving in this country. (I've heard everything is more civil in Canada!) The  form seems useful, and I like the half-rhyme of "dash." Happy Thanksgiving!

[Tinker]

Thank A.B., I hope you have Happy Thanksgiving.  

~~Tink

[Tinker]

Form of the Week - Cinquino
Cinquino is, what seems to me, a gimmicky invented verse form that reverses the syllable count of the Crapsey Cinquain. It was found in a book on poetry for teachers and was created by a 20th century American educator James Neille Northe.   The elements of the Cinquino are:

1. a poem in 5 lines.
2. syllabic, 2-8-6-4-2 syllables per line.
3. unrhymed

Holiday Travel

12 hour
drive home from holiday visit,
cars bumper to bumper,
snow, fog and rain,
nightmare.
         ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

Lento found at Shadow Poetry is an invented verse form that has head and tail rhyme, uses rhyme at both ends of the line. It was created by Lencio Dominic Rodrigues. The elements of the Lento are:

1. an octastich made up of 2 quatrains.  A Double Lento is 4 quatrains and a Triple Lento is 6 quatrains.
2. meter at the discretion of the poet.
3. rhymed. The first word of the line in each quatrain is mono-rhymed, rhyme scheme aaaa bbbb. The rhyme scheme of the end words is xcxc xdxd , x being unrhymed, although alternating rhyme could be used, cdcd efef.
   
   The Cold Outside
    
   Critters seek shelter, soggy and wet,
   cringing beneath brush and evergreen,
   cribbing in burrows to avoid the threat.
   Crystals form, a seasonal routine.
   
   Winter currents carry icy air.
   Wind winds in and out in cold distain
   whipping through space and time without care.
   Windows shut against wind driven rain.
                          ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

Create a Nonce form and describe the elements of the form.  nonce form :  the pattern, frame or structure of a poem developed specifically for an individual poem
Nonce form I will call the "Woke Journal".  The elements of the Woke Journal are:

1.  written in 3 quatrains followed by a sixain 
2. random meter
3. rhyme, rhyme scheme, abab cdcd efeg hiihjj, the first 3 stanzas alternating rhyme, the sixain is made up of a envelope quatrain followed by a rhymed couplet

Journal Entry Jan 8

This morning I woke
all creaky and wonky.
Getting old is no joke,
but first my coffee.

It’s a good thing I can
type with my eyes closed.
I need to create a plan,
even though indisposed.

I'll make a list of things to do
and then I'll go to work.
I need something new,
something I won't shirk.

1. Create a new form,
             so what will it be?
2. Be creative like Tony,
             a frame out of the norm.
3. Find something unique,
             use a work day technique.
                      ~~Judi Van Gorder

[jakecaller]

here's my Nonce 

don't know if I posted this correctly

in honor of the blood red super blue wolf moon I was inspired to write a "lunatic poem"

 

Lunatic Light of the Moon Transforms a Man into a Cat

 

a man stood under the full moon

the blood red super wolf moon of January

giving in to the lunar madness hearing her mad tune

wondering if he would still be alive in February

 

howling like an escaped banshee from Hell

as the lunacy of the blood red super wolf moon infected him 

 he hears the dogs of hell following the infernal bell

waiting on Satan’s call at his whim

 

the man transformed 

into a wild beast 

 all around him the lunar madness stormed

as he gives in and becomes a werewolf

 

The blood red super blue wolf moon 

demands that he obey her call 

and he bows down  falling down in a swoon

trying to escape her her evil grin, he runs into a wall 

he is nothing her prisoner, nothing more than that 

the evil moon transformed him into a cat 

 

[Tinker]

On 1/13/2020 at 12:35 AM, jakecaller said:

Lunatic Light of the Moon Transforms a Man into a Cat

Haha, OMG how do you come up with this stuff?  
 

On 1/13/2020 at 12:35 AM, jakecaller said:

"lunatic poem"

Hmmm, this form is pretty orderly for a lunatic poem.

