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Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry
English Verse

English Poets Emulated  There are many lesser known stanzaic patterns and verse forms projacked and styled after published poems, then named for the poet. These stanzaic patterns appear to have been invented as teaching tools and published in Pathways for a Poet by Viola Berg 1977. Here are a few named for English poets:

The Abercrombie is a stanza pattern using sprung rhythm and an interlocking rhyme scheme. It is patterned after Hymn to Love by British poet, Lascelles Abacrombie (1881-1938). The elements of the Abercrombie are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of octaves made up of 2 quatrains.
  2. metric, written in sprung rhythm with L1,L3,L5,L7 are pentameter, L2 & L6 are tetrameter and L4 & L8 is trimeter.
  3. rhymed, interlocking rhyme scheme abac dbdc, efeg hfhg, etc. L4 and L8 are feminine rhyme. The interlocking rhyme is within the octave and does not extend to the next octave.

    Hymn to Love by Lascelles Abercrombie

    We are thine, O Love, being in thee and made of thee,
    As théou, Léove, were the déep thought
    And we the speech of the thought; yea, spoken are we,
    Thy fires of thought out-spoken:

    But burn'd not through us thy imagining
    Like fiérce méood in a séong céaught,
    We were as clamour'd words a fool may fling,
    Loose words, of meaning broken.

    For what more like the brainless speech of a fool,
    The lives travelling dark fears,
    And as a boy throws pebbles in a pool
    Thrown down abysmal places?

    Hazardous are the stars, yet is our birth
    And our journeying time theirs;
    As words of air, life makes of starry earth
    sweet soul-delighted faces;

    As voices are we in the worldly wind;
    The great wind of the world's fate
    Is turn'd, as air to a shapen sound, to mind
    And marvellous desires.

    But not in the world as voices storm-shatter'd,
    Not borne down by the wind's weight;
    The rushing time rings with our splendid word
    Like darkness fill'd with fires.

    For Love doth use us for a sound of song,
    And Love's meaning our life wields,
    Making our souls like syllables to throng
    His tunes of exultation,

    Down the blind speed of a fatal world we fly,
    As rain blown along earth's fields;
    Yet are we god-desiring liturgy,
    Sung joys of adoration;

    Yea, made of chance and all a labouring strife,
    We go charged with a strong flame;
    For as a language Love hath seized on life
    His burning heart to story.

    Yea, Love, we are thine, the liturgy of thee,
    Thy thought's golden and glad name,
    The mortal conscience of immortal glee,
    Love's zeal in Love's own glory.

The Arnold is a stanzaic pattern that links stanzas with rhyme. It is named for English poet Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) and patterned after his poem The Hymn of Empedocles. Arnold was actually better known for writing the classic Dover Beach. The elements of the Arnold are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any even number of cinquains.
  2. metered, L1 through L4 are trimeter, L5 is hexameter.
  3. rhymed. L1 through L4 are alternating rhyme, L5 rhymes with line 5 of the next stanza. The L5 rhyme changes every 2 stanzas. Rhyme scheme: ababc dedec fgfgh ijijh etc.
  4. L1 through L4 are indented 9 spaces. Now that is getting specific.

    The Hymn of Empedocles by Mathew Arnold

    IS it so small a thing
    To have enjoy'd the sun,
    To have lived light in the spring,
    To have loved, to have thought, to have done;
    To have advanced true friends, and beat down baffling foes;

    That we must feign a bliss
    Of doubtful future date,
    And while we dream on this
    Lose all our present state,
    And relegate to worlds yet distant our repose?

    Not much, I know, you prize
    What pleasures may be had,
    Who look on life with eyes
    Estranged, like mine, and sad:
    And yet the village churl feels the truth more than you;

    Who 's loth to leave this life
    Which to him little yields:
    His hard-task'd sunburnt wife,
    His often-labour'd fields;
    The boors with whom he talk'd, the country spots he knew.

    But thou, because thou hear'st
    Men scoff at Heaven and Fate;
    Because the gods thou fear'st
    Fail to make blest thy state,
    Tremblest, and wilt not dare to trust the joys there are.

    I say, Fear not! life still
    Leaves human effort scope.
    But, since life teems with ill,
    Nurse no extravagant hope.
    Because thou must not dream, thou need'st not then despair.

The Binyon is an envelope verse form with refrain patterned after the poem O World, Be Nobler by 19th century English poet Laurence Binyon. Binyon is known as a World War I poet. O World, is not his best known work, he is better known for For the Fallen which is often used in military memorial services. The elements of the Binyon are:

  1. a heptastich, a poem in 7 lines.
  2. metered, iambic tetrameter.
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme AbccbaA.
  4. composed with a refrain, the 1st line is repeated as the last line.

