Become Living Poetry

“Be silent now.
Say fewer and fewer praise poems.
Let yourself become living poetry.”

~ Rumi

What if we became silent poems ……?  What if we each became “living poetry”?  Perhaps it is time to “Be silent now. Say fewer praise poems.” And, to let ourselves “become living poetry”. Are we already? Our every moment of being is  an expression of living poetry.

There are over 5o “styles” of poems. As of today, July 14, 2012, 7:24 a.m., there are 7,026,170,881 people in the world. That’s A LOT of living poetry! What will you experience today? What will you “say” today?

What is your “living poetry” style? These are the “top” 12…well, someone’s top 12. How do you “speak” to others through your daily living? I don’t really know very much about poetry, but thought it would be fun to look into it, and see if I could figure out what form my “living poetry” most closely matched!

SONNET: Sonnets are particularly associated with love poetry, and often use a poetic diction heavily based on vivid imagery.

JINTISHI: . Jintishi often has a rich poetic diction, full of allusion, and can have a wide range of subject, including history and politics.

SESTINA: The sestina has six stanzas, each comprising six unrhymed lines, in which the words at the end of the first stanza’s lines reappear in a rolling pattern in the other stanzas.

VILLANELLE  is a nineteen-line poem made up of five triplets with a closing quatrain. The poem is characterized by having two refrains, initially used in the first and third lines of the first stanza, and then alternately used at the close of each subsequent stanza until the final quatrain.

PANTOUM  is a rare form of poetry similar to a villanelle. It is composed of a series of quatrains; the second and fourth lines of each stanza are repeated as the first and third lines of the next.

RONDEAU originally a French form, written on two rhymes with fifteen lines, using the first part of the first line as a refrain.

TANKA is a form of unrhymed Japanese poetry, with five sections totalling thirty-one onji (phonemic sounds) , structured in a 5-7-5 7-7 pattern. There is generally a shift in tone and subject matter between the upper 5-7-5 phrase and the lower 7-7 phrase. It was used more heavily to explore personal rather than public themes.

HAIKU is a popular form of unrhymed Japanese poetry. Written in a single vertical line, the haiku contains three sections totalling seventeen onji, structured in a 5-7-5 pattern. Traditionally, haiku contain a kireji, or cutting word, usually placed at the end of one of the poem’s three sections; and a kigo, or season-word.  Haiku often reflects something to do with Nature.

RUBA’I is a four-line verse practiced by Arabian and Persian poets.

SIJO is a short musical lyric practiced by Korean poets. It is usually written as three lines, each averaging 14-16 syllables, for a total of 44-46 syllables. There is a pause in the middle of each line.

ODE:   The ode generally has three parts: a strophe, an antistrophe, and an epode. The antistrophes of the ode possess similar metrical structures and, depending on the tradition, similar rhyme structures. In contrast, the epode is written with a different scheme and structure. Odes have a formal poetic diction, and generally deal with a serious subject. The strophe and antistrophe look at the subject from different, often conflicting, perspectives, with the epode moving to a higher level to either view or resolve the underlying issues.

The GHAZAL is a form of poetry common in Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Bengali poetry. In classic form, the ghazal has from five to fifteen rhyming couplets that share a refrain at the end of the second line. Each line has an identical meter, and there is a set pattern of rhymes in the first couplet and among the refrains. Each couplet forms a complete thought and stands alone, and the overall ghazal often reflects on a theme of unattainable love or divinity.

Some  rhyme, others do not. Some have a complete thought while others only hint at something. There are poems that use refrains, a line or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after every stanza. Poems can be romantic, political, spiritual, or mystical. Some are soft, and some are strong or even harsh. Some are metaphorical, while others are figurative. Some are short and some are long.

Personally, I feel my living poetry is not strong on rhyme, but does employ structure. I do seem to be heavy on repetition, perhaps as security. I tend not to express to much that is political and focus more on the spiritual, nature and emotion. I think I am a shorter, sharper type of poetry rather long and complex type. Sometimes people “get” me, other times, not so much!!!

I could be Tanka with a little Haiku or Sijo, and a dash of Villanelle.

I hope you have some fun with this! There are so many sources available on the internet. Explore and see  if you learn a little something about yourself.

http://www.webexhibits.org/poetry/index.html

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0903237.html/