Norm,

Although for more some of us yearn,
one lesson's there for all to learn:
be thankful that you got a turn
where you sojourn, where you sojourn.


Thanks for sojourning, Teach.

writer

On Adjourning

Yes, one day I will adjourn;
but writers shouldn't have concern
for through our poems all will discern
we will return; we will return.

haijin: The Japanese term for a haiku poet, as opposed to "shijin" which translates more directly to "poet".


No haijin is this aging scribe 
though now and then I do imbibe
in haiku form but it don’t jibe 
with what’s prescribed, with what’s prescribed.

I might be better called shijin,
though even that seems mighty thin 
and purists might bring forth a din 
should I slip in, should I slip in.

Suffice to say the now and then 
a rhyme will trickle from my pen.
It comes from far beyond my ken.
I say again, I say again.

With that disclaimer at the fore 
I’ll stand in Daniel’s open door 
and bid y’all come, take the floor 
and write some fours, and write some fours.

Put two of them in every line.
Take four such lines and make 'em rhyme 
far better than I’ve done with mine
and you’ll be fine, and you’ll be fine.

writer

David,

Indeed you are on your way. Well put together. One minor crit...line three needs one more beat, perhaps "with new forms I just like to play". Just a thought.

writer

WHY WRITE?   

Some write and say it’s to fulfill 
a fire within that drives their will 
and will not let them stop until
their voices still, their voices still.

Some others take a pen in hand 
and line up words upon demand
to march before reviewing stands 
at their command, at their command.

Now and then one joins the throng
for whom words seem to hum along 
and leave behind a hymn so strong,
it just belongs, it just belongs.

But we who teeter on the verge 
will use the written word to scourge 
the demons that we cannot purge 
or keep submerged, or keep submerged.

writer

The Monotetra is a relatively new poetic form developed around 2003 by Michael Walker of Shadow Poetry.com. 

Each stanza contains four lines in monorhyme, such that it rhymes aaaa bbbb cccc . . . . zzzz — a single end-rhyme in each stanza.

Each line is in tetrameter (four metrical feet) for a total of eight syllables -- with no requirement for a specific metrical pattern. The truly unique aspect of monotetra, and what makes it so powerful, is that each stanza’s fourth line has a repeating two metrical feet ~ four-syllable phrase or theme; it is not required to be an exact repetition, but something close to it.  A monotetra may be a single stanza or any number of stanzas.

Stanza Structure:

Line 1: 8 syllables ~ a1
Line 2: 8 syllables ~ a2
Line 3: 8 syllables ~ a3
Line 4: 4 syllables ~ A4; repeated ~A4


Here was my first rather trite and silly attempt at a form I'd forgotten until now:


Injustice to a Monotet

I haven’t time to do justice
to such a form as this, as this
is scootin’ time; I’d be remiss
must go; don’t dis… must go; don’t dis

me first attempt at monotet,
since I’ve no time jest now to set
a spell and chat until I get
the feel fer it… the feel fer it

_{© MLee Dickens'son 11 June 2004}


and here's Ron Jones' much more representative monotetra, descriptive of the form:


Monday's Monotetra

The monotetra's new I know,
its flavor features flighty flow
(and so to rhymezone poets go.
A new plateau, a new plateau!

It lends its lyric line to lays
as rhymes will rule and raise our praise.
Its sing-song sound sets me ablaze*.
I like its ways, I like its ways.
_{* I like sing-song}

It lends its form to pure or light**,
a form for verse whate'er you write,
with flow and sound you can recite.
A true delight, a true delight.
_{**pure= serious poetry, light = light humorous verse}

To read some 'tetras, just click here.***
We're blessed with progress, still premier,
from you who've found a new frontier:
It's Michael dear, it's Michael dear!

_{© jgdittier 05 May 2008}


RonPlus Nonplus

I'm pleased you've shown this form to us;
your perfect meter is a plus;
your diction never needs a truss.
You're so nonplus; you're so nonplus

_{© MLee Dickens'son 12 May 2008}

... and since I discovered we had two versions of this post while creating the 'Table of Contenst' links, I've spliced them together and made some revisions, and here's another of my own examples of the form from the deleted post:

Grace Oh’s Us Art

A monotetra fills its space
with rhymes, but moves along with grace
and attitude; its subtle bass
thu-thumps the pace, a thumping pace.

It takes you where you didn't know 
a heart could wander safe below 
a mind that's kept alert with joe… 
yet walk so slow; heart walks so slow. 

Exploring's not monotonous;
it may be even humorous
to see the contrast; it's a plus
we should discuss…. We must discuss

what's going on inside that heart—
the one not pulsing blood, but art
its spirit's aching to impart….
It's off the chart… way off the chart. 

© MLee Dickens'son 08 Jan 2007

Have fun working with this form!

deLightingly, Daniel  8)