[ARTS]: Big and Little Poetry--free verse, any verse.

[Tai Shi]

Verse of Atonement

When man or woman ache in heart,
My heart in soul, where do they turn
Where do they die, how can deceit
Break bones and Flesh, how can death?

How those he loves, turn on him
To destroy love, to destroy country
How could you treat Akhmatova, bring
Flesh bringer to Brodsky, how could

German heritage break his mind
As mentally ill at tossed into ovens
With JEWS, along with BLACK, ALONG
ANY DISABILITY, he had no empathy

No because even he had been gassed
In World War One, this same lame
Artist, this ugly man seeking all to blame
Hate, retribution, all athletes shamed

Sought to destroy except greatest reign,
Areon Race, White, blue eyed, free sex, alcohol
Anything men desired if only to submit
To Racesiam, death uniform, anyone

Different, we of Zen Buddhism, Seek
Like Vietnamese, Thich Nhat Hanh
Witnessed death inflicted by fire
To grown self one cannot sit ideally

By this atrocity of American death
This aristocracies, both child, father
Told no, you cannot be filled with hate
Both for father's now, found each other.

Drove my bicycle to Europe and even Klaus
Tried to Seduce, I saw women seducing
Men. Returned to man attempting to take
Me by force, others had given to sordid life,

I turned to Buddhism, my Life of Atonement
My own Daughter sent to University give
Every12 step or money, our sacrifice no death
For her education, I would give, for turned

To no other women, time to see her mother
Renounced the Arion dribble, death out the way
Gross liberation, told child's play was not adult
But child exploration, child death by father

Father repented, the child said I am
Man we have white skin, blue eyes, dad
You see Joy Harjo, daughters of death
You see with me, death is not the way.

You have repented, I would never point
To our infirmity, you know already we
Both have bipolar, we would both be tossed
Into Ovans, Father, I lOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU.


Gassho
sat/ lah

[Tai Shi]

Recognize Your Heart

Shall we sit, shall we Host
Shall we write in our pace slowly
Don't be afraid. This is poetry, any
Verses, Any experiment is welcome
Yet in the life of not a threat of hurt
The art of any type, photo,of shoes
Tied of Free verses, great or rhymed
Couplets, tetrameter, not great
But trying all welcomed Pentameter,
Sonnet or Villanelle formal form
We all are out of more hope than any
Three thousand humble free verse
Any words, Souls might add anything
Not Detract, both criticize, remorse given
Am I to offer to break my mundane
Own suggestion, by writing anything
Beautiful verses about bugs or snails
Family and friends, about little children,
Beauty of the Great Bower built in verse
This of Bliss, so how many marry or live
Together Could here proclaim love, dear of wife
Friend or husband, The flower of delight
Could not any stept or sit and is it impossible
Out of 300 hundred souls who love
Claim to sit could not five or six more
Sit with us who sit at 6:05 am with acceptance
Of those who lead slowly 8:00 a.m. or would
Like some other day 8:00 pm could we,
Just sit quietly to be with our hands
Given in Peace, sit at noon or 2 o'clock
We with thee humble offerings, care
At 1/2 hour Shikantaza at times more
Comfort, Ever could plant a tree, a seed
Then could I offer bread to those, hungry
With none, to help in ways obvious, not
2:00 a.m. this morning tide, I could sit with you
Could more than two, three sit together
Without needs, let us dedicate seeds of life
To Peace with those who have money,
Time of service, heart of mine breaking
I volunteered from age 54, I was in need
Hurting, So Gave To age 70 then it became too
Taxining in old age, yet in sickness, infirm
Five thousands volunteers people my home,
In my area, Sioux Falls give time every year
In South Dakota thousands more volunteered
Sometimes twenty hours I gave guiding
At Butterfly or hospitals with my heart.
At Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls in home
Butterfly House, Avera Clinics my friends
Hospital where I offered service,
500 hours of my time to give more if
More 700 hours. my riding the bus, leading
Support group gave money for Ankylosing
Spondylitis, Nature Conservancy
Could we but sustane by stating how
Somewhere, where we are giving
We have given one or two love in gathered,
One some Dollars to Boy Scouts
Girl Scout cookies, see where we
Could give even four dollars more operating
Places or 1/2 hour in store of time for each
One to one, say it openly we love we
Give of the heart to come to another
National Alliance on Mental Illness
Where I was awarded The Ten
Year Service Award, Gold
Hall of Fame, Silver Hall Of Fame, Nationally
In service to humanity, open heart, loved each
To Each Person, people I touched, loved those,
I cannot serve today because with health
I am old and sick, where are those to take my place,
Who would step up and help what we need
Only $200 if more is allowed to declare taxes
In this country, where are those who live,
Would give of the heart for those we loved
Who cannot walk to X-ray facilities
Where are those who would walk for them?
With People to shelter? So let's recognize
Some who cannot serve public recognize
Places for their need to help at home,
I end my diatribe against the Tribe
If I offend it is not so! I wish heart to
Heart, To end by saying gratitude, hopefully
Heart To those who work openly for Peace
To Announce it's okay what we do for children,
Tell where you have given something
Or some other way, be it so, a little word
Of praise. Let us be so help humanity slowly!
Slightly or grately, when I but as a boy at Boys
Club in Des Moines where I taught photography.
Give of the heart, give of the word, of Peace!

