March Poetry

[yaralindi]

We're coming up on April; which is Poetry Month. I'd like to do ballads in April so this is a heads up to start thinking about the Arda-themed story you'd like to tell in ballad form. J.R.R.T. was particularly good at ballads.

In the meantime there's March. Since I'm planning a ballad for April, how about continuing in the short poem forms with the creation of an Arda-themed epigram?

Epigrams can be as short as one line or quite long. Most are 2 or 4 lines.

"Rubber snake. Certainly fake," is a couplet epigram.

"There is a general rule,
That every poet is a fool,
But I myself may serve to show it,
That every fool is not a poet."

The above is a quatrain epigram.

Oscar Wilde produced one of the more memorable one-line epigrams.

"I can resist everything except temptation."

As the examples show, epigrams are very short and witty, often satirical and sometimes rhyming poems. It is characterized by being brief and fairly forceful; often with a humorous ending, though not necessarily so. Some of my favorite epigrams from William Blake are not humorous at all. The real key to an effective epigram, as with poetry in general, is imagery. I'll start with a quatrain.

"To see Valinor in a touch of light,
And hear Vanyar among the trees,
With Taniquetil as dark as night,
From the power of a Gimli sneeze."

Hopefully, I've provided vivid imagery in the above with the sights and sounds of Valinor in the Vanyar capital city of Taniquetil, combined with a touch of music in the form of an abab rhyme pattern, and a humorous bit about Gimli sneezing out every light in the city. I'd love to hear your thoughts on my attempt but I'd love more to read your epigrams.

[yaralindi]

We pull our way through bog and mire
Murky sunlight filters through twisted trees.
To reach a wild and ancient spire
Where we can eat elevenses.

[frodosmiss]

sigh Nicely done!!

[yaralindi]

We stand high on walls of ancient stone,
Gates ringing from Urukai knocks,
While beside me Gimli lets out a groan,
So I reply, "Shall I find you a box?"