15 Comments
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Abigail's avatar

I have never used this form! I enjoyed the poem and the explanation. Thank you!

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Mark Rico's avatar

Thank you for reading and commenting, Abigail!

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Olivia Marstall's avatar

I want to try this form!

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Mark Rico's avatar

It's fascinating! This is my second poem in it.

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Anna A. Friedrich's avatar

I love this, Mark!

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Mark Rico's avatar

Thank you, Anna!

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Zane Paxton's avatar

Great poem!

Where do you find all these forms? Do you have a book or website you utilize most often?

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Mark Rico's avatar

Thanks! That's a good question. The first formal poem I ever wrote (https://clayjar.review/issues/summer-breeze/summer-song) was a pantoum, and I found the rules among the forms here: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/poetic-forms. Writing to form was such a fulfilling experience that I spent two days collating all the forms on that site that seemed even remotely interesting into a folder. It's been a good resource and I've added more from different sources since. I've heard others say they use books like https://www.amazon.com/Making-Poem-Norton-Anthology-Poetic/dp/0393321789/ref=sr_1_1 as well.

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Claire Adderholt (Craft)'s avatar

should have been called "Blue Caverns of Winged Birds Whose Name Starts with H" 😉.

On a more serious note, I like the elegaic tone and the musicality of it, especially these lines that have great clarity - "all you hear

is living liquid falling cold, a prayer

the air can barely hold?"

I didn't know that about Welsh poetry but I like the idea of a form that is syllabled but not metered.

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Mark Rico's avatar

How about Bleu Heroine? 🫠 Thanks for your feedback! And I'd love to see more Welsh poetry out in the wild. It's super engaging to work on without being inflexible.

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J. Tullius's avatar

It's "Heroin." Thanks Mark. Good work and glad to know you.

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Mark Rico's avatar

Ah yes - it wouldn't do to inject a random female protagonist into the mix.

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J. Tullius's avatar

Or would it!?

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Mark Rico's avatar

Sounds like a challenge!

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Zane Paxton's avatar

Where do you find all these forms? Do you have a book, or website you utilize most?

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