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 titled Burn Where Drear.
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 this Blitz poem Burn Where Drear. Let’s get our spooky scare on right now.
Burn Where Drear
Leaves are starting to turn
Leaves are ready to burn
Burn in a pile in the yard
Burn without passion or regard
Regard for the rake
Regard for the labor
Labor to scrape them in a pile
Labor to reconcile
Reconcile the energy
Reconcile the effort
Effort to make the lawn
Effort the goes beyond
Beyond making the yard neat
Beyond having a front-row seat
Seat at the seasons turning
Seat at the leaf burning
Burning in a bonfire
Burning with desire
Desire to send sparks shooting into the sky
Desire not to wonder why
Why do we burn and smolder
Why do we waste so many days
Days doing drudgery
Days dreading the dreary
Dreary days of winter
Dreary days ahead
Ahead of the coming year
Ahead of the approaching fear
Fear of the cold and snow
Fear of the high and low
Low pressure
Low expectations
Expectation of for a future
Expectation of freedoms loss
Loss of warmth
Loss of fall
Fall the colorful season
Fall the explosion of color
Color to brighten our prospects
Color without grey defects
Defects of a winter-weary world
Defects like a flag unfurled
Unfurled to remind us here
Unfurled in a winter world so drear
Drear minus the red and gold
Drear is the grey and the cold
Cold
Gold
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 was really, really good, Molly! More please! 🙂
Thank you. Have a blessed day.
Nice one!
Thank you. I’m finding this month to be a challenge.
The title captures us and takes us thoughtfully on a sad, reflective journey. Wow!
Thank you for reading.