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 Working-Class Blues.
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. I know for sure that sadness captured my attention during this dark winter.
About the Aquarian and Working-Class Blues
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.
Working-Class Blues We are The people who Farm your food and build your New cars We are The people who Fix things that get broken By you We are The people who Implement ideas You dream We are The people who Drive the trucks and but food On your Tables Stocked with the food We can’t afford to eat Because You don’t Pay a living Wage, you think the little Guy is Stupid Expendable Ignorant about what’s Happening As if We were blind and Uneducated fools Walking Through life With our eyes closed The unwashed dirty horde Content With the Crumbs tossed from your Banquet table of greed And lies We are The people Who see beyond the game Of masks And shots Forced upon the Already effected Because We are The people who Stand on ground zero in This war We are The people who Worked without a Safety net when others Stayed home We are The people Who didn’t cower in fear Last year I think We should all stay At home and call it a Working Class strike Free from all work Collect unemployment And give Them the Keys to your truck And shout a loud good luck As they Roll down The road toward The freeway onramp and Laugh loud Because You know what waits For them just a few miles Ahead
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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I’m just discovering poetry so everything seems fascinating and novel to me. I honestly hope to learn and write poetry this well someday. Thanks for the post.
Thank you for reading. Good luck on your poetry adventure.