Rules for writing a pantoum: Quatrains (stanzas with four lines) Infinite number of stanzas The second and fourth line are repeated as the first and third line in the next stanza In the last stanza, the second and fourth line are the third and first line of the first stanza, respectively AKA your first line […]
Author: sparkscollection
God Makes Birds and Kills Them Too: a poem on how not to cope with loss
Well…is there a right way to cope with loss? When my brother smiled, his eyes looked like the seagulls I drew when we were children. Thin, crescent curves, I drew them like m’s, out of the charcoal Dad would bring from the station. My brother would tell me how boring I was, sitting at home, coloring. […]
Sitting Inert, Studying a Movement: a poem on Martin Luther and caffeine overdose
There’s something ironic about studying reforms – action and progress – while sitting still for hours, shoulders hunched over a screen. Sitting Inert, Studying a Movement Twelve thirty in the morning meant a forty-two-page citation spree on the Leipzig disputation between the great Martin Luther and his rival, Johann Eck. She had a struggle of […]
Forty Springs Ago, She Understood: a poem
The abuser will always soften the situation, romanticizing the victim’s pain, her brokenness, and in some cases, her death. Then, he’ll blame himself. And hearing his remorse, the crowd will sympathize, nodding their heads in agreement, “Yes, she did deserve better. She was a beautiful girl, inside and out.” And they will forget how ugly […]
They Told Me I was Gullible: a poem, a villanelle
It’s hard not to blame yourself, especially when you’re the one that chose to stay. But it’s not your fault. This one’s a little different than my usual free-verse. This particular form is called a villanelle. It’s a poetic form that follows a few rules: 19 lines: five tercets (stanza with three lines), ending with […]