Gassho
sat/lah

[Tai Shi]

In February 1917, the revolution started in Petersburg (then named Petrograd); soldiers fired on marching protestors, and others mutinied. They looked to a past in which the future was "rotting". In a city without electricity or sewage service, with little water or food, they faced starvation and sickness. Akhmatova's friends died around her and others left in droves for safer havens in Europe and America, including Anrep, who escaped to England.[27] She had the option to leave, and considered it for a time, but chose to stay and was proud of her decision to remain.:[26]

You are a traitor, and for a green island,
Have betrayed, yes, betrayed your native
Land,
Abandoned all our songs and sacred
Icons,
And the pine tree over a quiet lake.

— Green Island, trans. Jane Kenyon[28]
Akhmatova wrote of her own temptation to leave:

A voice came to me. It called out comfortingly.
It said, "Come here,
Leave your deaf and sinful land,
Leave Russia forever,
I will wash the blood from your hands,
Root out the black shame from your heart,
calmly and indifferently,
I covered my ears with my hands,
So that my sorrowing spirit
Would not be stained by those shameful words.

— When in suicidal anguish, trans. Jane Kenyon[29]
At the height of Akhmatova's fame, in 1918, she divorced her husband and that same year, though many of her friends considered it a mistake, Akhmatova married prominent Assyriologist and poet Vladimir Shilejko.[30][31] She later said "I felt so filthy. I thought it would be like a cleansing, like going to a convent, knowing you are going to lose your freedom."[27] She began affairs with theatre director Mikhail Zimmerman and composer Arthur Lourié, who set many of her poems to music.[32]

From Wikipedia

[Tai Shi]

n 1960, the young Brodsky met Anna Akhmatova, one of the leading poets of the silver age.[10] She encouraged his work, and would go on to become his mentor.[15] In 1962, in Leningrad, Anna Akhmatova introduced him to the artist Marina Basmanova, a young painter from an established artistic family who was drawing Akhmatova's portrait. The two started a relationship; however, Brodsky's then close friend and fellow poet, Dmitri Bobyshev, was in love with Basmanova. As Bobyshev began to pursue the woman, immediately, the authorities began to pursue Brodsky; Bobyshev was widely held responsible for denouncing him.[11] Brodsky dedicated much love poetry to Marina Basmanova:

I was only that which
you touched with your palm
over which, in the deaf, raven-black
night, you bent your head ...
I was practically blind.
You, appearing, then hiding,
taught me to see.[11]In 1989, Brodsky wrote his last poem to "M.B.", describing himself remembering their life in Leningrad:

