Welcome to my April 2025 Great and Powerful Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

I’ve revealed my theme (A poem a day…with pictures), and of course, I am unashamedly blogging my theme letters on the fly.  So, here goes nothing!

So, without further ado, U is for …Uni Sunt.

Ok, there are very few (i.e., no) poetry types beginning with U except for this one that I could find. “A number of medieval European poems begin with this Latin phrase meaning “Where are they?” By posing a series of questions about the fate of the strong, beautiful, or virtuous, these poems meditate on the transitory nature of life and the inevitability of death. The phrase can now refer to any poetry that treats these themes. One of the most famous ubi sunt poems is “Ballade des dames du temps jadis” (“Ballad of the Ladies of Times Past”) by medieval French poet François Villon, with its refrain “Where are the snows of yesteryear?”

This is my interpretation of this kind of poem, very loose, but given layoff notices at work began to come out yesterday, I think I’m allowed a little latitude…

The World is Too Much

Where can we go, with
troubles all around,
swarming like crowds
at the next blockbuster movie,
growing like appetites longing
for an extra-large pizza?

Let me bury myself
under extra-large hoodies
on my comfy chair,
layered with kitty purrs
until it’s safe to emerge.

—

Thanks for visiting my 2025 A to Z Challenge – Letter U.

Welcome to my April 2025 Great and Powerful Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

I’ve revealed my theme (A poem a day…with pictures), and of course, I am unashamedly blogging my theme letters on the fly.  So, here goes nothing!

So, without further ado, T is for …Triversen

“Triversen is a form of poetry created by physician, poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright William Carlos Williams. This 18-line poetic form is created from six single stanzas/sentences where each stanza/sentence is broken into three lines.

Rules

1. Pick a subject, any subject.
2. Write a single stanza that is equal to one sentence and based on a statement or observation.
3. Break the sentence/stanza into three lines (each line is a separate phrase in the sentence). Each line should build on the next to create a mood or story.
4. There is a variable foot of 2-4 beats per line.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 until you have 6 sentences/stanzas.
6. Finish with 6 stanzas of three lines each. The poem should add up to 18 lines.“

She stares at the screen,
finger hovering over keyboard,
mind blank.

A shock of an idea
like a tap on her shoulder,
makes her jump.

She holds out her hand
to grasp but it flutters
through her fingers.

She watches
as it scatters,
burrows back into the earth.

Closing her eyes, she waits,
knowing silence
will beckon the next.

And there it hovers
just out of reach until it lands,
gently, on her knee.

—

Thanks for visiting my 2025 A to Z Challenge – Letter T.

Welcome to my April 2025 Great and Powerful Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

I’ve revealed my theme (A poem a day…with pictures), and of course, I am unashamedly blogging my theme letters on the fly.  So, here goes nothing!

So, without further ado, S is for …Shadorma

“Shadorma is a poetic form consisting of a sestet (six-line stanza). Each stanza of this form has a syllable count of three syllables in the first line, five syllables in the second line, three syllables in the third and fourth lines, seven syllables in the fifth line, and five syllables in the sixth line (3/5/3/3/7/5) for a total of 26 syllables. This form may have one or an unlimited mnumber of stanzas as long as each follows the meter.“

Trust Me

Cat lies down
rolls to show belly.
Demands pats
until done,
with claws outstretched to tell me
it’s time to stop now

—

Thanks for visiting my 2025 A to Z Challenge – Letter S.

Welcome to my April 2025 Great and Powerful Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

I’ve revealed my theme (A poem a day…with pictures), and of course, I am unashamedly blogging my theme letters on the fly.  So, here goes nothing!

So, without further ado, R is for …Roundel.

“A Roundel poem is a very short poem that consists of 3 stanzas with 3 lines in each stanza. The Roundel poem uses alternate rhyming where its first words are repeated following the 1st and 3rd stanzas. The form is a version of the French Rondeau and was developed by Algernon Charles Swinburne. It is a form of English language poetry where its rhythmic scaling is abar, bab, abar, where r is referred to as the refrain. The Roundel is composed of 9 lines with each line having the same amount of syllables.”

Oceans of Spring

Sun glints off waves, oceans of spring;
breezes bring skimming kite sails
skipping as surf sing
while sun glints off waves.

Tourists walk the safety rails,
to dogs on leashes cling
tight to keep from trails.

Seagulls cry, as a child flings
scraps of bread, her arms flail,
points to ships crossing,
As sun glints off waves.

—

Thanks for visiting my 2025 A to Z Challenge – Letter R.

Welcome to my April 2025 Great and Powerful Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

I’ve revealed my theme (A poem a day…with pictures), and of course, I am unashamedly blogging my theme letters on the fly.  So, here goes nothing!

So, without further ado, Q is for …Questionku

“A questionku is a type of short form poem that creates a question for the reader to ponder. The rather new style of writing was created by poet Richard Lamoureux. The questionku style is similar to a haiku or senryu in the respect that there are a certain amount of lines and number of syllables on those lines that must be used.

