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What Could Have Been

A Terza Rima About What Could Have Been Included In Vocal's "Fall Poetry Series"

By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred Published 4 months ago 2 min read
A Nightcafe Creation By The Author

Introduction

Many of these challenges I have already written poems for, but a lot of forms have been missed, including many on Vocal's poetry list when you submit.

The article is here:

The challenges have dropped here:

The falling leaves one is a haiku and already flooded with entries, but a lot of people seem to have missed the stipulation that:

Your work must be original and unpublished.

So, of course, this is not for any challenge apart from a challenge to myself to create this.

I was thinking of a Terza Rima, as it has no limit, despite requiring eleven syllables in each line and the number of tercets not divisible by three. Thanks to Calvin London for introducing me to this form.

Terza rima was invented early in the fourteenth century by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri for his narrative poem the Divine Comedy, which he set in hendecasyllabic lines. In English, poets often use iambic pentameter. Terza rima is a challenging form for a poet, and it did not become common in the century following its invention. The form is especially challenging in languages that are inherently less rich in rhymes than Italian.

The music is "What Could Have Been" by Sting, featuring Ray Chen from the Netflix series "Arcane"

Here is a Wiki page of poetry forms, so you see I have hardly scratched the surface with this, my longest ever Terza Rima

What Could Have Been

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You Could Have Included A Terza Rima

I Know Some Challenges Are Unspecified

So We Can Use A Form Of Our Choice, Yah!

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Abecedarian Is One That We've Tried

And Then Sestina And Pantoum Are Two More

We Could Turn Our Hand To A Fibonacci

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And Vocal, We Also Have All The Cinquains

Garland, Butterfly, American, Mirror

Didactic. Blank Verse If You Find Rhyme A Pain

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Sonnet, Senryū, Villanelle, Haiku Here

Then There Are Odes, Elegies, And Limericks

Blackout and Ballads Are Forms We Can Aim For

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Another Favourite Is Your Acrostic

Another Cinqain I Found Is The Lanterne

Tanka, Waka, Chōka And Then Hemistich

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These Are All Forms That Both You And I Can Learn

In This Falling Leaves Challenge, We Will Return

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For Funperformance poetryGratitude

About the Creator

Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred

A Weaver of Tales and Poetry

Backup A/C

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Vocal Ideas For You

Join & Share In VSS

Creationati

Call Me LesGina HeatherCaroline

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Misty MelissaMa Coombs

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Comments (4)

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  • Stephanie Hoogstad4 months ago

    If I might step on a soapbox for a moment, I think that part of the problem with Vocal not embracing these forms is that society—via school systems—has not. I went to college for a Bachelor’s in English and I still hadn’t heard of about half of these forms until you mentioned them in this poem. (My Master’s in Creative Writing was specifically in fiction, so I guess there’s a reason why I didn’t hear of them then, but I digress.) So, at the very least, there is a deficit in American school systems when it comes to poetry: namely, it leans towards sonnets and free form poetry. OK, I’m stepping off my soapbox now. Thank you for the informative and entertaining poem. Maybe Vocal will listen? Probably not, but it’s nice to think that they might.

  • Mark Graham4 months ago

    A perfect poem to introduce the types of poems out there. It was also fun to read. Good job.

  • Marie381Uk 4 months ago

    Again beautifully written Mike with great music 😊🦋😊

  • Ah yes Fibonacci and Abecederian, I've tried those too! I forgot hahahaha. But why Abecederian was more of a story than a poem, lol. But I digress. Loved your poem!

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