Your voice, your body, your name
mean nothing to me now. No one destroyed them.
It's just that, in order to forget one life, a person needs to live
at least one other life. And I have served that portion.[11]

In 1987, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the fifth Russian-born writer to do so. In an interview he was asked: "You are an American citizen who is receiving the Prize for Russian-language poetry. Who are you, an American or a Russian?" "I'm Jewish; a Russian poet, an English essayist – and, of course, an American citizen", he responded.[28] The Academy stated that they had awarded the prize for his "all-embracing authorship, imbued with clarity of thought and poetic intensity". It also called his writing "rich and intensely vital", characterized by "great breadth in time and space". It was "a big step for me, a small step for mankind", he joked.[12] The prize coincided with the first legal publication in Russia of Brodsky's poetry as an exilé.

From Wikipedia.

[Tai Shi]

ARTS: Poetry

Yes please post here on Treeleaf Zendo any one is welcome here. I only started this project because I wanted to learn others poems. Please post your poems here. Jishin teach me more about rhymes and rhythms.
Gassho
Taishi
sat: lah


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Rich]

Thank you Rich. I admire your ability to make a Haiku delicate and fragile, not the plod of my long or short narrative poetry. My poet, friend, and professor, Bill Tremblay. MFA, told me that all poetry, even accidental poetry, is narrative. In consciousness we want to make stories. We are creatures who experience life in a line. We have beginnings, middles, and endings. This is the physical nature of every creature. Your Haiku in English pattern 5, 7,5 syllables, gives me a beautiful sense of stillness. Kokuu has said that the exact pattern does not cross over into English. He has said that these rhythms can be approximations. I like your poetry. Tank you.
Gassho
sat/lah

Thanks tai shi. Will post more here. Have posted over 400 on instagram.

[emoji120][emoji171][emoji3522]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rich]

This is really good Rich

[emoji106][emoji123]

Gassho, Jishin, ST, LAH

Thanks [emoji120][emoji171]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tai Shi]

Thank you Rich. I admire your ability to make a Haiku delicate and fragile, not the plod of my long or short narrative poetry. My poet, friend, and professor, Bill Tremblay. MFA, told me that all poetry, even accidental poetry, is narrative. In consciousness we want to make stories. We are creatures who experience life in a line. We have beginnings, middles, and endings. This is the physical nature of every creature. Your Haiku in English pattern 5, 7,5 syllables, gives me a beautiful sense of stillness. Kokuu has said that the exact pattern does not cross over into English. He has said that these rhythms can be approximations. I like your poetry. Tank you.
Gassho
sat/lah

[Jishin]

A screw of tho Dachau Daddy oh daddy oh daddy oh daddy I'm finally through of daddy the villagers never liked you, they never, never, never liked you or when I coffined my lid on Sunday to Church with the Schwiska oh daddy I'm through. Parody of Plath's Daddy in paragraph form, living in fertilizer loan, under the earth, and int back biting Pentecostals, oh daddy I'm finally through of you because I filled up with you.

In response to hatred, let love prevail,
Let us rise above the venom and the veil,
For hate breeds hate and only leads to pain,
While love, forgiveness, and kindness reign.

Let us not be defined by the color of our skin,
Or the religion we practice, the battles we win,
For we are all human, and under the same sun,
Our diversity is what makes us strong, not undone.

So let us embrace our differences with open hearts,
And strive for understanding, even when it's hard,
For only through empathy and compassion can we heal,
And create a world where love and acceptance are real.

Let us reject the rhetoric of hate and division,
And instead choose a path of unity and inclusion,
For in the end, it's not about what sets us apart,
But the love and kindness we share from the heart.

Gassho, Jishin, ST, LAH

[Jishin]

Hay quien cree que un experto lo sabe todo,
que su sabiduría es como un tesoro,
mas en realidad, a menudo se olvida,
de lo que no sabe y aún necesita.

