Blogging, Burnout and a Break

I made it nearly to the end of the A-Z Challenge, and then I just – stopped. I couldn’t write any more, or maybe I might have if I’d tried really, really hard, but it was a busy weekend and I just couldn’t. I enjoyed the challenge, and my theme was great fun, but it

A-Z Challenge: X is for…

…nothing, apparently. I can’t find a form of poetry that begins with X. Time to invent a “nonce form”? X is a troublesome characterIt does nothing that cannot be done by others. Like c, or k stuck onto s; but those are much busier letters. Maybe they get tired x is here to help From

A-Z Challenge: Waka

I love these little Japanese forms; they are just the kind of thing you want to write after a long, tedious day at work. A waka has 5 lines, grouped slightly more precisely than a tanka. Statistics The census form asksage, job, orientation. It does not ask muchimportant information.Did you eat? Are you lonely? This

A-Z Challenge: Villanelle

I thought I posted this yesterday, but apparently it got stuck in drafts! W is coming later! I’m going to come clean: I have already published this poem on vocal.media. It was difficult, and I have not got the energy for another villanelle tonight. Why is a villanelle difficult? 5 tercets followed by a couplet;

A-Z Challenge: Ushnik

There was a surprising paucity of options for U. Ushnik (उष्णिक्) is a classic Vedic quatrain form with 7-syllable lines. In other words, it’s thousands of years old and I’m probably about to ruin it. No pressure! Underappreciated Salutation to the moonis less preferred than the sun’s – we greet the one who burns us,not

A-Z Challenge: Tanka

Yes, I’m still running late, but I promise I will get both T and U published today! 💪🏻 Tanka is a 5-line Japanese form with the syllable pattern 5-7-5-7-7. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Advice Do not keep your dreamsClose to your chest, protectedThey need air to grow.Do not smother your questionFor fear that someone

A-Z Challenge: Sonnet

Late! I know. Yesterday, I literally worked all day and had no time for poetry. Luckily, I should be able to catch up, because this sonnet was already written and I might still manage something beginning with t later! A sonnet has 14 lines of two syllables, ababcdcdefefgg. I am no Shakespeare, but I quite

A-Z Challenge: Rime Couee

I cannot write a description of this poem; it is beyond my capacity at the moment. Read about it here, if you have more energy than me. Yawn I am too tired to write a verse;I feel I should be in a hearse – at least curled up in bed.A challenge is meant to be

A-Z Challenge: Quatern

No rhyming rules, which is either a shame or a relief – I haven’t decided yet. The quatern has four four-line stanzas and a refrain which jumps down a line with every stanza. Black Eye You’re just as bad as him, darling.You threw that ashtray at the wall,just because he was holleringa bit; you’re still

A-Z Challenge: Palindrome Poetry

A palindrome poem is like those words that are spelt the same backwards and forwards, only longer. Inspired by the cat, as usual. Open Window at Dusk Darkness sighs in;cats suspiciously observingcurtain quivers,night breezes,whisperingbreezes…night quiverscurtain observing suspiciously cats insighs darkness. This is my O for the A-Z Blogging Challenge 2022.  My theme is poetry –