Short Poetry Workshop

AnthologyVolume 1 – 2008 – 2009

Sponsored by Inksters

The Short Poetry Workshop has been held weekly every Tuesday

evening in Second Life since February 2008. Poets from all over the

world come to Inksters Rose Garden on Cookie Island to learn about

various short poetry forms and to try their hand at writing them.

This Anthology is a compilation of poems written by the poets who

have attended the workshops. The graphic textures are the covers

of the books and artwork that are displayed within the Short Poetry

Library, which houses the note cards and poetry written over the

past two years.

The success of the Short Poetry Workshop is due to the efforts and

talent of the poets who come to learn, write and share new poetry

forms.

Special thanks to Nebbisk Oh, ToryLynn Writer, Thinkerer Melville,

Elixia Writer, Ngagpa Writer, and DanteOsaka Deschanel, who have

assisted as guest hosts for the workshops.

We dedicate this Anthology to Thinkerer Melville, whose patronage

of the arts has made it possible to make the Short Poetry Workshop

and Library a global success.

Sunnie Beaumont

Introduction

ContentsHaiku DanteOsaka Deschanel 5Limerick Nebbisk Oh 6Fibonacci Sunnie Beaumont 7Senryu DanteOsaka Deschanel 8Roses are Red Nebbisk Oh 9Quinzaine Sunnie Beaumont 10

Tanka DanteOsaka Deschanel 11

Zen Poetry Ngagpa Writer 12Erotic Poetry DanteOsaka Deschanel 13Cinquain Ngagpa Writer 14Cinquain Sunnie Beaumont 152 Minute Wonders Ngagpa Writer 16Aphorisms Thinkerer Melville 17Japanese Love Poems Ngagpa Writer 185x5 Poetry ToryLynn Writer 19Renga DanteOsaka Deschanel

Sunnie Beaumont 20Diamante Elixia Writer 21Diamante DanteOsaka Deschanel 22Etheree Sunnie Beaumont 23Haiga Lehua Lamington 24Lanturne Pomona Writer 25Katauta Coke Bernstein 26Nonet Coke Bernstein 27Lu-Shih Ngagpa Writer 28Lu-Shih DanteOsaka Deschanel 29

How to Write Sunnie Beaumont 30

Pathya Vat Sunnie Beaumont 31

Septet Persephone Phoenix 32

Tetractys EvaMoon Ember 33

Kyoka Klannax Northmead 34

Renhai DanteOsaka DeschanelSunnie Beaumont 35

Sijo Sunnie Beaumont 36

Septolet Hypatia Pickens 37

Little Willies Nebbisk Oh 38

Naani Ngagpa Writer 39

Rictameter Rafe Jonson 40

Triolet DanteOsaka Deschanel 41

Holiday 08 Ngagpa Writer 42

Holiday 08 Sunnie Beaumont 43

Sci-Fi Haiku DanteOsaka DeschanelNgagpa Writer 44

Tan Renga Conundrum AristocratDanteOsaka Deschanel 45

Tan Renga DanteOsaka DeschanelSunnie Beaumont 46

Clerihew Ngagpa Writer 47

Roll-a-poem Group Poem 48

Haibun Sunnie Beaumont 49Neb Nights 50

Index of Poets 51

Glossary of Poetry Forms 53

Quinzaine - Sunnie

Tankaby DanteOsaka Deschanel

coming home tiredafter a long day's work,there on my pillowour terminal cat sleeps --I'll stay up a bit longer

meeting with the bossto discuss my performance--his is monotone--in my left show, my toefinds the hole in my sock

my son used to laughin this now empty playgroundwhere breezes still comeunbidden, chill, from the north --almost, almost, the swings...

Zen Poetryby Ngagpa Writer

The cricket song,Wakes from the mist.Beyond the clouds,I see the mountain peak.

I walk the garden pathReading the Heart SutraAutumn leavesCrushed beneath my feet

Ngagpa Writer

Cinquain

WearyShe travels lightLeaving behind her pastdark bruises that brandish her cheek fading

by Sunnie Beaumont

PassionForlorn TristanEnchanted by IseultEven in death his heart enduresIn love

by Ngagpa Writer

Renga

Diamanteby DanteOsaka Deschanel

WarExplosive, chaotic,Destroying, demolishing, bloodletting,Anger, imbalance, balance, breath, settling, reposing, unmoving, silent, still,Peace

Haiga - Lehua

Katautaby Coke Bernstein

Your shadow dancesAnd I run within its heart.What will happen at sundown?

