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Balladeer
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0 posted 2011-05-18 08:27 PM



Tired of meter? Tired of counting syllables? Anisometric verse is for you!

Anisometric verse is a type of poetic verse which does not have any corresponding poetic meter. No specific meter, no specific syllable counts, trash the trochees and bam the iambs! It's all up to you.

Hold on, though. You still need to make it sound good. The lines still have to sing and it has to be entertaining....also it has to rhyme, either a-b-a-b, a-a-b-b, or a-b-c-b. An example....?

Though this verse is witty and clever
And writing it took no time
It's all anisometric, using meters much as you would a lever
even if I did make it all rhyme.

So let's see what you come up with. Oh, yeah....your poem is to be about your favorite tv program. If you are one of the few humans on the planet who don't watch tv, then your favorite book. If you've never read a book, then a poem about your growing up on Mars!

Show me.....



© Copyright 2011 Michael Mack - All Rights Reserved
Dr.Moose1
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1 posted 2011-05-19 07:06 AM


Balladeer,
Leave it to you to take everything I've worked so hard to learn and throw it out the window, lol. You're on.
Doc

Alison
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2 posted 2011-05-19 11:19 AM


Me too.  See you both tonight!  

A

Sunshine
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3 posted 2011-05-19 01:27 PM


This might be up my alley!


serenity blaze
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4 posted 2011-05-19 03:46 PM


Um.

I hereby submit all my failed attempts at metrics and forms.

(Somebody could have told me about this a lonnnnnnnnnnng time ago. If I ever learn how to say it, I'm going to say it real snooty:

*sniff*

"I write in the anisometric style of verse."



heh. It kinda sounds like some kinda physical therapy.

anisometrics...hmmm. Some kinda personal physical therapy.

And wow. I just blew a perfectly funny poem.


Dr.Moose1
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5 posted 2011-05-19 08:18 PM


Whoo Hoo! We got's some fun now. Now iffin' some of yuhs pick a dialect fer us'n t'speak I'll be all in. Ah, what the heck!

Supercalifragilistic
Mind control, hypnosis
According to some skewed statistics
That's my diagnosis

It may be you've lost your mind
Or your halitosis
Is so bad it's hard to find comparatives,
Atrocious?

Who would of ever guessed such things
So odious would dose us
As this piece of poetry
Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock,the clock is moving to and fro thus

Snap my fingers, you'll awake
feeling quite precocious
'cause you knew that all along we're expealidocious.

[This message has been edited by Dr.Moose1 (05-20-2011 07:01 AM).]

Balladeer
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6 posted 2011-05-19 09:00 PM


Cool, doc! I have a few things to say about it later....right now I'm trying to figure out which tv show you're referring to!
Balladeer
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7 posted 2011-05-19 09:55 PM


Supercalifragilistic
Mind control, hypnosis
According to some skewed statistics
That's my dianosis

It may be you've lost your mind
Or your halitosis
Is so bad it's hard to find comparatives
Atrocious?

Who would of ever guessed such things
So odious would dose us
As this piece of poetry
Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock,the clock is moving to and fro thus

Snap my fingers, you'll awake
feeling quite precocious
'cause you knew that all along we're expealidocious


hehe...can't take the meter out of the moose, I guess!  Let's see...

All second lines have 6 syllables, except the third but "so" is said so fast it almost isn't there.
12 of fifteen lines are pure trochaic....3 pure iambic.

Second stanza you got a little sneaky with the third and fourth lines but the fact of the matter is that they are a perfect 7-7 syllable count. Fourth stanza sneakiness again but if the third line is broken in two to add the final line, you have another perfect 7-7 syllable count!

Let's do it again!

Supercalifragilistic
Mind control, hypnosis
According to some skewed statistics
That's my dianosis

It may be you've lost your mind
Or your halitosis
Is so bad it's hard to find
Comparatives atrocious?

Who would of ever guessed such things
So odious would dose us
As this piece of poetry
Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock,the clock
Is moving to and fro thus

Snap my fingers, you'll awake
feeling quite precocious
'cause you knew that all along
we're expealidocious.

Almost sounds like a regular, metered poem......nice going, doc!!!


Dr.Moose1
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8 posted 2011-05-20 07:10 AM


Balladeer,
Aw,"g", which I left out of "diagnosis". Well, at least you had to add a fifth line to the third stanza, but you're definately right, it is almost impossible for me to wrap my head around un-metered verse, I'm just not wired that way.
Doc

Balladeer
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9 posted 2011-05-20 07:38 AM


"impossible for me to wrap my head around un-metered verse,"

Thank God....don't ever change, please!

