Blitz Poetry is an interesting style of poetry with specific rules. I have written this style of poetry in the past. I thought it might be interesting to play with it again in the cold month of February. The rules make this form of poetry challenging. The rhythm of the poems created using this style depends on word choice and placement. This style of poetry, created by Robert Keim, takes thought and precision. My experience in the past is that it can sometimes feel like you are writing on a fast-moving freight train filled with words. Even the title of the poem is found within the word placement. I call this Blitz poem Round of Escape.
The rules for writing a Blitz Poem and Round of Escape
A Blitz Poem is 50 lines of short phrases or images
*Line 1- use a short phrase or image
*Line 2-another short phrase or image that uses the same first word as the first word of line 1.
*Lines 3 and 4-short phrase or image that uses the last word of line 2 as the first word of the line.
*Lines 5 and 6, short phrases or images using the last word from line 4 as the first word. Continue until you reach line 48 using the same pattern found in this rule as lines 5 and 6.
*Line 49 will use the first word of line 48
*Line 50 should be the last word of 47
The title should be three words long, using the first word of line 3 followed by a preposition or conjunction and then the first word of line 47.
*There should be no punctuation.
As you can see, there are many rules, but I plan to have fun with this Blitz Poetry style.
Round of Escape Pretty painted ponies Ponies go round and round Round and round in circles Round and round a track Track made of wood Track on a carousel Carousel spinning fast Carousel with a calliope Calliope playing a song Calliope with an organ sound Sound that fills up the air Sound to make the ride last Last longer than the one before Last until we scream for more More of the painted ponies More of the pony’s dance Dance to the music and hold on tight Dance to the music all through the night Night always ends our fun Night comes to the carnival Carnaval has just begun Carnival of dreamers Dreamers standing in the sun Dreamers riding ponies of brown, black, and white White as a blanket of snow White as a flash of lightning Lightning to light the sky Lightning to flash and strike Strike us awake Strike us with an electric Electric wakeup call Electric sizzle of the crowd Crowd of spectators waiting to ride Crowd of clowns standing beside Beside the carousel spinning round Beside the bearded lady with tears in her eyes Eyes that watch the ponies prance Eyes that search for romance Romance in dark corners Romance while painted ponies dance in the round Rounding dark corners where secrets hide Rounding illusions of vanity and pride Pride of pride prancing ponies Pride of a clown who refuses to cry Cry as the carnival crashes to the ground Cry for the elephant who can’t escape Escape the torture of the whip Escape the danger of being alone Escape… Whip…
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 love what you’ve done with this complex style, Molly. Hugs 💕🙂
Thank you. Have a great day, Harmony.
You too, Molly 💖
Thank you.