    O World, Be Nobler Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

    O WORLD, be nobler, for her sake!
    If she but knew thee what thou art,
    What wrongs are borne, what deeds are done
    In thee, beneath thy daily sun,
    Know'st thou not that her tender heart
    For pain and very shame would break?
    O World, be nobler, for her sake!

The Blunden is named for the English World War I poet, Edmund Blunden (1896- 1933 or 1974??), a stanzaic form with variable meter patterned after his poem The Survival. Blunden unlike most "War Poets", wrote about the loss of beauty in the war torn landscape of France. The easy rhythm of the form brings a kind of melancholy to the poem. This poem could almost be considered a débat. Two voices are heard, the mind's need to cope versus the soul's devastation at the mindless destruction. The elements of the Blunden are:

  1. metered, L1, L3, L4, L5 iambic tetrameter and L2, L6 iambic trimeter.
  2. stanzaic, any number of sexains or sixains (6 line stanzas).
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme abccab deffde etc.

    The Survival by Edmund Blunden

    To-day's house makes to-morrow's road;
    I knew these heaps of stone
    When they were walls of grace and might,
    The country's honour, art's delight
    That over fountain'd silence show'd
    Fame's final bastion.

    Inheritance has found fresh work,
    Disunion union breeds;
    Beauty the strong, its difference lost,
    Has matter fit for flood and frost.
    Here's the true blood that will not shirk
    Life's new-commanding needs.

    With curious costly zeal, O man,
    Raise orrery and ode;
    How shines your tower, the only one
    Of that especial site and stone!
    And even the dream's confusion can
    Sustain to-morrow's road.

The Bridges is a stanzaic form with a formal tone created by the long and short lines and exact rhyme scheme. It is patterned after Nightingales by English poet Robert Bridges(1844-1930). The elements of the Bridges are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of sixains.
  2. metered, L1,L2, L4 and L5 are loosely iambic pentameter and L3 and L6 are dimeter.
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme aabccb ddeffe etc.

    Beyond London 1888 by Judi Van Gorder

    Nightingales by Robert Bridges

    BEAUTIFUL must be the mountains whence ye come,
    And bright in the fruitful valleys the streams, wherefrom
    Ye learn your song:
    Where are those starry woods? O might I wander there,
    Among the flowers, which in that heavenly air
    Bloom the year long!

    Nay, barren are those mountains and spent the streams:
    Our song is the voice of desire, that haunts our dreams,
    A throe of the heart,
    Whose pining visions dim, forbidden hopes profound,
    No dying cadence nor long sigh can sound
    For all our art.

    Alone, aloud in the raptured ear of men
    We pour our dark nocturnal secret; and then,
    As night is withdrawn
    From these sweet-springing meads and bursting boughs
    of May, Dream, while the innumerable choir of day
    Welcome the dawn.

The de la Mare is a verse form patterned after Fare Well by English poet, Walter De La Mare (1873-1956).De La Mare is better known for his poem The Listeners. The elements of the de la Mare are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of octaves made up of 2 quatrains.
  2. metered, quatrains of 3 tetrameter lines followed by a dimeter line.
  3. rhymed, xaxaxbxb xcxcxdxd etc. x being unrhymed.
  4. composed with alternating feminine and masculine end words, only the masculine end words are rhymed.

    Fare Well by Walter de la Mare

    When I lie where shades of darkness
    Shall no more assail mine eyes,
    Nor the rain make lamentation
    When the wind sighs;
    How will fare the world whose wonder
    Was the very proof of me?
    Memory fades, must the remembered
    Perishing be?

    Oh, when this my dust surrenders
    Hand, foot, lip, to dust again,
    May these loved and loving faces
    Please other men!
    May the rusting harvest hedgerow
    Still the Traveller's Joy entwine,
    And as happy children gather
    Posies once mine.

    Look thy last on all things lovely,
    Every hour. Let no night
    Seal thy sense in deathly slumber
    Till to delight
    Thou have paid thy utmost blessing;
    Since that all things thou wouldst praise
    Beauty took from those who loved them 
    In other days

The de Tabley is a verse form patterned after Chorus from Medea by John Leicester Warren, Lord de Tabley (1835-1895). De Tabley's poetry reflected his study of the classics and his passion for detail. The elements of the de Tabley are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
  2. metric, alternating iambic pentameter and iambic trimeter lines. L1 of each stanza begins with a trochee Su.
  3. rhymed, rhymed scheme abab cdcd etc.

    Thread of Dreams by Judi Van Gorder

    Chorus from Medea by John Leicester Warren, Lord de Tabley

    SWEET are the ways of death to weary feet,
    Calm are the shades of men.
    The phantom fears no tyrant in his seat,
    The slave is master then.