You will dance in meAnd we will laugh like childrencatching fireflies at night.

Lu-Shihby DanteOsaka Deschanel

In the hollow, night falls,The wind is not so fierceOutside the autumn storm Tears leaves, shrieks, piercesThe skin, bites hard, relentless,.Inside, I try to sleep.Wind in my heart is not still,It is cold and hard, bites deep.

How to Write Short Poetry Workshopby Sunnie Beaumont

The Blossom

deeppinkblossom fragrant trapthe flower’s portraitandrogynous, with tendril’s grace,it lures the gerbil as its prey with marked emptinessbroken stemit hangslowdeep

Renhai

Little Williesby Nebbisk Oh

Little Willie's, sad to say,No longer with the living.His family loved him dearlyWhen we served him for Thanksgiving.

Little Willie had a colt,He thought it looked real silly.He also has a hunting knife,And now he's got a filly.

Holiday Poetry 2008by Sunnie Beaumont

Christmas

snowfallsgentlythe child dreamsas his parents screamover bicycle assembly

Sci-Fi Haiku

earth receding in my rear-view mirror --Oh! So much space!

by DanteOsaka Deschanel

passing the ring nebulathe spacecraftleaves no wake

by Ngagpa Writer

Tan Rengaby DanteOsaka Deschanel and Sunnie Beaumont

late winter sunseteven the melting snowmancasts a long shadow

the whistling tea kettlefogs the kitchen window

ClerihewBy Ngagpa Writer

President George W BushThey finally gave him the pushFollowing the laws of DeuteronomyHe only managed to screw the economy

The king of rock ElvisSwivelled his pelvisBut over time it swelled in sizeWith too many cheeseburgers and fries

Haibunby Sunnie Beaumont

I sit outside the small house of my cousin’s farm, far from Paris. The bright hot sun warms my shoulders as I gaze at the valleys of sunflowers. The rhythm of the large yellow faces sway in unison to the gentle breezes that roll down from the nearby hills.

watching the sunflower the sound of beesdrowned by the motorbike

“Neb Nights”

On special occasions the Short Poetry Workshop is hosted by Nebbisk

Oh who has presented various word games to challenge our minds and

sharpen our literary wits. These evenings are always highly regarded

by the participants, as it gives us all a challenge and a bit of

competition.

Neb’s scripting talents have created various objects that make it easier

to present the word games and track the scores, making it more fun for

the participants to play the word games. Some of the word games we’ve

played are:

Fictionebby - a game where people make up false definitions for a

given word and try to get other participants to vote for their definition.

Roll-a-Poem – a game where by clicking on the ―die‖ object (which is

really a cone-shaped object), each poet receives a number which they

use as the number of words in their line. Numbers are generated

randomly.

Word Equation – a game where the participants are given an

abbreviated equation of a phrase and must determine the actual

meaning.

Neb Words – a game where the participant makes up clever sentences,

phrases or poems around a given word.

Astrakelly Writer Roll-a-poem 48

Coke Bernstein KatautaNonet

2627

Conundrum Aristocrat Tan RengaRoll-a-poem

4548

DanteOsaka Deschanel HaikuSenyruTankaErotic PoetryRengaDiamanteLu-ShihRenhaiTrioletSci-Fi HaikuTan RengaTan RengaRoll-a-poem

581113202229354144454648

Elixir Writer Diamante 21

EvaMoon Ember Tetractys 33

Hypatia Pickens Septolet 37

Klannax Northmead Kyoka 34

Lehua Lamington Haiga 24

Lillian Morpork Roll-a-poem 48

Nebbisk Oh LimerickRoses are RedLittle WilliesRoll-a-poem

693848

Index of Poets

Ngagpa Writer Zen PoetryCinquainCinquain2 Minute WondersJapanese Love PoemsLu-ShihNaaniHoliday 08Sci-Fi HaikuClerihewRoll-a-poem

1214151618283942444748

Oberon Onmura Roll-a-poem 48Persephone Phoenix Septet 32PhoenixRose Decosta Roll-a-poem 48Pomona Writer Lanturne 25Rafe Jonson Rictameter 40Sunnie Beaumont Fibonacci

QuinzaineCinquainRengaEthereeHow to WritePathya VatRenhaiSijoHoliday 08Tan RengaRoll-a-poemHaibun

7101520233031353643464849

Thinkerer Melville AphorismsRoll-a-poem

1748

ToryLynn Writer 5x5 PoetryRoll-a-poem

1948

2 Minute WondersThe practice of taking approximately two minutes to capture the stream of

consciousness as a poem.