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Thanks for visiting my 2025 A to Z Challenge – Letter Q.

Welcome to my April 2025 Great and Powerful Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

I’ve revealed my theme (A poem a day…with pictures), and of course, I am unashamedly blogging my theme letters on the fly.  So, here goes nothing!

So, without further ado, P is for …Pantoum.

“A Malaysian verse form adapted by French poets and occasionally imitated in English. It comprises a series of quatrains, with the second and fourth lines of each quatrain repeated as the first and third lines of the next. The second and fourth lines of the final stanza repeat the first and third lines of the first stanza.”

He Walks in Darkness

He walks in darkness, closing
hands, feet beating in step
with his heart. He doesn’t look
back, as if he had a choice, while

hands and feet beat. Onto steps
he climbs, eager to return
back, as if he had a choice while
turning from signs, fearing the end.

He climbs, eager to return,
all his fears scattering.
Turning from signs, fearing the end,
he is buried deep.

All his fears scattering,
a knife plunges into his heart.
He is buried deep as
he walks in darkness closing.

—

Thanks for visiting my 2025 A to Z Challenge – Letter P.

Welcome to my April 2025 Great and Powerful Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

I’ve revealed my theme (A poem a day…with pictures), and of course, I am unashamedly blogging my theme letters on the fly.  So, here goes nothing!

So, without further ado, O is for … Ode

“The ode—originally accompanied by music and dance, and later reserved by the Romantic poets to convey their strongest sentiments—is a formal address to an event, a person, or a thing not present. The name comes from the Greek aeidein, meaning to sing or chant, and belongs to the long and varied tradition of lyric poetry. “

Ode to Imposter Syndrome

After Olivia Gatwood

Imposter, you are my middle name,
like Bruce, the Batman, Wayne.
You’ve hid my true identity
for 30 years or more.

I stand there, under cover,
darkness beneath awnings
rain drenching hooded features.

No one notices how you watch me,
making it up as I go,
imitation the only form
of flattery I know.

You chase my confidence away,
running like rivulets of water
into sewers below,

where it sits, a clown masked
ready to grab and drag
all that is left of me away
before anyone sees me
for who I really am.

—

Thanks for visiting my 2025 A to Z Challenge – Letter O.

Welcome to my April 2025 Great and Powerful Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

I’ve revealed my theme (A poem a day…with pictures), and of course, I am unashamedly blogging my theme letters on the fly.  So, here goes nothing!

So, without further ado, N is for …Ninette

“A Ninette is a type of poem which contains nine lines, each line with a difference of one syllable from the previous one. The syllables increase with one number, from the first line until the midpoint where they start decreasing. The syllable count of a Ninette is one, two, three, four, five, four, three, two and then back to one. The first and the last line of this type of poem do not have to be necessarily the same. They can either be synonyms or antonyms. Ninette poems can be prepared to talk about many different subjects. It could be love, philosophy, nature, animals, relationships dilemmas or any other themes. Poets form them to display thoughts and emotions in the form of words in a beautiful pattern.“

Snack

peach
on plate
beckons me
to lift and eat
but before biting
I put it down
and instead
turn to
pear

—

Thanks for visiting my 2025 A to Z Challenge – Letter N.

Welcome to my April 2025 Great and Powerful Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

I’ve revealed my theme (A poem a day…with pictures), and of course, I am unashamedly blogging my theme letters on the fly.  So, here goes nothing!

So, without further ado, M is for …Monoku

“A Monoku is a type of poem which is made up of a single horizontal line. Traditionally considered as a haiku writing, it is currently accepted as a variant of the haiku form of poetry. Monoku emerged as an independent style of poetry in the 1970s. Unlike the Haiku which is made up of three outlines with a total of seventeen syllables, Monoku features a single line consisting of seventeen syllables or even fewer. It contains a pause brought about by speech rhythm with slight or no punctuation. The first letter should not be capitalized – but instead written in lower case.

Spring

flowers burst on branches high – a waterfall of petals float to earth

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Thanks for visiting my 2025 A to Z Challenge – Letter M.

Welcome to my April 2025 Great and Powerful Blogging from A to Z Challenge!

I’ve revealed my theme (A poem a day…with pictures), and of course, I am unashamedly blogging my theme letters on the fly.  So, here goes nothing!

So, without further ado, L is for …Lai
“The lai is a French form. It’s a nine-line poem or stanza that uses an “a” and “b” rhyme following this pattern: aabaabaab. The lines with an “a” rhyme use 5 syllables; the “b” rhyme lines have 2 syllables.

Spring

As blossoms cascade
to the ground, they fade
and rest
a bloomful arcade
like pink snowfall made
by guests
with confetti played
until bloom clouds are laid
to rest

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Thanks for visiting my 2025 A to Z Challenge – Letter L.