    Love is abolish'd; well, that this is so;
    We knew him best as Pain.
    The gods are all cast out, and let them go!
    Who ever found them gain?

    Ready to hurt and slow to succour these;
    So, while thou breathest, pray.
    But in the sepulchre all flesh has peace;
    Their hand is put away.

The Dixon measures the differences between masculine and feminine rhyme. Patterned after the poem The Feathers of the Willow by English poet, Richard Watson Dixon (1833-1900).The elements of the Dixon are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of sixains made up of 2 tercets.
  2. metered, trimeter
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme aab ccb. The b rhymes are strong, masculine, the rhyme on a stressed end syllable. The a and c rhymes are feminine or falling rhymes, the rhyme is in the stressed syllable of an end word ending in an unstressed syllable.

    The Feathers of the Willow by Richard Watson Dixon

    THE feathers of the willow
    Are half of them grown yellow
                Above the swelling stream;
    And ragged are the bushes,
    And rusty now the rushes,
                And wild the clouded gleam.

    The thistle now is older, 
    His stalk begins to molder,
                His head is white as snow;
    The branches all are barer,
    The linnet's song is rarer,
                The robin pipeth now.

The Dobson is named for Henry Austin Dobson (1840-1921), 19th century English poet, patterned from his The Garden Song. Dobson was respected in his time for his use of French forms especially his mastery of the Triolet.The elements of the Dobson are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of sixains made up of 3 rhymed couplets.
  2. metered, most often written in tetrameter.
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme aabbcc ddeeff et.

    A Garden Song by Henry Austin Dobson                                  

    HERE in this sequester'd close
    Bloom the hyacinth and rose,
    Here beside the modest stock
    Flaunts the flaring hollyhock;
    Here, without a pang, one sees
    Ranks, conditions, and degrees.

    All the seasons run their race
    In this quiet resting place,
    Peach and apricot and fig
    Here will ripen and grow big;
    Here is store and overplus,
    More had not Alcinoüs!

    Here, in alleys cool and green,
    Far ahead the thrush is seen;
    Here along the southern wall
    Keeps the bee his festival;
    All is quiet else--afar
    Sounds of toil and turmoil are.

    Here be shadows large and long;
    Here be spaces meet for song;
    Grant, O garden-god, that I,
    Now that none profane is nigh,
    Now that mood and moment please,                                
    Find the fair Pierides!
     

    Wake Up Call by Judi Van Gorder

    The yellow daffodils appear,
    a season preview, Spring is near.
    Though winter's silence still is heard
    in time, new life is undeterred.
    Awake and open up your eyes
    the garden offers up the prize.

    Bodega Blues by Judi Van Gorder

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

The Donne is named for the English Poet, John Donne (1573-1631) patterned after his A Hymn to God the Father. John Donne was known as a metaphysical poet and his poetic style directly influenced the poetry of the 16th century.The elements of the Donne are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of sixains.
  2. metered, L1 through L4 are pentameter, L5 tetrameter and L6 is dimeter.
  3. rhymed, with an alternating rhyme scheme ababab. The rhyme scheme maintains the same 2 rhymes throughout the poem ababab ababab etc.
     
    Hymn to God the Father by John Donne                                       

    WILT Thou forgive that sin where I begun,
        Which was my sin, though it were done before?
    Wilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
         And do run still, though still I do deplore
              When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done,
                             For I have more.

    Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
        Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
    Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
        A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score? 
            When thou hast done, thou hast not done, 
                      For I have more.

    I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
         My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
    But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son 
         Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore; 
               And, having done that, thou hast done; 
                       I fear no more.

    Done Donne by Rex Allen Brewer

    How can I find a way to write like Donne,
          When comes the fun, who cracks the door?
    My words are poor, like weeds without the sun.
          I can't find rhyme or pun, I am a bore.
    I walk the floor, what have I won? 
                  Foul done, no score.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

The Dowson is patterned after the poem They Are Not Long, the Weeping and the Laughing by English poet Ernest Dowson (1867-1900). It is this poem that coined the phrase, "the days of wine and roses." As a side note,Dowson died at the age of 32 a direct result of his alcoholism. The elements of the Dowson are:

  1. stanzaic, 2 quatrains.
  2. metered, L1-L3 pentameter, L2 trimeter, L4 dimeter.
  3. rhymed abab cdcd, L1-L3 of each stanza ends in feminine rhyme and L2-L4 is masculine rhyme.

    They Are Not Long, The Weeping and the Laughing by Ernest Dowson

    They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
    Love and desire and hate:
    I think they have no portion in us after
    We pass the gate.

