Get Busy

It’s time for me to switch my poetic styles this month. The winter is dragging on, and I wanted to jazz things up a bit. I came across the Bop Poetry style and thought it sounded interesting. Afaa Michael Weaver created this style at an African American poetry retreat at Cave Canem. I love the simplicity of this style of verse because the rules are very simple. There is no thyme structure, and the stanzas are unmetered. I call this Bop Poem Get Busy.

The simple rules of Bop Poetry and Get Busy

The poem is three stanzas long.

The first stanza is six lines long and lays out a problem.

The second stanza is eight lines long and explores or expands the problem.

The third stanza is six lines long and gives a solution or failed attempt at resolution of the problem,

There is a short refrain between the stanzas.

I think this style will be fun to explore. You are welcome to join me while I explore this poetic style. I’m not certain if I can pull off this switch. It is challenging to come up with a new poem every day. I hope you have as much fun reading these attempts as I am writing them. Now, if I can only capture the laid-back feel of the Bop in Get Busy.

Get Busy

I got lazy
And I got fat
Not that I was skinny
When I started
Not great when you turn old
It makes you a target for every disease

Stop doing the things you need to do and regret what you got.

I blamed COVID
Didn’t we all
We made it our excuse
For whatever we didn’t want to do
So I hide myself behind my wall
From a microscopic virus
And I sat on my couch and watched T.V.
And I didn’t pay much attention to me.

Stop doing the things you need to do and regret what you got.


I got smart
And I got busy
And rediscovered my way to the gym
Now I walk five miles a day
And the results are to pay
Type two diabetes has nothing on me.

Stop doing the things you need to do and regret what you got.

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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