La mente del experto se llena de prejuicios,
y no siempre es fácil abrirle un hueco,
mientras que la mente del principiante,
está abierta a todo lo que es vibrante.

El experto cree tener la verdad,
y a menudo se siente en soledad,
sin embargo, el principiante, con humildad,
siempre está listo para aprender de verdad.

Por eso, no te conviertas en un experto arrogante,
que se cree dueño del saber, triunfante,
sino en un principiante que siempre está atento,
a todo lo que le puede dar el momento.

Recuerda que el camino del conocimiento,
no es una línea recta, sino un movimiento,
y si te mantienes abierto y curioso,
verás cómo tu sabiduría crece, sin reproches.

Sounds better in Spanish:

There are those who think an expert knows it all,
That their knowledge is like a precious thrall,
But in reality, it's easy to forget,
All the things they don't know, all the things they've not met.

The expert's mind can be filled with bias,
It's not always easy to make a space,
While the beginner's mind is open, never shy,
Ready to learn, ready to try.

The expert thinks they have the truth,
But can be lonely in their self-imposed booth,
While the beginner, with humility and trust,
Is always ready to learn, always ready to adjust.

So don't become an arrogant expert,
Thinking you've got it all, never to be hurt,
Instead, be a beginner, open and keen,
To all that life has to offer, all that can be seen.

Remember, the path of knowledge is not a line,
But a journey that twists and turns, that's divine,
And if you keep an open mind and stay curious,
You'll see your wisdom grow, no longer mysterious.

Gassho, Jishin, ST, LAH

[Jishin]

ARTS: Poetry

Amid the poets of the past fifty years
Exist a myriad of forms to quell our fears
From Ginsberg to Merwin, Sexton to Giovanni
We see the power of words in the hands of the visionary

Whitman and Williams offer the classics
Their works still resonating with words that are elastic
While Kerouac and Ferlinghetti's meters vary
And broken lines lead us to a world that's contrary

Brooks and Ignatow weave off-rhyme with ease
A creative nuance that makes our senses tease
And dozens upon dozens more
Challenge us to explore

In the realm of free verse, the possibilities expand
As we break free from form with an open hand
The varying meter and broken lines become our muse
As we craft poetry that's unique and refuse to lose

So let us check out contemporary poets for a while
With all metters and variations, we'll find our style
For in poetry, there's nothing, something that is ours
A reflection of our souls and all of our powers

So Gassho, we say, and sat/lah to all
For poetry is a journey, a personal call
And with the poets of the past and present in our sight
We'll create something new, something bright

[emoji3]

Gassho, Jishin, ST, LAH

[Tai Shi]