    They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
    Out of a misty dream
    Our path emerges for awhile, then closes
    Within a dream.

The Fletcher is a verse form that employs long and short lines, from the poem Away, Delights by John Fletcher (1579-1625) The elements of the Fletcher are:

  1. 2 octaves made up of 2 quatrains each.
  2. metered, L1, L3, L5, L8 are pentameter and L2, L4, L6, L7 are dimeter.
  3. rhymed ababcdcd efefghgh , L1 and L3 of each octave are feminine rhyme.

    Away,Delights! By John Fletcher

    AWAY, delights! go seek some other dwelling,
    For I must die.
    Farewell, false love! thy tongue is ever telling
    Lie after lie.
    For ever let me rest now from thy smarts;
    Alas, for pity go
    And fire their hearts
    That have been hard to thee! Mine was not so.

    Never again deluding love shall know me,
    For I will die;
    And all those griefs that think to overgrow me
    Shall be as I:
    For ever will I sleep, while poor maids cry--
    'Alas, for pity stay,
    And let us die
    With thee! Men cannot mock us in the clay.'

The Gilbert is a verse form in which a theme reoccurs in different settings from stanza to stanza. It is named for William Schwenk Gilbert (1836-1911) of Gilbert and Sullivan fame, (operettas for which Gilbert provided the lyrics). The form is patterned after his poem The House of Peers. The elements of the Gilbert are:

  1. written in 3 septets.
  2. metered, L1,L3,L4,L6,L7 are tetrameter , L2 and L5 are trimeter.
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme xabbacc xdeedff etc. x being unrhymed.

    The House of Peers by WS Gilbert

    When Britain really ruled the waves -
    (In good Queen Bess's time)
    The House of Peers made no pretense
    To intellectual eminence,
    Or scholarship sublime;
    Yet Britain won her proudest bays
    In good Queen Bess's glorious days!

    When Wellington thrashed Bonaparte,
    As every child can tell,
    The House of Peers, throughout the war,
    Did nothing in particular,
    And did it very well;
    Yet Britain set the world ablaze
    In good King George's glorious days!

    And while the House of Peers withholds
    Its legislative hand,
    And noble statesmen do not itch
    To interfere with matters which
    They do not understand,
    As bright will shine Great Britain's rays,
    As in King George's glorious days!

The Herrick makes use of alternating feminine and masculine end words. It is a verse form named for Robert Herrick (1591-1674) and patterned after his poem To the Virgins to Make Much Time. The elements of the Herrick are:

  1. stanzaic, a poem of 4 quatrains.
  2. metered, alternating tetrameter and trimeter lines. Odd number lines are tetrameter ,even numbered lines are trimeter.
  3. rhyme, rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef ghgh. Odd numbered lines are masculine rhyme, even numbered lines have feminine rhyme.

    To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time by Robert Herrick 

    Gather ye rose-buds while ye may:
    Old Time is still a-flying;
    And this same flower that smiles to-day,
    To-morrow will be dying.

    The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
    The higher he's a-getting,
    The sooner will his race be run,
    And nearer he's to setting.

    That age is best which is the first,
    When youth and blood are warmer;
    But being spent, the worse, and worst
    Times still succeed the former.

    Then be not coy, but use your time,
    And while ye may go marry:
    For having lost but once your prime
    You may for ever tarry.

The Kipling is a stanzaic form that uses anapestic and iambic meter with internal rhyme. Named for Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) and patterned after his poem L' Envoi. The elements of the Kipling are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
  2. metered, the odd numbered lines are hexameter, the even numbered lines are trimeter. The first metric foot of each line is an anapest followed by either 5 iambs or 2 iambs depending on the length of the line.
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme aa-b-cc-b dd-e-ff-e etc. The odd numbered lines employ internal rhyme.

    L'Envoi by Rudyard Kipling

    There's a whisper down the field where the year has shot her yield,
    And the ricks stand gray to the sun,
    Singing: -- "Over then, come over, for the bee has quit the clover,
    And your English summer's done."

    You have heard the beat of the off-shore wind,
    And the thresh of the deep-sea rain;
    You have heard the song -- how long! how long?
    Pull out on the trail again!

    Ha' done with the Tents of Shem, dear lass,
    We've seen the seasons through,
    And it's time to turn on the old trail, our own trail, the out trail,
    Pull out, pull out, on the Long Trail -- the trail that is always new.

    It's North you may run to the rime-ringed sun,
    Or South to the blind Horn's hate;
    Or East all the way into Mississippi Bay,
    Or West to the Golden Gate;

    Where the blindest bluffs hold good, dear lass,
    And the wildest tales are true,
    And the men bulk big on the old trail, our own trail, the out trail,
    And life runs large on the Long Trail -- the trail that is always new.