Aphorisms & EpigramsAn aphorism expresses a general truth in a pithy sentence.

An epigram is a short poem with a clever twist at the end or a concise and

witty statement.

CinquainCinquain is a short, usually unrhymed poem consisting of twenty-two syllables

distributed as 2, 4, 6, 8, 2, in five lines.

ClerihewClerihew is a type of epigram invented by E. Clerihew Bentley (1875-1956). A

whimsical, satirical or comic verse consisting of four lines - two couplets and

an aabb specific rhyming scheme. It deals with a person/character within the

first rhyme and the second line ends with something that rhymes with the

name of the person.

DiamanteThe Diamante is a seven-line diamond-shaped poetic form developed by

American author Iris M. Tiedt as an educational tool. Diamantes have two

patterns with each pattern using subject, noun and adjectives, verbs or

gerunds

Erotic PoetryPoetry written with an erotic theme.

Glossary of Poetry Forms

EthereeThe Etheree consists of ten lines with graduated syllables. of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,

8, 9, 10 syllables for a total of 55 syllables or can be reversed as 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5,

4, 3, 2, 1.

FibonacciThe Fibonacci Poem is a poem where each line contains the number of syllables

based on the Fibonacci Number Sequence. The Fibonacci Sequence is a

mathematical sequence in which every figure is the sum of the two preceding it.

0+1=1, 1+1=2; 1+2=3; 2+3=5; 3+5=8, and so on. The Fib poetry style uses each

number of the sequence as a set of syllabic (or word) counts per line. The

sequence is usually 1,1,2,3,5,8 but can have many variations

Five by FiveFive lines of five syllables

HaibunHaibun is a literary composition combining prose and haiku poetry which

originated in Japan. Matsuo Basho was the earliest master of the form in the

17th century. Haibun prose can include biography, autobiography, diary, essay,

prose poem, travel literature, short story and others, and more than one haiku

may be used

HaigaHaiga is a haiku painting, originally combining the elements of poetry, painting,

and calligraphy in one form. Hai refers to the poem or haiku, and ga refers to

painting.

Holiday Poems 2008These are poems written in free form for the winter holiday.

How to Write Short Poetry1. Read, Read, Read.

2. Be Inspired.

3. Find out what you want your poem to achieve

4. Pick a Style

5. Pay attention to your Poem and be your own editor.

6. Choose the right words.

7. Use Concrete Imagery and Vivid Descriptions

8. Learn to use poetic devices.

9. Give your poem a good ending

10. Share and grow

Japanese Love PoemsDuring the 8th Century, Japanese women wrote love poems, of sentiments of

strength of feeling, sincerity and simplicity. They are honored as the purest

expression of early Japanese spirit.

Katauta A Japanese poetry form that consists of 17 or 19 syllables (onji) arranged in

three unrhymed lines (approximately one breath length) of 5,7,5 or 5, 7, 7

(onji) syllables. Katauta form either asks a question or answers one. A pair of katautas are called a sedōka; and don’t necessarily need to have the

question/answer. A pair of katautas written by two different persons is called a

Mondo

Kyoka Kyoka is a ill-mannered tanka with the same format as a Tanka - - 5 lines of

5,7,5,7,7 syllables

Lanturne The Lanturne is a 5 Line poem with syllabic count on each line as 1,2,3,4,1.

Each line should be a self-contained statement not merely a sentence divided

into syllables.

LimericksA humorous verse form of 5 anapestic lines with a rhyme scheme aabba

Little WilliesA Little Willie is a quatrain with rhyme scheme either AABB or ABAB, The

poem is more content than form. Each poem is about a horrible child (Little

Willie) doing something terrible or meeting with a terrible demise. However, the

poem is done in a light hearted way

Lu Shin (Zen Poetry)Lu-Shih is made up of four couplets but it also was of strict length, rhythm, and

rhyme. Each line was of the same length of either 5 or 7 characters and every

second lined rhymed, that is, the second, fourth, sixth and eighth line. Added

to this was that the fourth and fifth line had to be of the same rhythm.