For example: Allen Ginsberg, Ann Sexton, WS Merwin, many many more. Check poetry over the last 50 years and All of American poetry. Try Walt Whitman, or William Carlos Williams, or Jack Kerouac or Lawrence Ferlinghetti. ad infinitum. Nicki Geovanni, Gwendolyn Brooks, David Ignatow. How many more in Free Verse form the varying metter, the varying and broken lines, and off rhyme, the dozens, and dozens of creative nuances. Check poetry for poetry's' sake. all meters, all variations with nothing that is mine, Check out contemporary poets; check out mine. Sylvia Plath, or Kipling, or any of the poetes one makes a mockery of the idea that all poetry is only regular and devoted to love. Ann Sexton writes of depression and suicide. A screw of tho Dachau Daddy oh daddy oh daddy oh daddy I'm finally through of daddy the villagers never liked you, they never, never, never liked you or when I coffined my lid on Sunday to Church with the Schwiska oh daddy I'm through. Parody of Plath's Daddy in paragraph form, living in fertilized loam, under the earth, and int backbiting Pentecostals, oh daddy I'm finally through of you because I'm filled up with you. Kenneth Koch, Kenneth Rexroth, Gary Snyder, William Everson, William Stafford, Rumi, Hafiz (Two ancient Persians) Joy Harjo, WB Yeats, Wallace Stevens, Bill Tremblay, Donald Justice, William Stafford, Maya Angelou. Most poets go to free verse, blank verse, any verse. John Milton wrote Paradise Lost in Blank Verse. All manner of experimentation has taken place over the last 20,000 years, and what we have in written form goes back that far, and most early poetry before 5,500 years ago was prayer. In fact, poetry is neighbors with both music and prayer. In ancient times and contemporizing times the movement is almost in directions of love. My own two books end with commitment to contemporary poetry and love. My Book soon to be available on Amazon is even entitled Children of Loving Kindness. The more than 65 poems I published in little magazines, annuals, and with academic journals, are all positive except a very few. The reality of carnage, pillage, war, and pestilence, all Poets have explored almost every poet, negative poetry. Humans are by delimitation animals and the vast majority of the earth's populations are Omnivorous, hunter gathers, and countries of every form of government have committed atrocities. Homer wrote two books based on to long wars, and there are historical poems devoted to war negativity, but I would say generally the poet foreshows the evolution of aspects of love, but there is hate and indifference in humanity, and poets have explored all of that, even Shakespeare, and Chaucer, and especially Milton, said to be the greatest poets in English, have sometimes written of mangled human emotion. I see all three as ending their work as positive and edifying, and in love However, Shakespeare had The Dark Lady in the Sonnetts. So see the negative is by far the exception, not the rule. Poets wish to point the way to positive, and all poetry can be seen as visionary. My hope is that humanity evolve to Loving Kindness. And poetry which seems sinister, and filled with hate is reacting to love or lack of love, Love can be seen as the single most important force in poetry if there is one. The two largest religions Christianity, and Buddhism are in reality path ways to conversion to paths of Love and Kindness. Again wars have been fought over these needs in humane need to be nurtured. My whole life since I was a teen ager progressed to love. I have been in love with my wife Marjorie since I was 28-years old. I have loved our daughter for almost 34 years and I feel certain that they love me. Yes, Jishin, you are right, I would hope that every human has experienced love, Even Adolphe Hitler and Pol Pot were once three-years old, all humans experience some positive emotion in their lives, even if it is only the deep yearning to get out of hate, away from hate toward love. I believe Love is the most important emotion in life for everyone. Would you believe the big grin and smile I have on my face right now as I contemplate love. However there is no generalized rhyme or reason in poetry. Poetry can be lose following no pattern of any king in rhyme and meter, or it can be strict and even in every aspect. I observe you writing formal poetry. Your themes are always positive. When you write here your poetry is regular and predictable. Thank You Jishin.

Gassho
sat/ lah
Example of Paragraph Poetry, can you follow the poets who experimented with metter and rhyme or neither of both.

[Jishin]

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth
בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ

With these ancient words, a story unfolds
Of a world brought to life, and all that it holds

With each stroke of a pen, a world was born
And the tale of creation, in scripture was torn

From dust and from water, the land and the sea
God brought forth all creatures, for all to see

But to truly grasp the depth of this tale
One must delve into Hebrew, and its words unveil

For the Bible is not just a story, but a guide
And to understand its message, one must learn its side

So let us study and learn, this ancient tongue so true
And discover all the wisdom hidden in בְּרֵאשִׁית's view.

Gassho, Jishin, ST, LAH

[Tai Shi]

Eight years, this year up October
2014, the year of Meditations
On Gratitude, no evidence
Winter blizzards will let up.
Gassho
sat/ lah

[Tai Shi]

Writing Free Verse Poetry: Meter and Rhythm
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Dave Hood

Unlike traditional poetry, poets who write free verse aren’t forced to use a particular metrical pattern. And yet, some modern poets, such as Robert Frost, have used traditional forms to compose their poetry. Frost wrote in blank verse, a traditional form, which requires each line to be written in iambic pentameter and have no rhyme.

On occasion, contemporary poets write poems in one of the traditional forms, such as a sonnet or blank verse or epic or elegy. This is one reason to learn meter. Another reason is that meter is part of rhythm. And so, if you intend on using rhythm in your free verse poetry, you ought to understand meter.