    The days are sick and cold, and the skies are gray and old,
    And the twice-breathed airs blow damp;
    And I'd sell my tired soul for the bucking beam-sea roll
    Of a black Bilbao tramp;

    With her load-line over her hatch, dear lass,
    And a drunken Dago crew,
    And her nose held down on the old trail, our own trail, the out trail
    From Cadiz Bar on the Long Trail -- the trail that is always new.

    There be triple ways to take, of the eagle or the snake,
    Or the way of a man with a maid;
    But the fairest way to me is a ship's upon the sea
    In the heel of the North-East Trade.

    Can you hear the crash on her bows, dear lass,
    And the drum of the racing screw,
    As she ships it green on the old trail, our own trail, the out trail,
    As she lifts and 'scends on the Long Trail -- the trail that is always new?

    See the shaking funnels roar, with the Peter at the fore,
    And the fenders grind and heave
    ,And the derricks clack and grate, as the tackle hooks the crate,
    And the fall-rope whines through the sheave;

    It's "Gang-plank up and in," dear lass,
    It's "Hawsers warp her through!"
    And it's "All clear aft" on the old trail, our own trail, the out trail,
    We're backing down on the Long Trail -- the trail that is always new.

    O the mutter overside, when the port-fog holds us tied,
    And the sirens hoot their dread!
    When foot by foot we creep o'er the hueless viewless deep
    To the sob of the questing lead!

    It's down by the Lower Hope, dear lass,
    With the Gunfleet Sands in view,
    Till the Mouse swings green on the old trail, our own trail, the out trail,
    And the Gull Light lifts on the Long Trail -- the trail that is always new.

    O the blazing tropic night, when the wake's a welt of light
    That holds the hot sky tame,
    And the steady fore-foot snores through the planet-powdered floors
    Where the scared whale flukes in flame!

    Her plates are scarred by the sun, dear lass,
    And her ropes are taut with the dew,
    For we're booming down on the old trail, our own trail, the out trail,
    We're sagging south on the Long Trail -- the trail that is always new.

    Then home, get her home, where the drunken rollers comb,
    And the shouting seas drive by,
    And the engines stamp and ring, and the wet bows reel and swing,
    And the Southern Cross rides high!

    Yes, the old lost stars wheel back, dear lass,
    That blaze in the velvet blue.
    They're all old friends on the old trail, our own trail, the out trail,
    They're God's own guides on the Long Trail -- the trail that is always new.

    Fly forward, O my heart, from the Foreland to the Start --
    We're steaming all-too slow,
    And it's twenty thousand mile to our little lazy isle
    Where the trumpet-orchids blow!

    You have heard the call of the off-shore wind,
    And the voice of the deep-sea rain;
    You have heard the song -- how long! how long?
    Pull out on the trail again!

    The Lord knows what we may find, dear lass,
    And The Deuce knows what we may do --
    But we're back once more on the old trail, our own trail, the out trail,
    We're down, hull down on the Long Trail -- the trail that is always new.

The Noyes is a stanzaic form using uneven short emphatic lines.  It is named for English poet Alfred Noyes (1880-1958) patterned after Part II of his poem Art. Noyes is better known for The Highwayman. The elements of the Noyes are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
  2. metered, L1,L2,L4 are trimeter, L3 is monometer.
  3. abab cdcd efeg ghgh.

    Swiss Miss by Judi Van Gorder

    Art by Alfred Noyes

    I. Yes! Beauty still rebels!
    Our dreams like clouds disperse:
    She dwells
    In agate, marble, verse.

    No false constraint be thine!
    But, for right walking, choose
    The fine,
    The strict cothurnus, Muse.

    Vainly ye seek to escape
    The toil! The yielding phrase
    Ye shape
    Is clay, not chrysoprase.

    And all in vain ye scorn
    That seeming ease which ne'er
    Was born
    Of aught but love and care.

    Take up the sculptor's tool!
    Recall the gods that die
    To rule
    In Parian o'er the sky.

    II. Poet, let passion sleep
    Till with the cosmic rhyme
    You keep
    Eternal tone and time

    ,By rule of hour and flower,
    By strength of stern restraint
    And power
    To fail and not to faint.

    The task is hard to learn
    While all the songs of Spring
    Return
    Along the blood and sing.

    Yet hear from her deep skies,
    How Art, for all your pain,
    Still cries
    Ye must be born again!

    Reject the wreath of rose,
    Take up the crown of thorn
    That shows
    To-night a child is born.

    The far immortal face
    In chosen onyx fine
    Enchase,
    Delicate line by line.