NaaniNaani is one of the Indian popular Telugu poems. Naani means an expression

of one and all. It consists of 4 lines, the total lines consists of 20 to 25

syllables. The poem is not bounded to a particular subject. Generally it depends upon human relations and current statements. It’s not necessary to

follow the rules

Nonet A Nonet has nine lines. The first line has nine syllables, the second line eight

syllables, the third line seven syllables, etc... until line nine that finishes with

one syllable. It can be on any subject and rhyming is optional.

QuinzaineA Quinzaine is an unrhymed verse of fifteen syllables. These syllables are

distributed among three lines: seven syllables in the first line, five in the

second line, three in the third line, (7/5/3). The first line makes a statement.

The next two lines ask a question relating to that statement.

RengaA Renga is a "linked poem" of several brief, imagistic stanzas, usually written

by two or more poets in collaborative effort To create a renga in historical

Japan, one poet would compose the first stanza of three lines and seventeen

onji, or syllables. A second poet adds the next stanza, a couplet with 7

syllables per line. The third stanza would again have 3 lines, while the 4th

would again have two. The pattern would repeat to the end of the poem, with

as many poets as cared to participate.

Renhai

A Renhai consists of three haiku verses and is typically written by two writers. Three line haiku, two line haiku, three line haiku. What is unique about Renhai

is that the middle two-line verse is jointly written. That is, line one is written by

the first writer and line two is written by the second writer. Each of the three

verses has one or more common themes with Renku-like (originally called

Haikai no renga) links between each verse including between the first and the

last.

Rictameter A Rictameter is a nine line poetry form where the first and last lines are the

same word/words Each line increases by two syllables to line 5, then it

reverses and decreases by two syllables. Syllable count: 2,4,6,8,10,8,6,4,2.

Rhyming is optional

Roll a Poem A round robin poetry exercise where each poet rolls the number of words they

must use to write a line in a poem. The poem continues until someone rolls a

6. They then can end the poem with as many words as they like.

Sci-Fi Haiku Scifi Haiku, or Scifaiku (science fiction haiku) is a form of science fiction poetry

first announced by Tom Brinck with his 1995 Scifaiku Manifesto. It is inspired

by Japanese haiku, but explores science, science fiction, and other

speculative fiction themes, such as fantasy and horror..

SenryuUnlike the hokku which normally deals with natural or seasonal phenomena,

the Senryu is expected to deal with matters of human and social nature, often

in a playful, satirical, or knowing manner. The hokku—called haiku today—

carries a seasonal reference; the senryu does not have to.

Septet A "Septet" poem is a seven line poem about any subject with a specific

syllable pattern. Syllable count: 3,5,7,9,7,5,3

Septolet The Septolet is a short poem with seven lines containing fourteen words with a

break in between the two parts. The line break comes between the 4th and 5th

lines. Each stanza should stand alone and create an image. Both parts deal

with the same thought and create a picture.

Sijo The Sijo is a Korean short poetry form the 7th Century. A cousin of Haiku

having originated from the Chinese. Three lines of 14-16 syllables totaling 44-

46 syllables. Beginning - Line 1 presents a problem. Development - Line 2

develops or ―turns‖ the thought. Conclusion - Line 3 resolves the problem or

concludes the theme - surprise turn or twist is a must. A natural pause occurs

midway in each line. Each half line should be 6-9 syllables.

Tan RengaTan Renga consists of 5 lines. The first three have a related image with the

last two concluding the poem and relating to the first 3. Consists of two verses

- upper 3 lines are composed by one person and its second two by another.

First verse is 5-7-5 , followed by second verse of 7-7. Like Tanka but written by

more than one person. Like Renga but only one stanza

Tanka Tanka consists of 31 onji sounds (or under). It is limited to 5 lines, with the

traditional syllabic count usually being 5-7-5-7-7 onji. It is sometimes written in

one line, but the more contemporary way of displaying Tanka is in 5 lines.

Tetractys The Tetractys has a total of 20 syllables broken into 5 lines of 1, 2, 3, 4, 10

syllables. It can be more than one verse, but must follow suit with an inverted

syllable count. Double Tetractys: 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 10, 4, 3, 2, 1, Triple Tetractys:

1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 10, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, Tetractys can also be reversed and

written 10, 4, 3, 2, 1 and so on.

Zen Poetry The traditional format was in four lines of Chinese characters (early Japanese

poets also wrote in Chinese) but poetry changed over time to include Tanka,

Haiku, and even much longer pieces. Many of most memorable were written in

8 lines such as the Hanshan (Cold Mountain) collection.