As well, all good modern and contemporary poets know how to use rhythm and meter. Furthermore, a good poem includes rhythm.

In this article, I’ll discuss meter and rhythm.

Meter in Traditional Poetry
Meter is Greek for “measure.” In English poetry, poets use three common types of meter. In accentual meter, the stresses are counted and the syllables are variable. In syllabic meter, the syllables are counted. A poet who uses syllabic meter develops a pattern by having the same number of syllables on each line of the poem. In accentual-syllabic meter, both the stressed and unstressed syllables are counted.

Accentual-Syllabic Meter

The poets of Europe, Canada, and United states use accentual-syllabic meter. The metrical pattern is developed by counting the stressed and unstressed syllables on each line. In traditional poetry, poets must compose poems that comply with a particular metrical pattern. For instance, Robert Frost, one of the most popular modern poets, wrote poems in blank verse. He was required to write each line in iambic pentameter, without rhyme.

How do you learn meter? You must first understand that every word in the dictionary has a particular sound, determined, in part, by the number of syllables in the word. Some syllables are stressed, others are not. For instance, cat, dog, bird–each have one syllable. In traditional poetry, meter is identified by the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in words, which create a pattern of sound.

The foot/feet is the unit of measurement for meter, which is made up of stressed and unstressed syllables. Each foot has a particular rhythmical pattern. In traditional poetry, there are five basic rhythmic patterns, which are used to create meter:

Iambic- one unstressed and one stressed syllable. Each unit has two syllables. Example: hotel
Spondee-one stressed, followed by another stressed syllable. Example: Nightmare
Trochee foot- One stressed, followed by one unstressed syllable. (Each unit has two syllables) Example: Rainfall.
Dactyl-One stressed, followed by an unstressed, followed by an unstressed. (Each unit has three syllables)
Anapest- One unstressed, followed by another unstressed, followed by a stressed syllable.
Length of a Line (Measured in Feet)

In traditional poetry, there are several types of line length:

monometer-1 foot
dimeter-2 feet
trimeter-three feet
tetrameter-four feet
pentameter-five feet
hexameter-6 feet
heptameter-7 feet
Octometer-8 feet
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Each type of metrical pattern has a particular number of feet and rhythmic pattern. For instance, iambic pentameter has five feet per line of poetry, each foot consists of one iambic ( One stressed and one unstressed syllable). So, the poet would select words follow this “unstressed/stressed” pattern. For instance, Robert Frost, who wrote poetry in blank meter, selected and ordered words on the line according to iambic pentameter.

Using Scansion to Identify a Metrical Pattern

How do you learn to identify various patterns of meter and rhythm? Use a scansion to analyze and identify the metrical pattern in a poem. Begin by breaking each word into syllables on a line. For each word, mark the unstressed and stressed syllables, and then identify the metrical foot on each line. You should see a pattern. Iambic pentameter is the most common type of meter in traditional poetry, because it resembles the metrical pattern or everyday language.

Even though modern poetry doesn’t have to follow a particular metrical pattern, such as iambic pentameter, you should have a good understanding of meter, especially iambic pentameter. All good contemporary poetry has rhythm–and meter is one of several ways to create rhythm.

Iambic Pentameter
It is the most common type of metrical pattern in poetry, because it sounds most like speech. Shakespeare used it in his plays, John Milton used it to write Paradise Lost, T.S. Eliot used it to write The Wasteland, Robert Frost used it to write blank verse. Each line has ten syllables. These syllables are divided into five feet. Each foot must have one unstressed syllable and one stressed syllable. In other words, the line will have five feet of iamb. The rhythmic pattern or beat is: da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM. For instance, “the dog, the cat, the bird“ follow this pattern. If you are intending to write poetry with rhythm, it is important to understand iambic pentameter. You can use it as a guide to write your own poetry.

