I decided to live dangerously in October. It’s a scary month, so I’m going to explore a form of poetry with stringent rules that moves at a rapid-fire pace. I’m going to write blitz poetry. This unusual style, developed by Robert Keim, has set rules using connecting phrases to create a 50-line verse I titled Tongue and Bee.
Line 1 is a short phrase or image. Line 2 is another short phrase or image using the same first word as line 1. Lines 3 and 4 starts with the same word used as the last word of line 2. Then, lines 5 and 6 use the last word of line 4. This pattern is followed until line 48. Line 49 uses the last word in 48. Line 50 begins with the last word in line 47. The title is three words long. The title format is the first word of line 3, a preposition or conjunction, and the first word of 47. You can’t use any punctuation. Luckily, these poems don’t need to rhyme. This poetic adventure will either be a lot of fun or leave me frustrated. I will call my first Blitz poem Tongue and Bee. Let’s get our spooky scare on right now.
Tongue and Bee
Bee invaded my mouth
Bee stung my tongue
Tongue experiences pain
Tongue insulted by offense
Offense mingled with food
Offense mixed with hunger
Hunger left unsatisfied
Hunger so misunderstood
Misunderstood by the younger
Misunderstood by the family
Family sitting at the table
Family my only defense
Defense against the bees
Defense with swatting hands
Hands making bees flee
Hands that remain
Remain to clean the table
Remain to share my pain
Pain in mouth
Pain in heart
Heart that took offense
Heart that loves deep
Deep desire
Deep need
Need for forgotten meal
Need for company
Company to laugh
Company to share the story
Story about damaged tongue
Story about bee stings
Stings in the early fall
Stings because the flowers died
Died because of winter
Died because of cold
Cold weather change
Cold wandering heart
Heart of summer
Heart and soul
Soul of travelers
Souls of those moving
Moving beyond grace
Moving beyond bee sting
Sting in the mouth
Sting of venom
Venom of anger
Venom mixed with salad
Salad mixed with bee
Salad chewed small
Small
Bee
Who is Molly Shea?
Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh. To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.
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That is one hell of an adventure! I was excited myself to see what you were going to take up and ace this month. This is fantastic and clearly, not so easy to write! 😅 Well done on this one! Hope you can keep going with this challenge without much struggles. 💕
Thank you.
Wow! That’s a powerful poem!!! I love seeing how limits/edges/guidelines/forms can be a boon to creativity… And I continue to admire how diligently you pour your eloquence and honesty and vision into SO MANY different forms of poetry (and some prose, too). I am particularly struck in this poem by these lines: “Hunger left unsatisfied/Hunger so misunderstood/Misunderstood by the younger/Misunderstood by the family.” Thank you for continuing to be a creative inspiration!
Thank you for reading. I havr three months left in the challenge. Things could get interesting.
Bravo to you for deciding to live dangerously! 👏🏼 I really enjoyed your poem and the explanation behind this style of poetry. Thank you.
Thank you.
Molly – I’ve seen these before… but I like yours the best so far, I think. I’ll have to try one!
<3
David
Thank you. Have fun trying this style,
To say the least, the poem moves along. I think the form could work for comedy as it does here for tragedy. This could be performed with choreography.
I don’t know if you were ever stung this way. I was, thank goodness long ago.
i was stung this way. It inspired the poem.
Ouch. Sorry.
I survived. My tongue was sore for two days. I think I swallowed the bee.