_{"Poetry often enters through the window of irrelevance." -M. C. Richards}


[Linderel] and [Triola] are slightly off their trees. The former possibly a smidgeon more than the latter, who knows. Recently they have begun giving each other poetry challenges - Lin tried to prod Trin into writing more, whereas Trin informed Lin that she needs to change gears every once in a while, cut down on the flowery language and start making sense while throwing in a few rhymes. As a result, Lin went off and created this wiki so they could both post the fruit of these challenges where everyone could see them all at once.

Lami's Section

First challenge: ditch the poetic language and write in plain English
_{This actually is hard for me - I'm so used to the freedom of being able to employ fancy, multi-syllabled words.}

Furry haiku

Soft fur tickles nose
she giggles, eyes bright, shining
her bed warm and safe


Telephonophobia

Dial.
Press the damn button.
Press it.
Walk from one end of the room
to the other.
Shove words out - it's not that hard.
Honestly.
Over before you know it.
Cut the connection,
breathe out. In. Out.
You lie: Next time will be easier.
Sit down.
Breathe.
Quiet.


Second challenge: rhyming, please
_{Way too damn hard. I am not the rhyming sort, but perhaps these will do.}

Rhyming bone

I think I've misplaced
my tiny rhyming bone
so seldom used, barely grazed
might've wandered off all alone
What now, I must wonder
my reason to write torn asunder
shall I succumb to woe, to drama?
-- or should I, in fact, try harder?
The answer to that, I suspect
is a greatly resounding yes.


Shedding scales

Sprays from the waves
wet my toes, like tears
but without sorrow or the fears
Does the lake ignore my pains
or is this an offering of comfort?
Scabbing and falling after years
I look at peeling skin, the stains
ask, I'll tell I am not sunburnt
Just a little girl shedding scales


Third challenge: try to capture the feeling of a city you love in a poem
_{Isn't quite what you were looking for, is it? However, this is half a step towards the right direction. I have a love-hate relationship with the city.}

Hometown

Childhood bane
source of shame
and so many doubts
tears even still unshed

yet somehow
nostalgia, I know
I love the sights, the lights
the highs and lows of Hyvinkää


Fourth challenge: can you say "villanelle"? :D
_{Not too terrible for a first attempt? <_< There is no meter, and probably no rhythm either, but at least there's the rhymes.}

Within the lights

Come, now, do not be coy
as the dance, the pulse grows
take refuge in this joy

Do you see that frail boy
who all his burden throws?
Come, now, do not be coy

Who would this haven destroy?
As mortality slows
take refuge in this joy

No denial to alloy
where your heart tonight goes
come, now, do not be coy
take refuge in this joy


Fifth challenge: write a poem with the title "Pedestrian Crossing"
_{Why did this come out depressive? Oh, wait, it's me. Never mind.}

Pedestrian Crossing

She sits there
on the weather-worn old bench
day in, day out, clad always
in her prettiest summer dress

Like clockwork
rounds the corner, bounce in her step
at high noon - never later
settles down with a sigh

Curiously
she is gazed at or sneered upon
but rarely bothered for long;
perhaps worth not their time?

Beside her
you can be told, and she whispers
I'm waiting for the zebras
Papa said they would come

Then she shifts her cane
just slightly, folds her faded dress
looks at you with clear blue eyes
her smile full of wrinkles.


Sixth challenge: Try your hand at monometer, a la Robert Herrick's Upon His Departure Hence
_{I'm thinking I need some work with this format...}

Poet

Dreaming
quill in
tight grasp
she is
so softly
glowing

Seventh challenge: A long, narrative poem

Trin's Section

First challenge: write a poem
_{This might seem like a very simple challenge, but for one who hasn't written poetry in months, it's difficult enough to start out with.}

At Dawn.

A raindrop slowly trickles down my nose
The scent of earth is pungent on the air
Around me lies the image of repose
The soft breeze like a heartful song of prayer
Oh Silence, with your peace and quiet grace
May you forever beautify this place


Second challenge: write an ode to tea
_{Here I tried my hand on something with less rhyming. Sorta Haiku inspired in its shortness.}

Full Strength Samson.

