Filtering Free Verse Poems Through Form

Mainly writing in free verse, can make you think you are so much more free than writing in strict forms. But I have found that when under constraints of rhymes and rhythm, magic can happen. Imagery you would never have come up with yourself, lyrical music that makes reading a pleasure and a challenge to cut out the excess to find the true meaning you want to say.

This is what happened to my poem Car Rides at Crossroads when I filtered it through some of the many forms of poetry we have in the world.

Free Verse

Car Rides at Crossroads

You promised we would go for a car ride

a road trip until running out of fuel

I would be in the passenger seat, you behind the wheels

my hand gliding through your hair,

the air

through the window, my hair in the wind

because the roof would be open.

Instead...

driving on my own, hands grasping the wheel

running on a half tank and broken mirrors

a sound in the engine is rattling out a morse code

through the morning mist under the streetlight sun

I sense the air makes the tires sway, lifting us up

At the crossroad I flip a coin

Ballad

Rules: Narrative poems with a melodious rhyme scheme. Can be any length, but it must be a series of rhyming quatrains, mostly in an ABCB pattern.

Car Rides at Crossroads

a road trip until running out of fuel

you promised we would go for a car ride

my hand gliding through your hair, the air

you behind the wheel, me by your side

through the window, my hair in the wind

because the roof would be open, instead

running on a half tank and broken mirrors

driving alone, misled, as you went ahead

through the morning mist under the streetlight sun

a sound in the engine is rattling out a morse code

Sensing the air makes the tires sway, lifting us up

I flip a coin at the crossroad

Ghazal | Arabic poems of love

Rules: Ghazals are a type of short poems with five or more couplets with the same meter and rhyme. Sometimes, this rhyme is replaced by a repeated word or phrase, known as the radif or refrain, repeated at the end of both lines in the first couplet and again in the second line of the succeeding couplets. The last couplet typically includes a “signature”—a reference to the poem’s author.

Car Rides at Crossroads

Promising a never ending car ride.

A road trip as our own memoir ride.

My hand gliding through your hair, in the air.

You behind the wheel, me your co-star ride.

Through open windows, my hair in the wind.

Whispering in my ear, the words are: ride.

Instead you went ahead, left half a tank.

Me, a broken mirror and a far ride.

Through morning mist under the streetlight sun.

The scars invisible from afar. Ride?

The engine sound rattles out a morse code.

Magical smoke from the car cigar. Ride!

I flip a coin at the smoky crossroad.

Writing down some spells for the grimoire ride.

Dark constellations are leading the way.

The morning mist makes way to a star ride.

Haiku/Tanka | Japanese poems of seasons

Rules: A haiku is a short poem with a five-syllable line followed by a seven-syllable line followed by a five-syllable line that doesn't rhyme. Tanka is almost an extension of Haiku with 5,7,5,7,7.

Car Rides at Crossroads

road trip on no fuel

flip a coin on a crossroad

engines knows morse code

no more bleak passenger seats

underneath the streetlight sun

Limerick | Irish poems of fun times

Rules: Five lines with an AABBA rhyme scheme. First two lines contain seven to ten syllables. Third and fourth lines contain five to seven syllables. Final line contains seven to ten syllables

Car Rides at Crossroads

You promised me a road trip

Out of fuel a sinking ship

Through window a hand

Across windy land

Lost prophecies on my lip

Shakespearean Sonnet | The Italian/English poems of love and songs

Rules: Three quatrains (four lines) and a couplet, which typically concludes the poem with an ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG rhyme scheme.

Car Rides at Crossroads

a road trip until running out of fuel

you promised we would go for a car ride

my hand gliding through your hair and air, you’ll

be behind the wheel, me, there by your side

my hair in the wind over the cloud bank

because the roof would be open, instead

broken mirrors and a half empty tank

by myself, misled, as you went ahead

through morning mist under the streetlight sun

the engine sounds rattle out a morse code

no more passengers seat, I call shotgun

its magic ode leading to a crossroad

finding a map of stars outside Des Moines

hearing lost prophecies, I flip a coin

Villanelle | The French poems of obsession

Rules: 19 lines with Five tercets (five lines). It has a ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, ABAA rhyme scheme where Line 1 repeats in lines 6, 12, and 18. Line 3 repeats in lines 9, 15, and 19

Car Rides at Crossroads

Hair in the wind, set the clock to the tide

Through morning mist you sang me an ode

Let’s go for a car ride

You behind the wheel with me by your side

Not realizing the time was borrowed

Hair in the wind, set the clock to the tide

With no fuel and broken mirrors, we died

Let our car rust and memories erode

Let’s go for a car ride

Alone driving, tracing a star map guide

Under the metal streetlight sun I slowed

Hair in the wind, set the clock to the tide

On half a tank now tongue-tied and wide-eyed

The engine now sings a rusty morse code

Let’s go for a car ride

With lost prophecies on my lips I cried

For omens I flip coins at the crossroad

Hair in the wind, set the clock to the tide

Let’s go for a car ride

Pantoums | A dreamy poem for from Malaysia

Rules: Pantoums are poems of any length and are composed of quatrains. Within these quatrains, the second and fourth lines of each stanza are used as the first and third lines of the following stanza. The western form of the poetry form is a bit more simplified version without rhyme.

Car Rides at Crossroads

Set the compass to the stars

Let’s go for a car ride

The two of us on the highway

A road trip writing our memoir

Let’s go for a car ride

Through morning mist you sang me an ode

A road trip writing our memoir

Me in the passenger seat, you behind the wheels

Through morning mist you sang me an ode

My hand gliding through your hair, the air

Me in the passenger seat, you behind the wheels

A road trip until running out of fuel

My hand gliding through your hair, the air

Because the roof would be open, instead

A road trip until running out of fuel

Driving alone, misled, as you went ahead

Because the roof would be open, instead

With no fuel and broken mirrors, we died

Driving alone, misled, as you went ahead

Hair in the wind, set the clock to the tide

With no fuel and broken mirrors, we died

Let our car rust and memories erode

Hair in the wind, set the clock to the tide

Magical smoke from the car cigar

Let our car rust and memories erode

Alone driving, tracing a star map guide

Magical smoke from the car cigar

On half a tank now tongue-tied and wide-eyed

Alone driving, tracing a star map guide

Dark constellations are leading the way

On half a tank now tongue-tied and wide-eyed

Engines knows morse code

Dark constellations are leading the way

Let’s go for a car ride

Engines knows morse code

Under the metal streetlight sun I slowed

Hearing lost prophecies, I flip a coin

Conclusion

After the filtering, I feel like the poem-world has widened and opened up for many roads I didn't see in the original free verse form. And this is only a few snippets of the poetry forms that exists. Perhaps it's better existing within the rules of the poetry forms, or perhaps another world will open when rewriting it back to free verse?