succinctly random

succinctly random

let's have a "form" free-for-all

let the sonnets fight among themselves

let the villanelles exchange repetitive insults

with quatrains and tercets

all vets

of the poetic wars

the haiku have their short spats

rhyme its abab arguments with abba

or aabb or....you get the point

let the iambic pentameter prance

into a different enclosure

and gallop frantically

with free will

losing its gait...

while neighing with such intense pleasure

it has never before known

let Shakespeare garrulously laugh

over nothing

no tragedy

no meter

just fun

just poetry that emerges as it will

with a life and breath of its own

the heart rides English saddle

because it can be more in touch

with the lines it produces

let's all let go of that which might

constrain us

write or type until our fingers bleed

with relief

with release

with a new freedom

that colors our pages

with who we really are

poets, poets, poets

yes, that lot.

erin-cilberto

8/15/22

Reviews

[William Michael Reeves]

Well now, that's a LOT to say to the LOT of us who plant poems in an empty LOT beside the cafe. The new freedom is very olde. It is what it is, whatever we want it to be. And you will see what your last review meant to me. It was with glee I read this comedy. To be free, or not to be? You have answered the question for me. Thank you kindly.

Billigami

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, be free....
thank you, Bill,
j.

[William Michael Reeves]

Interesting. What I'm about to post is all about freedom. And written free of formal constraint, just the informal requirements of billigami. Which of course means it's ten times more complicated than a Sonnet or Villanelle. When you motivated me by suggesting I let it go free, I think that subconsciously triggered my idea. Very interesting ...

[Nusquam Esse]

This has been a lesson for me over the years, my earliest poems were many of these types of formed poetry... but soon you begin to realize that poetry is about conveying a meaning that someone else can make their own, it is the way the words flow, and the love of language which can both convey with such precision and ambiguity. A true love of language will find value in both, they will play with both... to muse over the MOST accurate word, or to seek out a word which can have multiple meanings. To see how different similar words may carry a different nuance and rhythm... and to eventually savor the silence between words--be it punctuation choices or stanza breaks. In the end, rhyme and syllable counts, meter and structure are but tools to explore that wordplay, ways to accentuate it. But sometimes we get so focused on the tools that we forget our medium... and soon you are trying to spin a clay pot on a wood lathe, metaphorically speaking. In the end, is it not liberating to use language in ways that stimulate and excite us, be it discovering a rhyme, getting the flow between lines organic, or simply dumping our thoughts to paper as raw as possible? I went from structured poems to experimenting with 'stream of consciousness' poetry avoiding any form of punctuation and trying to get transitional words to connect stanzas, so they could read differently depending on how you interpreted the pauses. Now I don't force either, but just enjoy the words for what they are in the moment?

Ironically, I was never a writer as a kid (never kept a diary, and only wrote begrudgingly for assignments), and generally did poorly in English class. This reminded me of a poem I turned in to one of my English teachers that started something like
"The rack, thumb screws, or the ironmaiden
No torture is quite like the essay laden.
MLA APA and other dumb formats
Just shoot me in the head and make me into a doormat."

It was amusing to see so many literary devices being 'namedropped' here.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, just shoot me in the head..I have felt that way before when writing or better yet when reading much of the old verse with its iambic pentameter and rhyme scheme.
I think there is a certain amount of form that finds its way into what we write even as we free verse.
I really appreciate the insight in your review,
thank you,
j.

[Nusquam Esse]

It is odd reading some of the 'classics', as they often feel really forced; the rhymes are ever so slightly off beat, making me wonder how it was supposed to be enunciated, as it just doesn't seem right when I say it... the rhymes may be painfully simple or the metaphor very straightforward... etc. I honestly see some poetry on here (granted not the majority) that seems comparable with some of those 'greats'. Of course, there are some formed poems that really are improved with that meter and rhyme. La Fontaine de Sang (The Fountain of Blood) by Charles Baudelaire comes to mind. I love the imagery, and the way the words flow (read translations that do or don't try to rhyme... but the original French is very well written), and the final lines dig in deep. I honestly don't think it would have been as good out of its structure. But I guess that is what makes truly great poetry, it doesn't matter if it does or doesn't have structure if the words are handled masterfully. On the other side, Un Amor (Love: Because of You) by Pablo Neruda is wonderful to explore in both English and Spanish (you can find readings on youtube) regardless of lacking any real structure; but the selection of words is what makes it so wonderful... there is also his one line poem "In what language does rain fall on tormented cities?" Which carries so much depth and impact to so few words.

[red93]

Nice one JE-C and do you know I somewhere detect the Ghost of Wallace Stevens in the mix. A really excellent plea for Poetic Freedom to reign.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, red,
j.

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

“let's all let go of that which might
constrain us
write or type until our fingers bleed
with relief
with release”
Here! Here! Great tongue-in-cheek, so to speak Jacob! Form has its place, but not when hearts race- to the finish line. I am not learned enough to follow form, so I do me. Great metaphor, asymmetric form, imagery- very classy and droll, my friend. Enjoyed the read. You are definitely an icon in “that lot”.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

you are so kind with your words, thank you, Annette,
j.

[Coyote Poetry]

I agree Jacob.
"with a new freedom
that colors our pages
with who we really are
poets, poets, poets"
I been reading Oscar Wilde yesterday. I wish I could write like him. People, like us, who love to write. We must. Thank you for sharing the outstanding poetry.
Coyote

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, we must, Coyote,
we absolutely must.
thank you,
j.

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome Jacob.

[Davey Payne]

Playful and disarming this is wonderful. Like a call to arms. Great stuff

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you, Davey,
j.

[andrew mitchell]

Had to smile reads like a mutiny, a poetry rebellion, a demonstration with placards calling poetic police to lay down their arms, or pencils. Nicely done J.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Arms or pencils?
I like that...thank you, andrew,
j.

[Temperance]

just poetry that emerges as it will
with a life and breath of its own

These lines pretty much says it all and, which has been my experience of late. Great tribute to poets or, the details that can get in the way of the natural manifestation of a poem. Love it! Thank you, Temp

[jacob erin-cilberto]

details, yes...they can get in the way.
thank you for your kind review, Temp,
j.

[Temperance]

My pleasure.

[Lathen Griffiths]

Poets, poets, poets ….. love it!


Lathe

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you, Lathe.
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

Free and easy like a Painter at an Easel… the Sonnets of Shakespeare are always on my mind. dearly, Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and I think for Shakespeare sonnets were a breeze to write...they all seemed to flow so naturally....nothing contrived.
thank you, Pat,
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

Thank you for stirring my imagination… like a Tudor opening a door… gently, Pat