Dark leaves swirling, ripples through water.
Stir once, twice—
Body without tension, warm and sated.

_{And here the more whimsical try:}

To Tea

Dark and bitter, I agree.
But Lipton Yellow? Not for me.
It's simply not my cup of tea.


Third challenge: write a short, interconnected series of acrostics, avoid rhyme if possible
_{Perhaps not quite what you wanted, but it's what you get :P Also, I have a one-track mind ;_;}

Dragon Down

Hate reciprocated;
Ardently sought out.
Time to damage,
Eyes convey.

Love unrequited,
Opulently hidden.
Veiled, but never lost—
Eyes betray.


Fourth challenge: shut off your brain and let consciousness flow
_{No dictionaries, no thinking, no second guessing. I am proud of myself :D}

Hidden Depths

Within me—
An ocean of doubt.
Always raging,
Never-ending.
Oh Captain, my Captain,
Don’t lead me astray.
Show me the way!
Slowly, slowly,
Sinking? Swimming?
Even I do not know—
Go see the show;
A Streetcar named Doubt.
I’ll figure it out.
Eventually.


Fifth challenge: write a pseudo-autobiographical poem with fantasy elements
_{How about a painfully autobiographical poem with fairytale elements?}

Elegy For A Misguided Girl

Away in a tower of daydreams and bad self-esteem
A princess doth rest upon clouds made of cotton and cream
Her small, slender figure is clothed in silver and white
Her quick-witted humour a source of the greatest delight
But under the fairytale surface a dark tendril stirs
Polluting the world with a guilt that can only be hers
Haunted and trapped by the constant reminder of sin
A core of deception will crumble a girl from within


Sixth challenge: write a triolet
_{Difficult stuff!}

Summer's End

When summer’s end is at the door
A well-known sadness fills my heart
And how I long for more, just more
When summer’s end is at the door
And golden leaves fall to the floor
The sun, the warmth have played their part
When summer’s end is at the door
A well-known sadness fills my heart


Delilah

When Samson fell, a songbird cried.
Delilah watched in mute despair
As something deep inside her died
When Samson fell. A songbird cried,
A woman cursed her greed and pride,
And in her hand—a lock of hair.
When Samson fell, a songbird cried.
Delilah watched in mute despair.


Seventh challenge: choose a letter, and within ten minutes write down as many words as you can recall beginning with that letter, then write a poem using only those words
_{That was hard -_- Oh, and the title wasn't part of my original words, I added that afterwards >.>}

Cavatina

Calmly chiming
Cerulean cadence
Creating, confessing
Ceasefire chords

Chant, chant
Clairvoyant cello
Cutting cloaked crises,
Cyanide crowns

Clean, cleanse
Cancerous circus
Charcoal conversions
Chafing, coarse, cold

Closing, changing
Creating core chapters
Calamity climax
Chorus clear
Cease


Eighth challenge: write a poem based on/inspired by your favourite myth
_{Perhaps not my favourite myth, but one I do like.}

Hindsight

In his eyes, she was the dawn
Rising over the hilltops; luminescent, bright
Her face was drawn from legends
Her soul an Icarus in flight
Eurydice, before the fall
With her serenity and calm, her grace
Could not compare, come close
Could never take her place
She was Helen, she was Troy
With the golden, careless hair—laughing at the wind
A present from the Gods
One they could not, nor would, rescind
She was the forest, and the air
Above the clouds, so fair and wild; so very free
Her eyes the silent pools
Beneath the solitary willow tree
Lit from within with golden light
As the surface sparkled with the loving kiss of the sun
Perfectly still, without a wave
Not a ripple, not one
His golden girl, his golden child
Her sun kissed skin a brightly polished coin
With her golden hair, her golden eyes
The golden apple of his loin
But though he knew her thoughts, her spirit soared
Flying high where they would thrive
Oh how he wished, how Midas longed
To see those golden eyes—alive


Ninth challenge: write a poem from the point of view of a cow




Related wikis:
-Coal Black Wings
-poeTri