Welcome

This is my playground for poetry written for children with ideas and inspiration for writing your own poems. Come on in. Sit for a spell, have a cup of words to swirl around and make your own cup of poetry. I'm so glad you are here. I hope you'll find the Kingdom of Poetry a fun place to be.

Friday, February 19, 2016

RAIN


All through the night, I hear rain.
Deep in moonlight, I hear rain.

At the lighthouse where birds nest
albatross in flight, I hear rain.

Chickens crow a dull refrain.
Cocks start to fight, I hear rain.

They flap feathers up and down
reaching a new height, I hear rain.

How can their war make you smile?
Do you delight I hear rain?

I ask for peace, hatred makes us blind.
We've lost our sight, I hear rain.

I search for joy in a flood of tears.
I wake to write.  I hear rain.

   I'm trying to write a ghazal today.  I think I've followed the rules, but I'm not positive.  You can find out more about ghazels here. The ghazel, written in couplets, uses a single rhyme,( I've used the "ight" family) followed by a refrain.  In this form the poet tries to hide his name in the last couplet.  With my name it is fairly easy.  Rumi wrote in this form. One of the best modern poets to write ghazels was Agha Shahid Ali.
   Do you ever try to stretch with your poetry?  Your challenge for today is to try a new form or topic for writing your poem.  This may take a bit of research, but I know you can do it.  Have fun.

   To write is to grow.  I never know what I'm going to write until I've done it.
  
http://laurashovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/PF-tag.jpg
 Today is Poetry Friday and the Round Up is over at Donna JT Smith's blog Mainely Write.
Thanks, Donna, for hosting all of us.  You can find more poetry posts at Mainely Write.

11 comments:

  1. Nicely done, Joy. "I hear rain" was a good phrase to repeat. Tough form!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Tabatha. Yes, finding the phrase to work as a refrain is the hard part for me. That and trying NOT to enjamb the lines.

      Delete
  2. I'm always happy to hear your "view", Joy, and this is lovely. We could always use some rain here in Denver!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda, I always think of Denver as covered in snow in the winter. (And cold, of course.)

      Delete
  3. The repeat was nice. The rainbow, even better!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You must be having rain in your corner of paradise (judging by more than one rain poem, below). Thanks for reminding me of this interesting poetry form.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have a friend Lenard Moore, King of Haiku, who used to say to me every time I saw him--You ought to try a ghazel. I could never get anything to work. Finding the refrain was the killer of inspiration. Then this week it finally jelled. There are so many forms I haven't written in yet. I want to get better at form poetry.
      Now it is your turn to try another ghazel.

      Delete
  5. Love the refrain and the celebration of rain. Love the picture of paradise, too. =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Bridget. I liked your bug poem too. It was a longer poem for you.
      Come visit.

      Delete
  6. Thank you so much for introducing me to a new poetry form! I especially love your lines "I search for joy in a flood of tears. I wake to write. I hear rain." I love the way you used ("hid") your name so that there can be hidden meaning, too. Joy looking for herself in a flood of tears, waking to write; hearing more rain (pain?). Thank you! God bless you!

    ReplyDelete