Okay. Today, we're going to get into the basics of writing a poem. It's a little like baking: you start off with an idea of what you want to make, find a fitting recipe, and then butcher it horribly in the act of creating it. And then you end up with weird-looking muffins, but the real test is in tasting them, not how they look at first glance.
Today's recipe is rhyming poems. I bucking hate rhyming poems. We're going to do ABAB rhyming type, with no set meter. Get out your dictionaries and thesauruses, and prepare your...
No Luna, not their... that. No please don't prepare... I'm locking you out of the office now.
Distractions aside: first, find your idea. My idea is going to be... obnoxious annoying ponies who I AM NOT LETTING IN THE OFFICE. You choose yours.
I've mentioned our recipe above, and we're going to make it... three verses - or servings, if you want to keep up the already-tired metaphor - and while we aren't going to use any set meter, please try and keep each line beneath fifteen syllables, and about the same length. It's a quick and dirty trick to help make sure the rhythm of a poem is consistent.
Now how do you start? Well, that depends: although a lot of ponies say you should write a title last, I think you should write a working title first: it doesn't have to be great or anything, it just has to be something that conveys the idea you're trying to get across. Think of it as laying a foundation for your subject: like in this case, I'm going to call my poem:
"The Bossy Mare"
Yep. And that's what the poem is going to be about. Nice and simple, right? That title can be changed afterwards, but I find that putting down the title kind of helps get yourself - and your muse/hooves/writing powers - in the right state of mind, and helps you focus on what you want the poem to be about, instead of trying to write the first line and ending up with something way out of left field. Now I know my first line is going to specifically relate to the theme of the bossy mare, and not how frustrated I am with the fact she has her horn stuck in the freaking lock and is now yelling for me to get her out. Which I am not going to do.
Onwards ho.
Now, let's do this simple. We'll stick with distinct themes for each verse: for example, this one, I'm going to focus on the Bossy Mare's features and create an image of her in the reader's head, as well as show my own relationship to her.
With a mane like Nightmare Night sky,
And eyes full of mischief and guile,
I often find myself wondering why,
I chose to marry her over a crocodile.
Now, let's examine that verse, shall we? First, syllables: 8, 9, 10, and 13. But because the lines are progressively longer, and not by big jumps - except for the last line, anyway - there's no actual sense that the poem itself is getting more drawn out, and the rhythm doesn't get damaged as much. Furthermore, the last line being the longest is a cheap but effective trick to give it that much more impact and emphasis overall.
Let's continue, and since we've done a sort of introduction and setup with that first verse, let's play on something else. No, I'm not going to get into a discussion of the metaphor or imagery in the poem: that's something for you to experiment with on your own. Or to wait until I do a post on that.
So second verse. We're going to use... juxtaposition and parallelism.
She torments me stealthily all day,
Then parties throughout the whole night,
Dancing is her favorite way to pray,
Second only to her love of the fight.
I also discussed stuff in that verse that isn't physical. I touched on her personality, what she likes to do, what forms her, so to speak. Let's start with the syllable length of each line again, though: 9, 8, 10, 10. Now, first, look at the first two lines: you'll notice how even though the first is longer, the second sounds just as long, even though it isn't. That's because "throughout" is a drawn-out word: even though "through" is one syllable, it feels like two, thanks to the "th/roo" pronunciation. And likewise, even though "stealthily" has three syllables, it's run all together, so it feels much shorter. "stellthillE:" ending on a "y" often makes us "forget" that last syllable, so to speak.
Let's move on to the third and final verse. Endings are a pain, and there's a few different ways you can tackle them, but I should probably leave that for another post. Instead, let's focus on summing things up.
Things always have to go at her speed,
And I can never have any real say,
Yet even if at times, she makes my mind bleed,
I wouldn't want things any other way.
Okay, that last verse is a little awkward. What makes it awkward? That third line feels much longer than the others, both syllable wise and lengthwise. But at the same time, notice what that structure does: it makes the third line feel more drawn out, but the effect on the final, shorter line, is that it gives it more impact. When you finish it, you feel like the poem really is at its conclusion. It doesn't feel cut off, but it does feel like it hits a distinct ending. Also notice that this last verse is composed of more statements about being than imagery or anything else. It's a summation: it's talking about her, but her effects on me, and how... in spite of how bossy the bossy mare is, I wouldn't want her any other way. It turns the poem into something softly romantic, even if it keeps up the comic element with that note about... all the brain damage living with her has caused me over the years.
Now, let's look at our poem as a whole.
The Bossy Mare
With a mane like Nightmare Night sky,
And eyes full of mischief and guile,
I often find myself wondering why,
I chose to marry her over a crocodile.
She torments me stealthily all day,
Then parties throughout the whole night,
Dancing is her favorite way to pray,
Second only to her love of the fight.
Things always have to go at her speed,
And I can never have any real say,
Yet even if at times, she makes my mind bleed,
I wouldn't want things any other way.
And there you have it. A short, simple poem, written by a short, simple recipe. I have to go pry Luna's head out of the door now. Maybe when I have more time I can get into more of the structure of this poem, but... if you've gotten this far, you've got the basics. Learning everything else comes with practice. Just keep practicing: study the basics, practice the basics, and let your writing lead you. It'll develop naturally, you'll see.
~Scrivener Blooms
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