    Strive with Carrara, fight
    With Parian, till there steal
    To light
    Apollo's pure profile.

    Set the great lucid form
    Free from its marble tomb
    To storm
    The heights of death and doom.

    Take up the sculptor's tool!
    Recall the gods that die
    To rule
    In Parian o'er the sky.

The O'Shaughnessy is a verse form patterned after a single stanza in "Ode" by Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy (1844-1881). The elements of the O'Shaughnessy are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of octaves.
  2. metered, sprung rhythm, alternating trimeter and tetrameter lines. The odd number lines are trimeter and the even number lines are tetrameter.
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme abababab. The odd numbered lines are feminine rhyme and the even numbered lines are masculine rhyme.

    Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy

    WE are the music-makers,
    And we are the dreamers of dreams,
    Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
    And sitting by desolate streams;
    World-losers and world-forsakers,
    On whom the pale moon gleams:
    Yet we are the movers and shakers
    Of the world for ever, it seems.

    With wonderful deathless ditties
    We build up the world's great cities,
    And out of a fabulous story
    We fashion an empire's glory:
    One man with a dream, at pleasure,
    Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
    And three with a new song's measure
    Can trample an empire down.

    We, in the ages lying
    In the buried past of the earth,
    Built Nineveh with our sighing,
    And Babel itself with our mirth;
    And o'erthrew them with prophesying
    To the old of the new world's worth;
    For each age is a dream that is dying,
    Or one that is coming to birth.

The Phillimore is a stanzaic form that moves from dimeter to pentameter and back again. It is named for John Swinnerton Phillimore (1873-1926) and patterned after his poem In a Meadow. The elements of the Phillimore are:

  1. stanzaic written in any number of octaves. (original poem has 6 octaves)
  2. metered, L1, L4,L6 and L8 are dimeter, L2,L3,L5, and L7 are pentameter.
  3. rhymed, aabbccdd.

    In a Meadow by John Swinnerton Phillimore

    THIS is the place
    Where far from the unholy populace
    The daughter of Philosophy and Sleep
    Her court doth keep,
    Sweet Contemplation. To her service bound
    Hover around
    The little amiable summer airs,
    Her courtiers.

    The deep black soil
    Makes mute her palace-floors with thick trefoil;
    The grasses sagely nodding overhead
    Curtain her bed;
    And lest the feet of strangers overpass
    Her walls of grass,
    Gravely a little river goes his rounds
    To beat the bounds.

    No bustling flood
    To make a tumult in her neighborhood,
    But such a stream as knows to go and come
    Discreetly dumb.
    Therein are chambers tapestried with weeds
    And screen'd with reeds;
    For roof the waterlily-leaves serene
    Spread tiles of green.

    The sun's large eye
    Falls soberly upon me where I lie;
    For delicate webs of immaterial haze
    Refine his rays.
    The air is full of music none knows what,
    Or half-forgot;
    The living echo of dead voices fills
    The unseen hills.

    I hear the song
    Of cuckoo answering cuckoo all day long:
    And know not if it be my inward sprite
    For my delight,
    Making remembered poetry
    As sound in the ear
    Like a salt savor poignant in the breeze.
     
    Dreams without sleep
    And sleep too clear for dreaming and too deep,
    And Quiet very large and manifold,
    About me rolled.
    Satiety, that momentary flower
    Stretched to an hour.
    These are her gifts that all mankind can use:
    And all refuse.

The Russell is a verse form composed of three alternating rhyme quatrains written with the first 3 lines iambic pentameter and the fourth line iambic trimeter. It is patterned after The Great Breath by George William Russell (1867-1935), The elements of the Russell are:

  1. stanzaic, written in 3 quatrains.
  2. metered, L1-L3 are pentameter and L4 is trimeter.
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef,

    The Great Breath by George William Russell

    ITS edges foam'd with amethyst and rose,
    Withers once more the old blue flower of day:
    There where the ether like a diamond glows,
    Its petals fade away.

    A shadowy tumult stirs the dusky air;
    Sparkle the delicate dews, the distant snows;
    The great deep thrills--for through it everywhere
    The breath of Beauty blows.

    I saw how all the trembling ages past,
    Molded to her by deep and deeper breath,
    Near'd to the hour when Beauty breathes her last
    And knows herself in death.
     

The Stephens is a stanzaic form that uses alternating rising and falling end syllables and is patterned after The Watcher and named for the English poet verseJames Stephens (1882-1950). The elements of the Stephens are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of sixains. (original poem has 5 sixains)
  2. metered, dimeter.
  3. rhymed, ababxb cdcdxd etc. x being unrhymed.
  4. composed with feminine endings in the odd numbered lines L1, L3 and L5 and masculine rhyme in the even numbered lines L2, L4, L6.