Balladeer
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10 posted 2011-05-23 07:08 PM


hmmmm.....appears that asking poets to write a poem without meter or rhythm is too difficult!! LOLOL!
Alison
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11 posted 2011-05-24 01:20 AM


Pasta Puttanesca


While I watched my beloved American Idol
I was thinking of Rachael Ray
And how she could take the odds and ends from my frig
That languish on the door on display

I thought of changing the channel
From songs filled with longing and fear
And tune into a show with more grit and substance
Like “Cooking with Heart and No Fear”

I clicked on my dear friend, the computer
And Googled with joy and some glee
I found a recipe I could create and conquer
(it even came with some history)

Pasta Puttanesca touched my heart and my taste buds
Anchovies sizzled with garlic and capers in oil
I tossed spices with wild abandon
(When cooking with Anchovies, there is not much one can spoil!)

Pasta Puttanesca has a story behind it
Of women in bordellos with windows flung wide
Bowls of fragrant pasta perched on the sill
To entice men with money inside

I sat down to watch American Idol
Sensuous aroma wafted to my nose from my dish
Ah, if I were only a woman of the evening
Pasta Puttanesca would help me grow rich

-

Alison

PS -  I know it's not about a tv show or a book.  I have been thinking of writing about Pasta Putanesca all danged day .. so I did!  Oh, and it tasted really good when I cooked it for lunch today!



[This message has been edited by Alison (05-24-2011 03:10 AM).]

Balladeer
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12 posted 2011-05-24 07:50 AM


No problem, Alison. You worked American Idol in there....that works!

Yes, I know what you mean. Some days I wake up and say, "Today I think I'll write some Pasta Putanesca poetry!" This is a delicious poem. miss.

No, you wouldn't need Pasta Putanesca to help you get rich if you were a lady of the evening. Your linguini would be enough!!!

Alison
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13 posted 2011-05-24 10:55 AM


Why thank you, Sir.  Some might think you are full of Cannoli, but I know you are sincere!



Alison

AlCowie
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14 posted 2011-05-24 01:09 PM


Nice poem Alison! Hmm, my forays into this feel too unsatisfactory to post (pride and vanity are my weaknesses)
Balladeer
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15 posted 2011-05-24 01:32 PM


Sincerity oozes from every pore, Alison!

If you were to apply Spanish to pasta putanesca and ladies of the evening, you would see how funny that is!

Alison
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16 posted 2011-05-24 07:02 PM


Hey, Al, just drop your poem in and join us.  We all kind of "put it on the line" when we post poetry.  This is the place to share though.

'Deer, I think we both are talking about the same thing.  I think.


AlCowie
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17 posted 2011-05-31 09:33 AM


Rasputin

I'm wearing my reading glasses because I'm at my computer,
I'm staring at the screen at last, and I'm grateful I'm not a commuter,
And I swear at the air that is harsh, and so sparse of all beauty, sucked out by all the polluters.

And there, the terror that is my nightmare dares me to carelessly pair with various nefarious heiresses...
In a parsley marsh I tie them with scarves and artlessly garnish their parts with sparkles and stars from irregular jars,
Shot out of flutes that are made from the roots of certain trees that bear fruits and then stored in Teutonic pewter.

Yet all is not futile; I am their lover, I am their brute, I am their looter

p.s. despite any passing resemblance to "In Xanadu", I am not on opium!

AlCowie
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18 posted 2011-05-31 09:34 AM


Ah, forgot this was supposed to be about TV, got distracted!
Alison
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19 posted 2011-05-31 10:14 AM


I get distracted all the time when I do these lessons.  I am glad that you posted your poem and I am happy that you are joining in at the Workshop, Al.

Alison

AlCowie
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20 posted 2011-05-31 12:53 PM


Thanks Alison!

Workshop is way more fun - the feedback is genuine and really helpful in that is is also critical of form. Hopefully I will steadily improve my fare...


Alison
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21 posted 2011-06-05 12:23 PM


Pssst, Balladeer, Post #17 is Al's contribution.  I think it got lost in the conversational shuffle.



A

Balladeer
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22 posted 2011-06-05 10:02 PM


Thanks, Alison. I had thought by his comment he was coming back with a tv show so I was waiting for that and then i forgot!

It was good work. Al. with some real interesting plays on words but i ain't buying that you weren,'t high on SOMETHING when creating it!

/

AlCowie
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23 posted 2011-06-06 09:31 AM


Thanks Balladeer, Alison, the lack of meter is a form that I find less appealing, as if I require the rhythm of the language to breathe the life into it for me - so that when the rhythm changes it has greater power.

