Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Sunday Scribblings - Limits

Limits:
When do I reach
The line I dare not cross
Teetering on the edge - will I
Risk it all and fall into the abyss
Or will I pull back from the ledge
Just in time to live a
Smaller life of
Limits

I need to give credit here. I came across the information on this poetic form called Rictameter at a blog called Wordsalad by Luke Prater which can be found here:
http://lukepraterswordsalad.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/let-me/
He explains it as well, but the format is dictated by the number of syllables per line: 2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2 and the first and last lines are the same. Thanks Luke.

19 comments:

  1. Very well written! and perfectly decribed.

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  2. Luke sure loves forms, doesn't he?

    I usually find forms too restrictive, but on occasion I've fit my words into one or another... sometime I even make up my own forms, like a piece I'm currently working on that has an odd rhyming scheme.

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  3. My goodness that's complicated..well done you! I just love the feeling you have put into this piece - how limits can both be frightening but also offer safety..thank you for popping by also..Jae :)

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  4. Lovely rhythm and thought process. Particularily like the image of teetering and the way you wonder what choices will be made.

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  5. Deborah - thank you!
    Eric - Yes, Luke has lots of different types of formal verse. I find the structure in general can be limiting, but also provides a framework. Is yours posted yet? I'll look for it.
    Jaerose - Thanks. I struggle with the whole risk/safety issue a lot. yw - your prose is amazing!
    Margaret - Thank you for stopping. Glad the image works for you :o)

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  6. Mary - Yes, I just posted it here: Syncopation

    My rhyming 'scheme' (if it can truly be called one) is in each first line, where the last word rhymes with a previous word in the same line, but the preceding words are all plural (ending in "s").

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  7. That was wonderful and so wise. I am excited to try this. I have read wordsalad. He is a fun poet to be sure.

    Limits, a fantastic piece!

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  8. Thank you Kristen! There are lots of different types of poems in (on?) wordsalad, and he explains them all very well. And, yes, he is a very talented poet. I will look forward to seeing some of them on your blog :o) Cheers!

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  9. Amazing! You are very talented! I agree with Jae. You said so much in so few words.

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  10. well written indeed! that runs so deep

    happy blogging :)

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  11. Thank you Coco!

    Thank you WarmSunshine!

    Happy blogging to both of you as well!

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  12. Limits shmimits! Everything to excess! ;)

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  13. I am not much of a poet and do not know alot about poetry but I really enjoyed theses lines.
    they say a ton about life and they say it well.

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  14. Very nice Rictameter, Mary :) Try centre-aligning it also, you may prefer it that way. Also, if you're into writing in iambic or trochaic meter, it can be worth trying one of these in either of those, it makes the flow really smooth. Mine that you read- "Let Me" - I consciously wrote trochaic all thru. (that's the syllabic foot that goes DUM-di, as opposed to the iamb, which goes di-DUM, as sonnets etc use).

    Strong stuff, as usual, my friend

    Kindest regards

    Luke @ WordSalad

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  15. Mary, we should all know our limits.
    Well said.
    Pamela

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  16. Interesting form...rather edgy, like the poem, I think.

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  17. Thank you Flaubert and Lilibeth! Cheers

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