Word Daddy’s Return

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 Word Daddy’s Return.

 The simple rules of Bop Poetry and Word Daddy’s Return

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 Word Daddy’s Return.

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Word Daddy’s Return

The muse breezed through the door
His biker boots left mud prints on my floor
Fresh ink on his neck── a tattoo of a noose──
A rope perfect for dangling
And proclaims, “Hey, babe, how’s it hanging?”
He lowers his weight into my chair, leans, and grins.

Word Daddy is back from his traveling, and I feel my life slowly unraveling.

His new leather jacket smells like the wind
I’m tempted to ask where he has been.
On the ring finger of his right hand── he wears a gold skull ring─ 
On the side of his nose, he has on made of silver.
And I think, “Well, that is new.”
His head has been shaved bare.
And his breath smells like beer.
I should send his sorry ass away.

Word Daddy is back from his traveling, and I feel my life slowly unraveling.
“We should get down to work?”
He suggests with a gold-toothed smirk.
I toss The Chicago Manual of Style onto his lap
And declare, “You go first.”
He stands to his feet and heads for the door
“Grammar ain’t the shit you pay me for.”

Word Daddy is back from his traveling, and I feel my life slowly unraveling.

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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