HAIKU

Haiku Poetry (Poems in 17 syllables) Haiku is poetry structured in the set form of 17 syllables, arranged in groups of 5, 7, and 5. It derives from the first line of the linked verse which alternately repeats a line in groups of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, and a line in groups of 7 and 7 syllables; in the Edo Period (1603-1867), MATSUO Basho established its present form.

Examples of Haiku Poems:

The flowers outside Hide under snow until spring like shy teenage girls

Example of Haiku (My Own):

Now that I've lost you The butterflies dance What do I do when you're here Brilliant colors of rainbows With you, without you Rippling like water

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TANKA
A tanka is a form of 5 line Japanese verse, using 31 syllables. The tanka is structured on the number of syllables in the verse using 5,7,5,7,7 syllables in the lines. There is also an English form of tanka, derived from the Japanese structure. Syllabic poetry isn't common in English, but is instead used as the rhythm structure for poetry. Old folk songs in all languages often have common rhythmic meters, and it's likely that they're derived from ancient verbal usage techniques. Poetry was also a common form of rote learning, using rhythm and rhyme to enforce memory.

Tanka Example: To live is to break

by Ueda Miyoji

To live is to break One's heart for the sake of love; A couple of doves, Beaks touching on their way, Are stepping out in the sun.

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Example of Tanka (My Own):

Saying Goodbye
Carefully I walk Trying so hard to be brave They all see my fear Dark glasses cover their eyes As mine flow over with tears

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EPITAPH
Epitaph is a short inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone or monument. It is a statement or speech commemorating someone who has died: a funeral oration.

Example Epitaph: . Yet in this hearts most sacred place, thou, alone, shall dwell forever. (Moore)

Example of Epitaph (My own): No pain, no grief, no anxious fear can reach our darling here. They are gone from our home, but not from our heart.

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TERZA RIMA
Terza rima is a type of poetry consisting of 10 or 11 syllable lines arranged in three-line "tercets". The Italian poet Dante is credited with inventing terza rima and it has been used by many English poets including Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Auden.

Example of Terza Rima - Excerpt

Ode to the West Wind

By Percy Bysshe Shelley

O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being, Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou, Who chariotest to their dark wintery bed

The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low, Each like a corpse within its grave, until Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow

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Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill (Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) With living hues and odours plain and hill:

Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere; Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh, hear!

Example of Terza Rima (My Own):

Acquainted With the Night

I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rainand back in rain. I have out walked the furthest city light. I have looked down the saddest city lane. I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain. I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet When far away an interrupted cry Came over houses from another street, But not to call me back or say good-bye; And further still at an unearthly height One luminary clock against the sky Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right. I have been one acquainted with the night

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OTTAVA RIMA
The ottava rima is an Italian poetic form consisting of eight iambic lines with the rhyme scheme abababcc. The Italian poets used female rhymes for all three rhymes. The ottava rima was the standard form used in Italian epics, and has been called the principal Italian Stanza.

Examples of the Ottava Rima

Lord Byron

I want a hero: an uncommon want, When every year and month sends forth a new one, Till, after cloying the gazettes with cant, The age discovers he is not the true one; Of such as these I should not care to vaunt, Ill therefore take our ancient friend Don Juan We all have seen him, in the pantomime, Sent to the devil somewhat ere his time. - Don Juan, Canto the First, Stanza I

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Example of Ottava Rima (My own):

He is There

When sorrow lies entrenched within your heart And doubts, like ocean waves, around you churn, When chaos reigns oer life and wont depart And for the peace of yesterday you yearn, When evil thoughts are tearing you apart And there is nowhere left for you to turn, When dark of night persists throughout your day, Its time to fall upon your knees and pray.

For God is there, Hes always by your side, He is your lifes companion and your friend, Hes with you through each bitter storm you ride, From morns first light to sunset at days end. You must give up your bitterness and pride And to your Lord extend your hand again. He only wants for you to ask Him in And you will be forgiven for your sin.

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CINQUAIN
A cinquain is a five line poem.

one word Line 1: (subject or noun) two words Line 2: (adjectives) that describe line 1 three words Line 3: (action verbs) that relate to line 1 Line 4: four words (feelings or a complete sentence) that relates to line 1 one word Line 5: (synonym of line 1 or a word that sums it up)

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Example of Cinquain:

On The Street
By Paul McCann

Homeless . Cold, painful, hard. Life becomes a struggle. A place without mercy or hope. Unkind

Example of Cinquain (My Own):

The Tree
Tree Sturdy, Tall Climbing, swinging, playing Fun among the branches Maple

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