1. composed of 3 quatrains followed by a sixain
2.  meter at discretion of the poet
3.  rhyme, abab cdcd efeg ghghii

[Tinker]

Form of the week Jan 27, 2020

Clarity Pyramid was invented by Jerry P Quinn and is another form found at Shadow Poetry. This verse focuses on defining the first word of the poem. The elements of the Clarity Pyramid are:

1. a heptastich, made up a 2 tercets followed by a single line.
2. syllabic, L1 1 syllable, L2 2 syllables, L3 3 syllables, L4 4 syllables, L5 5 syllables, L6 6 syllables and the last L7 is 7 syllables.
3. L1 is capitalized and is the theme and title of the poem.
4. L2 and L3 are synonyms for L1.
5. L4, L5, L6 provide concrete images of L1.
6. L7 is a phrase to define L1 (this line is written with quotation marks)
7.  often centered on the page.

Love
Molly
devotion 

Motorboat purr,
silken, warm, snuggles.
She picked her person - me,
"and begins and ends my day."
                           ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

The Brady's Touch is an invented verse form with a strict syllabic pattern, created by Maryann Merriweather-Travis. The elements of the Brady's Touch are:

1. a decastich, made up of 2 quintains.
2. syllabic, 9-9-8-8-2 9-9-8-8-2.
3. rhymed, rhyme scheme abxcd abxcd. x being unrhymed.
   
   Silken Threads

[Tinker]

Tripadi in the Bengali Region, now known as Bangladesh, is considered one line in three parts even though it is almost always written in three lines. So I guess you might say, each tercet is simply a full sentence in 26 or 20 syllables broken into lines.

The elements of the Tripadi are:

1. stanzaic, almost always in tercets. A poem can have any number of tercets.
2. syllabic, 8-8-10 syllables per line and sometimes 6-6-8 syllables per line.
3. rhymed, aax bbx
   
   Chittagong
   
   Where giant ships journey to die
   hidden away from prying eyes
   to be chipped bit by bit, recycled boats.
   
   The third world demolition sight,
   environmental waste ignored blight,
   Bangladesh laborers tend to their chore.
                                ~~Judi Van Gorder
   
    

[Tinker]

The Tricube found at Writer's Digest is an invented form by Phillip Larrea is inspired by the mathematic "cube" to the third power. The elements of the Tricube are:

1. a hexastich (poem in 9 lines) made up of 3 tercets.
2. a tercet is made up of 3 lines. (This obvious fact is spelled out in keeping with the third power concept.)
3. syllabic, each line is only 3 syllables long
   
    Conceived in Liberty*
   
   Abe Lincoln,
   our Fourteenth
   President.
   
   A tall man
   standing for
   equal rights.
   
   Gave nation
   "a new birth
   of freedom."* 
              ~~jvg
   
   * from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address November 19, 1863

[Tinker]

Sidlak means "shine" in Cebuano, a language of Northern Mindanao, Philippine Islands. It is a verse form that has appeared over the last 5 years in blogs at Word Press. It seems Shambhavi Bhardwaj first introduced it there. But because of the Filipino source of the name and Bhardwaj does not take credit for its creation, its source is still a mystery to me. Shambhavi's description of the form, however, has been quoted exactly whenever the form appears online so far. I break it down a little differently here. I have searched the internet and the Philippine and Indian Poetry sections of the New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics to find some reference to the form without success.

Because of the above research and especially because the last line syllable count is left to the discretion of the poet in lieu of a "color". I am pretty sure this is a recently invented form. There is a question of whether the last line must be confined to a color only or the color can be the focus of a phrase. The oldest sidlaks I could find use the color in a phrase. However, the poems I've read limiting the last line to the color only were very effective. I think given the two options, whatever works best for your poem is the correct answer.

The elements of the Sidlak are:

1. a pentastich, a poem in 5 lines.
2. syllabic, 3-5-7-9- L5 syllable count is at the discretion of the poet.
3. L5 presents a COLOR that portrays the whole poem or the feelings of the writer without syllable count restriction.

Hollow

Since you left clouds darken the sky, the old dog mopes on the porch, and waking without you, the days are GREY.                                                     ~~Judi Van Gorder

[jakecaller]

here's my attempt at a Sidlack written this morning.  Almost finished with the April Poetry Challenge!!!!

