Saturday, 6 July 2013

Working to the rules... a poetic nightmare?




I'm not a big lover of working to rules where poetry is concerned.To be honest, the rules on many of the various poetic forms give me the heebie-jeebies, (too much like hard work!) but every now and then, I will bite the bullet and give it a go.

A' Tyburn' is a six-line poem that follows some pretty stringent rules and proved to be quite a challenge.

  
The first four lines each contain a single, two-syllable descriptive word, all of which must rhyme with each other. Lines five and six rhyme with each other and consist of nine syllables each. ( 2, 2, 2, 2, 9, 9 syllables.)
  
Sounds easy enough, yes? Now here comes the rub.
  
The descriptive words used in line 1 and 2 are incorporated in line 5, between the 5th and 8th syllable count.

The descriptive words used in line 3 and 4 are incorporated in line 6, between the 5th and 8th syllable count.
  
So, assuming that my understanding of the rules is correct,  if your first descriptive word is Crashing  and the second is Thrashing you must incorporate those words in the exact order.
E.g.: Crashing,Thrashing NOT Thrashing Crashing etc. The same rule applies to the words used in lines three and four when incorporating them in line six
  
Remember, those descriptive words must sit between the 5th and 8th syllable count, not at the beginning or end or anywhere else.

The following poem is my attempt at a 'Tyburn'. Penned in response to taking a ride in the back of an ambulance following a 999 call and suspected cardiac symptoms.




I'm Still Here

Crashing 
Thrashing 
Flashing 
Dashing 
Pain strikes quickly, crashing, thrashing, fright.
Emergency flashing, dashing plight.












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