    The Watcher by James Stephens

    A rose for a young head,
    A ring for a bride,
    Joy for the homestead
    Clean and wide
    Who's that waiting
    In the rain outside?

    A heart for an old friend,
    A hand for the new:
    Love can to earth lend
    Heaven's hue
    Who's that standing
    In the silver dew?

    A smile for the parting,
    A tear as they go,
    God's sweethearting
    Ends just so
    Who's that watching
    Where the black winds blow ?

    He who is waiting
    In the rain outside,
    He who is standing
    Where the dew drops wide,
    He who is watching In the wind must ride
    (Tho' the pale hands cling)

    With the rose And the ring
    And the bride, Must ride

    With the red of the rose,
    And the gold cf the ring,
    And the lips and the hair of the bride.

The Stevenson is an invented verse form patterned after the poem, Requiem by Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish poet 1850-1894. The elements of the Stevenson are:

  1. an octastich (8 line poem) made up of 2 quatrains.
  2. metric, L1-L3 & L5-L7 are iambic tetrameter, L4 & L8 are iambic trimeter.
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme aaabcccb.

    Requiem by Robert Lewis Stevenson 1879

    Under the wide and starry sky,
    Dig the grave and let me lie.
    Glad did I live and gladly die,
    And I laid me down with a will.
    This is the verse you grave for me:
    'Here he lies where he longed to be;
    Here is the sailor, home from the sea,
    And the hunter home from the hill.'

The Swinburne is a stanzaic form patterned after Before the Mirror by Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909). The elements of the Swinburne are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of septets.
  2. metric, L1,L3,L5, & L6 are trimeter, L2 & L4 are dimeter, and L7 is pentameter.
  3. rhymed ababccb dedeffe etc, L1 & L3 have feminine or falling rhyme.

    Before the Mirror, Part I by Algernon Charles Swinburne I.

    White rose in red rose-garden 
           Is not so white;
    Snowdrops that plead for pardon 
           And pine for fright 
      Because the hard East blows 
           Over their maiden rows
    Grow not as this face grows from pale to bright.

    Behind the veil, forbidden 
           Shut up from sight,
    Love, is there sorrow hidden, 
          Is there delight? 
       Is joy thy dower or grief, 
           White rose of weary leaf,
    Late rose whose life is brief, whose loves are light?

    Soft snows that hard winds harden 
           Till each flake bite
    Fill all the flowerless garden 
            Whose flowers took flight 
       Long since when summer ceased, 
            And men rose up from feast,
    And warm west wind grew east, and warm day night.

The Tennyson is a stanzaic form patterned after Ask Me No More by English poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson (1802-1892). The elements of the Tennyson are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of cinquains.
  2. metric, iambic, L1-L4 are pentameter and L5 is dimeter.
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme abbaC deedC fggfC etc.
  4. written in with L5 as a refrain repeated from stanza to stanza.

    From the Heart by Judi Van Gorder

    Ask Me No More by Alfred Lord Tennyson

    Ask me no more: the moon may draw the sea;
    The cloud may stoop from heaven and take the shape,
    With fold to fold, of mountain or of cape;
    But O too fond, when have I answer'd thee? 
                    Ask me no more.

    Ask me no more: what answer should I give?
    I love not hollow cheek or faded eye:
    Yet, O my friend, I will not have thee die!
    Ask me no more, lest I should bid thee live; 
                  Ask me no more.

    Ask me no more: thy fate and mine are seal'd:
    I strove against the stream and all in vain:
    Let the great river take me to the main:
    No more, dear love, for at a touch I yield; 
                   Ask me no more.

The Thorley is a stanzaic form patterned after the poem Chant for Reapers, by English poet, Wilfred Thorley 1878. The elements of the Thorley are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
  2. metred, accentual with alternating lines of L1 & L3 with 5 heavy stesses and L2 & L4 with 3 heavy stresses. The trimeter lines have feminine endings.
  3. unrhymed.

    Chant for Reapers by Wilfred Thorley

    WHY do you hide, O dryads! when we seek
    Your healing hands in solace?
    Who shall soften like you the places rough?
    Who shall hasten the harvest?

    Why do you fly, O dryads! when we pray
    For laden boughs and blossom?
    Who shall quicken like you the sapling trees?
    Who shall ripen the orchards?

    Bare in the wind the branches wave and break,
    The hazel nuts are hollow.
    Who shall garner the wheat if you be gone?
    Who shall sharpen his sickle?

    Wine have we spilt, O dryads! on our knees
    Have made you our oblation.
    Who shall save us from dearth if you be fled?
    Who shall comfort and kindle?