 

Love Sidlak

 

 

My love grows

every moment

of every day for her

she walked out of my dreams into life

filling my life with red passion 

[Tinker]

Jake,  Ah, devoted love.  We can always depend on a love poem from you, or a cat poem or a coffee poem.   I haven't seen any coffee poems lately.  😉 

[Tinker]

The Monchielle Stanza is a relatively new and very popular stanzaic form invented by Jim T Henriksen of Norway. He posted his innovation at All Poetry.com in 2005 and the form seems to have found its way onto several poetry sites since. Of course, we can't leave it out of this forum.

The form is named for Jim's wife Monica and the Kyrielle which also uses a refrain within its frame. It seems to me that the form is more conducive to lyrical images and the repetition of L1 in L1 of subsequent stanzas is closer to the rentrament of the Rondeau Family of forms than the refrain and narrative nature of the Kyrielle, but I didn't invent nor name this new form.

The elements of the Monchielle Stanza are:

1. stanzaic, written in any number of cinquains. (The original poem suggests 4 cinquains but the stanza frame will work equally as well with 2 or more stanzas.)
2. syllabic, 6 syllable lines or if you prefer iambic trimeter
3. rhymed, rhyme scheme From Axbxb Axcxc Axdxd Axexe etc. x being unrhymed or Abcbc Adede Afgfg etc.
4. written with a rentrament L1 is repeated as L1 in each subsequent stanza.

Shinrin Yoku

I bathe in the forest,
sunlight peeks through branches
of gigantic redwoods 
to warm my closed eyelids
seeking where God once stood.

I bathe in the forest, 
my skin's brushed by the breath
of free ocean breezes.
High winds dance in tree tops,
the whirring sound teases. 

I bathe in the forest,
where greens and blues and reds
merge scents of earth and sky
to mingle with echoes
of birdsongs winged on high. 
                     ~~Judi Van Gorder      

Shinrin Yoku, the Japanese art of "forest bathing" .15 minutes of silence in a forest or natural setting.  It has been studied and shows implications of lowering blood pressure, producing cancer fighting cells, reduces stress and promotes mental clarity.  


 

[Tinker]

Falling

On the path to the taffy shop
I stiffly stopped.
Uneven ground that hid a root
had caught my foot.
Onto all fours, I jolted down,
just call me clown.
At least I didn't break my crown.
Grit stuck in the heal of my hands.
My grandkids rushed to help me stand.
I stiffly stopped, had caught my foot, just call me clown. 
                        ~~Judi Van Gorder

Verse Form: Ovillejo

[Tinker]

Trimeric is an invented form created by Dr. Charles A. Stone. Basically it is a short Trenta Sei without metric or rhyme guidance.  The elements of the Trimeric are:

1. a poem in 13 lines, made up of a quatrain followed by 3 tercets.
2. meter at the discretion of the poet.
3. rhyme at the discretion of the poet.
4. composed with a tumbling refrain, each line (with the exception of L1) of the first stanza taking its turn as the first line of the following respective stanzas.  L2 of S1 is L1 of S2. L3 of S1 is L1 of S3 and finally L4 of S1 is L1 of S4.
   
   Customer Service
   
   Good home service is rare these days.
   First, traverse the automated phone maze
   Second, wait for future date and window of time.
   Third, endure the prep and skill level of "tech".
   
   First, traverse the automated phone maze,
   Press one for English, dos por Espanol, sān gè wéi zhōng wén . . . .
   Press one for sales, two to pay, three for account info, four for . . . .
   
   Second, wait for date and window of time,
   first appointment available is not for 3 weeks,
   8 AM to 1 PM,  expect a call at 12:40, running late.
   
   Third, endure the prep and skill level of "tech",
   "I have to call a senior tech to walk me through",
   "it seems I don't have the part I need, reschedule".      
                                   ~~~Judi Van Gorder
   
   
   Actually, this customer service experience has been the norm for some time, however, yesterday I received just the opposite.   I have Direct TV and my box is old and has been acting up.  I called Tuesday around 4 PM and yes had to press a couple of numbers before given to a nice young man who listened to me then said he couldn't fix my problem from his end but would have to get a technician out to my house. He manuevered the phone system for me until he got the appointment person who arranged to send a tech to my house the next morning between 8 and 1.   The tech called at 7:45 AM and said he was on his way. He arrived at 8:10.  I do live in the boonies.  He repositioned my satelite dish.  Then he not only updated my whole system for easier access, he replaced 2 boxes in my home and gave me all new remotes for the 5 boxes in my home and he programmed the new remotes for me. I have TVs in living room, den, 2 bedrooms and on my deck.   He worked for 4 hours and all of this cost me nothing.  His name was Troy and he was awesome. 