Rhythm Modern and Contemporary Poetry
What is rhythm? John Dreary, the author of Creating Poetry, writes: “Rhythm is the rise and fall and surge and abatement of words–the melody.“ Rhythm is the flow of words on the page. It is the beat you hear when you read a poem. It includes some pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, which create a pattern of sound. You can use several techniques to add rhythm to your poetry. These include line length, line breaks, meter, repetition or refrain, and parallel structure.

Line Length

The length of a line can alter the rhythm of a poem. If you write a long sentence on a line, you’ll slow down the pace, and add more syllables to the line. If you compose a line with fewer words, you’ll speed up the pace, and typically add fewer syllables.

Example:

In a row boat,

on a quiet lake,

a boy fished for trout. (faster pace)

or

In a row boat, on a quiet lake, a boy fished for trout. (slower pace)


Line Break

Where you place line breaks will also alter the rhythm of a poem. A line break tells the reader to pause. You can add a line break in many ways, such as by adding:

White space. Add space between words, between lines, between stanzas. White space tells the reader to pause.
Enjambment. Divide a phrase or clause on one line, and then restart on the next line. The purpose is to create a sense of forward motion.
Example:

the snow

falls

the wind

howls

End-stop. Add a period or coma at the end of a line. Both tell the reader to pause.
Meter

Another way to add rhythm to your poetry is to use meter. A simple way is to count the syllables on each line. This is called syllabic meter. For instance, you might want to create a syllabic pattern with 7 syllables on each line. If you do this, be sure to read your poetry out loud to see how it sounds.

You can also use one of the popular metrical patterns such as iambic pentameter. Or, you can create your own metrical pattern.

Refrain or Repetition

Repeating words or phrases is an easy way to create emphasis and to create rhythm. Songwriters use refrains or repetition in their lyrics.

Poets also use repetition. For emphasis and to create a sound effect, they repeat a phrase or line throughout a poem. For instance, Dylan Thomas repeated the refrain “Do not Go Gently Into the Night” four times in a poem by the same name.

Two popular types of repetition used by contemporary poets to create rhythm are:

Repetend. Repetition of a word or phrase at different locations within the poem.
Anaphora. Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of two or more lines in a poem.
Parallel structure

You can also create rhythm by using parallel structure. It requires that you use the same grammatical form words, phrases, clauses that have the same grammatical form, such as verbs, nouns, verbal or prepositional phrases. Use also for coordinating (and, or, but, for, nor, yet, so) and correlative conjunctions (Not only…but also, either…or). Parallel structure is a simple way to create rhythm.

Examples:

(Nouns in a series)

The dog, the cat, the man

departed from the flaming house.



(Participles in a Series)

Blowing snow, gusting wind….

(Parallel structure for Coorelative Conjunctions)

Not only did he slip

but also broke his leg



Tips for Creating Rhythm
Think of meter as a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables on a line. Some modern and contemporary poetry have a particular rhythm patterns; other poems have an irregular rhythm matter. Here are a few suggestions on how to add rhythm to your poetry:

Be sure to read your poems aloud to hear how they sound. Remember, at the end of each line, you have a pause.
Consider using some form of rhythm. The most popular is iambic pentameter, which is based on five feet. Each foot has one unstressed syllable, followed by a stressed syllable (u /). This metrical pattern sounds most like every day language. If this is too complex, use a syllabic pattern. Instead of counting stressed and unstressed syllables, count the syllables per line. For instance, you could write a poem of three stanzas, each stanza has five lines, and each lines has 7 syllables.
Use repetition to create rhythm. You might repeat a word or phrase in different places of a poem.
Alter your line length to change the pace. Long lines are used to slow down the pace. Short lines speed up the pace.
Always use parallel structure. If you are not sure of parallel structure, find yourself a grammar book, and then study “parallel structure.”
Break lines where you desire the reader to pause or where you desire to create emphasis.
Always revise your poems for rhythm.
Remember, in free verse poetry, you create your own rhythmic patterns.
Resources From From WRITING FREE VERSE POETRY, David Hood.