    Sadly we delve the furrows, string the vine
    Whose flimsy burden topples.
    Downward tumble the woods if you be dumb,
    Stript of honey and garland.

    Why do you hide, O dryads! when we call,
    With pleading hands up-lifted?
    Smile and bless us again that all be well;
    Smile again on your children.

The Trench is an invented stanzaic form patterned after 20th century, Irish poet, Herbert Trench's A Charge, Ode From Italy in a Time of War. Trench was known for his love poems. The elements of the Trench are:

  1. stanzaic, may be written in any number of cinquains.
  2. metered, L1, L2, L4 pentameter, L3 dimeter, L5 trimeter.
  3. rhymed axbab, cxdcd etc… x being unrhymed.

    A Charge, Ode From Italy in a Time of War by Herbert Trench 1915

    If thou hast squander'd years to grave a gem
    Commission'd by thy absent Lord, and while
    'Tis incomplete,
    Others would bribe thy needy skill to them
    Dismiss them to the street!

    Should'st thou at last discover Beauty's grove,
    At last be panting on the fragrant verge,
    But in the track,
    Drunk with divine possession, thou meet Love
    Turn at her bidding back.

    When round thy ship in tempest Hell appears,
    And every spectre mutters up more dire
    To snatch control
    And loose to madness thy deep-kennell'd
    Fears Then to the helm, O Soul!

    Last; if upon the cold green-mantling sea
    Thou cling, alone with Truth, to the last spar,
    Both castaway,
    And one must perish let it not be he
    Whom thou art sworn to obey!

The Yeats is a verse form patterned after Where My Books Go by Irish poet, William Butler Yeats. (1865-1939) The elements of the Yeats are:

  1. an octastich, a poem in 8 lines.
  2. metric, accentual 3 heavy stresses per line.
  3. rhymed, rhyme scheme xaxaxaxa x being unrhymed. The odd numbered lines have feminine or falling end syllables.

    Where My Books Go by William Butler Yeats

    All the words that I utter,
    And all the words that I write,
    Must spread out their wings untiring,
    And never rest in their flight,
    Till they come where your sad, sad heart is,
    And sing to you in the night,
    Beyond where the waters are moving,
    Storm-darken'd or starry bright.

~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~

For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com

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  • 2 weeks later...

Written in the frame of The Bridges
A response to a challenge to write a poem with these words included:
moon, witch, zombie, ghost, Elvis, pumpkin, apples, frightening

Beyond London 1888

The ghosts of butchered, witchy ladies moan
the night the pumpkin moon ascends the throne. 
Communal cries 
of banshees drift in apple orchard, near.
A frightening scream reveals a feral fear
of zombie eyes.

His name unknown,  Elvis, Tom or Jack,
the Ripper stalks again so watch your back. 
He seeks new prey.
He's left the dim gas lights of London town
and roams the country side, both up and down,
by night and day. 

You'll never ever know from where he came,
to him you are a pawn in a gruesome game.
Don't be adorned,
a meek reluctant guest in his brutal quest
to cut a throat or two or more, at best. 
Now you've been warned!
                                 ~~Judi Van Gorder

~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~

For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com

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  • 8 months later...

Swiss Miss

A childhood favorite,
a charmer in a book.
A hit,
the movie made me look.

A child without a Mom,
a grumpy old grandpa,
their home,
the Swiss Alps, land of awe.

Her friend Peter herds goats,
her sunny spirit sings.
Take notes,
all love the joy she brings.

In town she friended Clare,
a sickly girl, they'd talk.
With care
she helped her new friend walk.

Heidi brought me laughter,
she also made me cry.
After,
her story will not die.
         ~~ Judi Van Gorder

The Noyes

"Heidi, the story of an orphan girl who lives with her grandfather in the Alps, is one of the most popular children's books ever and has come to be a symbol of Switzerland. Her creator, Johanna Spyri (1827–1901)" Wikipedia

My mother read this book to me and one of the earliest movies I remember seeing was "Heidi" with Shirley Temple.

~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~

For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com

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  • 4 weeks later...

The elements of the de Tabley are:

  1. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains.
  2. metric, alternating iambic pentameter and iambic trimeter lines. L1 of each stanza begins with a trochee Su.
  3. rhymed, rhymed scheme abab cdcd etc.

The Thread of Dreams

Poetry strokes the silken threads of dreams
exposes latent fears
from sirens wailing mournful tones. It streams
the taste of salty tears.

Writing vibrant words to stain the brain,
kaleidoscopic guise
and wafting scents of roses after rain
the poet's endmost prize. 
                ~~ Judi Van Gorder

 

~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~

For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com

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