Dead Beat Daddy

I wanted to find some interesting styles of poetry for 2022. Metered poetry has always been a challenge for me. I discovered I subconsciously avoided the challenge of dabbling in this particular writing pattern. This year I decided to spread my wings and fly into the face of the storm. I stumbled across the Aquarian by accident and thought it might be interesting to play with this metered style during the last part of January and the entire month of February. This one I will call Dead Beat Daddy.

I am discovering this style of poetry is harder than it first appeared. You only have to develop fourteen syllables for each stanza, but sometimes you want to write more. Plus, I find the constant counting of the syllables distracting. I also have to fight the urge to create rhythms. These short poems have gotten darker, and I am not sure why. Maybe it’s caused by the dark winter or all the conflicting messages we get these days. There is one thing for sure. They are filled with a touch of sadness.

About the Aquarian and Dead Beat Daddy

Maris Mazz created this metered style of poetry.

Each stanza has lines of 2/4/6/2 syllables. They can have any number of stanzas creating multiples of 4 lines. They aren’t supposed to rhythm at all.

Dead Beat Daddy

Dead Beat
Daddy did you
Know about the endless
Nights I


Stayed 
Awake and lost
Sleep wondering about
Why you

Left us
Face a world filled
With hopeless poverty
Wanting

Yearning
For a simple
Answer to a burning 
question

About
Why you had to
Leave us lonely and poor
Missing

The way
Things used to be
When you drove us in your
Black car

Or played
With us in the
Yard outside the beige house
Where we

Lived and
Exist as a
A happy family
The five

Of us
So did you get
Mad at mama is that
Why you

Left us
Standing under
The California
Hot sun

Or did
You find yourself
Another family
To love

Did you 
Know about the
Poverty and creeping
Cold here

In the 
Indiana
Wintertime filled with ice
And snow

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.

Be sure to follow Molly on Twitter!

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Published by henhouselady

I am the author of Saving the Hen House. I didn't know when I started it would turn into a series. I love to ride motorcycles, the blues, my family, and going on adventures. This old hen rocks.

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