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 Unwashed But Fit .
The rules for writing a Blitz Poem and Unwashed But Fit
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.
Unwashed But Fit The erection of barriers Barriers keeping out the unwashed Unwashed masses trying to get ahead Unwashed masses trying to keep in step Step beyond their zip code Step into a better life Life that leaves the struggle behind Life in living color Color bold and bright Color barriers to block Block people from rising Block those with the ability Ability to overcome obstacles Ability to run the race Race to go the extra mile Race to outrun the clock Clock that ticks down the minutes Clock that defeats us all All of us run out of time All of us need a hand Hand to climb over the wall Hands to keep us from falling Falling into despair Falling without a net Net to protect the landing Net to even up the odds Odds of achieving Odds on the playing field Field that moves the starting line Field where you start uneven Uneven day and night Uneven things are never right Right at gaging character Right at winning awards Awards that don’t mean a thing Awards that bring shame Shame for the things you don’t know Shame for the place where you started Started and out of place Started thirsty and broken Broken put fixable Broken but with a little repair Repair the inconsistencies. Repair the invisible parts Parts that hide deep in the soul Parts that never seemed to fit Fit unrealistic expectations Fit into a broken system Fit… Expectations…
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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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