Fun little exercise, and in the past 3 odd weeks I've already put together a nice little collection of poems - the ones out of these exercise forums / copying better known works are often more satisfying.

Cheers,
Al

Balladeer
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24 posted 2011-06-06 10:15 AM


I'm with you, Al. I feel better when the meter is running!
Alison
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25 posted 2011-06-06 10:43 AM


I am in this workshop because I want to be a meter maid.

I do.



Another assignment soon?  Maybe?

Dr.Moose1
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26 posted 2011-06-15 07:14 PM


Just realized I shouldn't post after cocktail hour, lol.
Doc

[This message has been edited by Dr.Moose1 (06-16-2011 07:33 AM).]

ken206573
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27 posted 2011-07-14 02:53 PM


I shall give it a whirl..hope it doesn't spin out of control.

I came upon this book
when I should've been studying
yet I wanted a second look
intriguied by the covering

This girl was a mystery
hiding within the night
uncovering some old history
underneath New York's light

Yet there's many dangers ahead
she needed a very smart group
so that they won't end up dead
six girls will get the scoop

An inventor who can repel rats by sound
another can hack and gain information
one can disguise as others when your around
a chemist who can make a bang in devastation

They are the ones to bring justice
for all that come to the city
bad guys bring evil practice
only here to steal without pity

So when you see an i on the side street
evil will be discovered by six girls
Manhattan will truly find peace
all thanks to The Irregulars

Hope you like it.  

Balladeer
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28 posted 2011-07-14 04:49 PM


Hey, Ken..welcome!  

I'd say you followed the rules of non-rules perfecty! A very interesting piece indeed..

Not sure about this sentence..
So when you see an i on the side street

Thanks for joining in!!

ken206573
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29 posted 2011-07-14 06:57 PM


I thought something within it was abit off, yet I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Oklahoma Rose
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30 posted 2011-07-24 01:34 PM


LOL! On Mars?
rachaelfuchsberger
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31 posted 2011-10-24 10:00 AM


Here I go again
Around insanity bend
Down and down I wind,
Peering into the criminal mind.
Garcia knows what to do
When Morgan calls her "hey boo."
And Hotch and Prentiss leave
While Dr. Reed rolls up his mental sleeve.
JJ works behind the scenes
But she's still important on the screens.
Welcome to Bedlam.
Where the inmates run the asylum.

~Arana Darkwolf~
An' it harm none, do what ye will. Blessed be.

Balladeer
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32 posted 2011-10-24 07:51 PM


AH, Rachael!! It's like a breath of fresh air, seeing you back.....and in fine fashion! Well done!
rachaelfuchsberger
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33 posted 2011-10-25 10:12 AM


So good to be back!

~Arana Darkwolf~
An' it harm none, do what ye will. Blessed be.

oceanvu2
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34 posted 2012-02-26 12:12 PM


THREE SILLY POEMS, THE MIDDLE ONE OF WHICH IS PROBABLY ON POINT.

One can be terse
When writing anisometric verse,
Or things can get hectic,
As in the case of Ogden Nash who, at least in his later work, wrote single lines that could turn into paragraphs before he got around to finishing them off in his all but inimitable style which was undeniably anisometric.

I currently like 30 Rock.
Unfortunately, new episodes don't air until 9 o'clock.
Since I'm usually drowsy by then, I'm reduced to enjoying the fun
In rerun.

Maybe the purpose of mastering form and meter
Is to become a good cheater.
Though he was a master of form -- I mean, the man wrote the world's best vllanelle! -- you'll find a lot of metrical fooling around, I promise,
In Dylan Thomas.

[This message has been edited by oceanvu2 (02-27-2012 09:31 PM).]

bbynams
Junior Member
Posts 49

35 posted 2019-02-27 09:12 AM


I Don't Make The Rules

My favorite coffee cups are all identical
We throw them in the trash
like they've been filled with blood
Sometimes we miss and they bounce off the gravel
into broken pieces
and my heart sinks a little.

It didn't have to be so hard starting off
without everything going right, I just know.
Next time aim for your mouth
and you'll feel a lot better
It's only something different.
We'll throw it all into the night.


[This message has been edited by bbynams (02-27-2019 09:56 AM).]

bbynams
Junior Member
Posts 49

36 posted 2019-02-28 10:08 AM


Ok, so that doesn't rhyme abab/aabb/abcb

My favorite coffee cups are all identical
We throw them in the trash like they've been filled with blood
Sometimes we miss and they bounce off the gravel
into broken pieces and my heart sinks into the mud

It didn't have to be so hard starting off without everything going right
Next time aim for your mouth and you'll feel a lot better
It's only something different and we'll throw it all into the night
like the stars who send you what you won't believe in a letter

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