[Tinker]

Not a form, a literary device "repetition".  Used in forms such as the Pantoum and Rondeau family of forms.  Or just a repeated word through out a poem. 

I Hear You

Repetition,
         the rat-a-tat-tat of drumsticks on a snare.
Repetition,
         the in and out of the tide lapping at the shore.
Repetition,
         the patter of rain drops against the window pain.
Repetition,
         the echo of your name in the canyon of my mind.
Repetition,
         the lure to play our song, again and again.
Repetition,
         the way my thoughts return to you, over and over.
                             ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

Parallelogram de Crystalline is an invented verse form with a thematic focus. The subject is a lover and the lover should be described through images of nature. It was introduced by Karan Naidu. The elements of the Parallelogram de Crystalline are:

1. a poem in 12 lines, made up of 4 tercets.
2. syllabic 3-6-9 syllables per line for each tercet.
3. unrhymed.
4. themed, lover described using images from nature.
   
   Him
   
   Bay stallion,
   nostrils flared, sleek muscles
   unrestrained, head tossing, hooves prancing.
   
   Thundering
   while protecting his own
   from predators, he leads to safety.
   
   Fast and strong
   he travels over land
   he deems his own. Courage unquestioned.
   
   Beautiful,
   frightening, exciting.
   Eyes focused and wild, choosing one.
                        ~~Judi Van Gorder

[Tinker]

Two Deputies

While mothers weep,
our safety, their priority.
their mothers weep.
Pledged to protect, a vow to keep.
charged with our security 
the law as their authority.
A mother weeps.

We mothers weep,
when our brave protectors are killed,
more mothers weep.
We worry the price is too steep.
A simple traffic stop, life stilled. 
Domestic call, one more death willed.
All mothers weep. 
                ~~Judi Van Gorder

In the space of two weeks, two deputies in my son's department have been shot and killed in the line of duty.  I've always trusted that my son's common sense and training kept him safe.  I've taken pride in his bravery and service with integrity.  But these senseless killings, both officers were ambushed under different circumstances, all of the training in the world couldn't have saved them.  I grieve for the families of these young men and I grieve for the officers who continue to go out on the streets to ensure our safety.  
 

The Rondelet is a relatively short poem using the entire opening line as its refrain. It is French in origin, another member of the 13th century Rondeau Family of Forms which is recognized by its use of the rentrement.  The elements of the Rondelet are:

1. a heptastich, a poem in 7 lines.
2. in French syllabic. Syllable count per line is 4-8-4-8-8-8-4 In English tends to be iambic in pattern.
3. composed with a rentrement, in the Rondelet the entire L1 is repeated as refrain in L3 and L7.
4. rhymed. Rhyme scheme interlocks between the refrain AbAabbA.

[badger11]

That is very sad Judi. I can understand your concerns.

[Tinker]

Thanks for responding Badge. I often think I am the only one to come down here into the playground and the poems I post here are never read. 

This comes too close to home. My son was the motor training officer for the first deputy only 3 months before he was shot in the face approaching a vehicle on a simple traffic stop.  Then 2 weeks later another officer from their department is shot and killed approaching a home from which a call came in to assist in a child welfare custody dispute.  Neither even drew his gun.  Over and done. Dead because they wore the same uniform my son wears.  One attempting to keep our streets safe, another called to protect kids from being taken from one parent by the other parent high on drugs.  He barely got out of his car and was killed in the street. Senseless! 

True, when writing a poem in verse form in this thread or over in the Reference section, I put structure first and try to fit what is on my mind into those restrictions. Not the ideal process for writing poetry but a poem none the less.   Practicing the craft of writing.  Thanks again for reading and commenting. 

~~Judi

[badger11]

Truly shocking Judi.