Zap, You Have Just Become A Poet
Stan Grimes
September 01, 2008
The answer is as big as the universe (almost). A poem comes in many forms. Most poems I read today are free verse in style meaning there is not necessarily a rhyme or rhythm (beat or cadence). This style of poetry has its obvious advantage. It doesn't tie the author down to a singsong, lyrical creation. However, some poets find it much easier to create a poem, which rhymes. There are at least four billion rhyming dictionaries on the market making rhymes much more complex than, "I fell in love with a turtle dove." Still, I haven't been able to find a rhyme for "garlic."
For the sake of simplicity let's begin with a free verse poem style. I used to go fishing with my Uncle Vince. Vince approached fishing like he approached his job. We were out on a huge lake early one morning and Vince began a story. He told stories better than anyone I know. Wow, could he tell a story. "Stan," he began, "Smitty and I were on this very spot a couple of years ago. We pushed the boat into the water around five in the morning. There was still fog on the lake. We could barely see ten feet in front of us. All we could hear were the frogs and crickets, beautiful morning for fishing. Smitty and I put our lines in the water and bang! The bass started hitting everything we threw in the waters. I had almost caught my limit by seven and then all of sudden the wind picked up and clouds got black. Smitty wanted to get out of the water, but I told him we would stay until it started lightening. Well, guess what, lightening began streaking through the air like flying spider webs and the thunder sounded like a train wreck. I'll tell you Stan it was like all hell broke loose…"
When he was finished I was smiling. It not only was a great story, but I was thinking to myself, "That's the stuff poems are made from." Think about it for a moment. The story was so vivid. I felt like I was there looking at the entire event. A good poem is the same way. Let's see if we can create a poem from Vince's story. Let's start with a catching first line. How about, "The early morning fog thick like gray feathers." How's that sound? I added the simile "like gray feathers" for imagery. What is a simile? A simile is the comparison of two unlike things generally using the word "like" for the comparison, e.g., "dumb like a fox."
Okay, how about a second line? "Silence broken only by sounds of nature." That covers the crickets and frogs. Want to try for a third line? All right, how about, "armed with poles we harvested our prey?" Okay, okay it's a little over dramatic, but let's try it anyway. Another line, "Suddenly spider webs of lightening." Notice I used two words with the same first consonant, "suddenly spider…" This is called alliteration, the use of two words together with the same initial consonant to add a musical sound.
I think we're doing pretty darn well so far. Let's add another line to connect the fourth line…"and train-wreck thunder surround us." Not the greatest, but it might work. Enough already, Stan, let's try one more line. "Smitty grabbed an oar we pressed shoreward." Yet another, "Harvest in tow, we headed home." Finally, "with memories in our pockets."
Now, let's see what we have created:
The early morning fog thick like gray feathers
silence broken only by sounds of nature.
armed with poles we harvested our prey.
Suddenly spider webs of lightening
and train-wreck thunder surround us.
Smitty grabbed an oar we pressed shoreward.
Harvest in tow we headed home
with memories in our pockets.
Okay, you have the idea, right? Right. Together we created a poem from a story told by someone else. If you would like to try this little exercise of your own, feel free to do so. Or, try a story you have heard, or maybe one you have shared with others. Go for it. After all, you are now a poet.
For the sake of simplicity let's begin with a free verse poem style. I used to go fishing with my Uncle Vince. Vince approached fishing like he approached his job. We were out on a huge lake early one morning and Vince began a story. He told stories better than anyone I know. Wow, could he tell a story. "Stan," he began, "Smitty and I were on this very spot a couple of years ago. We pushed the boat into the water around five in the morning. There was still fog on the lake. We could barely see ten feet in front of us. All we could hear were the frogs and crickets, beautiful morning for fishing. Smitty and I put our lines in the water and bang! The bass started hitting everything we threw in the waters. I had almost caught my limit by seven and then all of sudden the wind picked up and clouds got black. Smitty wanted to get out of the water, but I told him we would stay until it started lightening. Well, guess what, lightening began streaking through the air like flying spider webs and the thunder sounded like a train wreck. I'll tell you Stan it was like all hell broke loose…"
When he was finished I was smiling. It not only was a great story, but I was thinking to myself, "That's the stuff poems are made from." Think about it for a moment. The story was so vivid. I felt like I was there looking at the entire event. A good poem is the same way. Let's see if we can create a poem from Vince's story. Let's start with a catching first line. How about, "The early morning fog thick like gray feathers." How's that sound? I added the simile "like gray feathers" for imagery. What is a simile? A simile is the comparison of two unlike things generally using the word "like" for the comparison, e.g., "dumb like a fox."
Okay, how about a second line? "Silence broken only by sounds of nature." That covers the crickets and frogs. Want to try for a third line? All right, how about, "armed with poles we harvested our prey?" Okay, okay it's a little over dramatic, but let's try it anyway. Another line, "Suddenly spider webs of lightening." Notice I used two words with the same first consonant, "suddenly spider…" This is called alliteration, the use of two words together with the same initial consonant to add a musical sound.
I think we're doing pretty darn well so far. Let's add another line to connect the fourth line…"and train-wreck thunder surround us." Not the greatest, but it might work. Enough already, Stan, let's try one more line. "Smitty grabbed an oar we pressed shoreward." Yet another, "Harvest in tow, we headed home." Finally, "with memories in our pockets."
Now, let's see what we have created:
The early morning fog thick like gray feathers
silence broken only by sounds of nature.
armed with poles we harvested our prey.
Suddenly spider webs of lightening
and train-wreck thunder surround us.
Smitty grabbed an oar we pressed shoreward.
Harvest in tow we headed home
with memories in our pockets.
Okay, you have the idea, right? Right. Together we created a poem from a story told by someone else. If you would like to try this little exercise of your own, feel free to do so. Or, try a story you have heard, or maybe one you have shared with others. Go for it. After all, you are now a poet.