Narrative Poem

How Can I Improve My Dice Rolls? 

This is a story about a girl who plays a table top RPG.

Game night comes to a close

and the girl’s character is in her death throes

It’s been another night of rolling ones, twos, threes…

She has bad luck, and her teammates agree;

so in a sad funk, she heads on home,

and googles, "How can I improve my dice rolls?"

and on page six, the sixth result;

alas, a six-step answer to her woes…

Step One (it goes), Shake the dice.

Clasp them in your hands,

shake them thrice.

Step Two, (sound file attached) Recite the magic words. 

Listen to the sound clip above and repeat exactly what you hear.

Whisper it into your hands -- and you might need to rehearse --

It's Genesis chapter three… in reverse. 

Step Three, (video file attached) Draw the magic circle. 

Now extend your left hand, and this part is hard --

You must ensure the blade is clean and sharp.

Then carve the circle as demonstrated

on the back of your hand -- Not on your palm!

Cause that’s more painful and you won’t be able

to do anything with your hand for days.

If you’re worried about scarring, you can get it tattooed.

(It does make a pretty sick tattoo.)

But you’ll need the blood later anyway, so it's up to you.

Step Four, Be polite.

At this point the devil will appear, 

in a puff of smoke or a flash of light.

Don't freak out, he’ll look... somewhat severe.

He is the devil, he’s not meant to look nice.

Anyway, he’ll start to deliver his spiel.

Now, you’re here to hash out a deal,

so don't let him cheat you, for real, listen close, 

He is the devil, so stay on your toes;

You are paying with your immortal soul.

Step Five, Sign in blood.

When your terms are clear and there’s no more doubting,

it’s finally time to put your money where your mouth is. 

Here’s where the magic circle carving comes into play.

If you tattooed it, you’re still gonna want that blade.

Cut across your wrist, not down it — 

you don’t want to commit suicide — 

but there’s no painless way around this— 

He is the devil, a sly wily guy…

Step Six, Start rolling those six-six-sixes!

Once the devil vanishes with your immortal soul in tow

It’ll be really easy to achieve your in-game goals.

The girl reads this, steels herself,

and follows the steps with determination.

The devil appears; she offers her payment. 

And now, when her RPG team gets into terrible fixes,

every dice she throws, she rolls sixes...

…even when she rolls D7 to 20s.

That’s what happens when you deal with the devil.

The end.

Sound Poem

Talking

just keep talking

just keep talking

just keep tttttalking

stammering, yammering, stuttering

stumbling over your sentences

keep spouting your nonsense

it won't make a difference

keep that tongue clicking

lips pouting teeth gritting

machine gun volley of words

spit out into the open air

those ticking time bombs 

listen to ‘em hang there

exposing all your wrongs

ropes round their necks

choking, sputtering rows of text

Cubist Poem

Black Cat

inky kitty sits on the windowsill

scrutinising the garden outside

notices me walking towards the kitchen

slinks down over sleek figure

bounding towards the kitchen meowing

sleek kitty slinks over hungry meowing 

bounding inky figure scrutinising the

kitchen hungry slinking bounding inky

kitty hunting on the windowsill

bounding in the garden outside

now, feast,

sleek inky beast.

List Poem

Little Red Boat

I remember a toy boat I had when I was six.

I remember it was small and red.

I remember its plastic was going pale and rough on the edges;

I remember its worn, dulling surface.

I remember it went on the little waterway playset.

I remember that was on white tiled floor outside the preschool,

I remember the floor was slippery with dirty water.

I remember teachers filling the playset with water from a green rubber hose, while us children chose boats from a plastic rack.

I remember that there were all sorts of boats on the plastic rack: shining, stark boats that looked like speedboats or liners or tugboats;

I remember I always looked for the little red boat.

I remember looking for the little red boat one day and not finding it.

I remember the chaos and frenzy as other children rushed to grab the best boats off the rack,

I remember my vision blurring, and warm tears on my face, even in the humid weather,

I remember teachers asking me what’s wrong — 

I remember telling them I can’t find my boat— where is my boat?

I remember Miss Alison coming to me, the red boat in hand

“It was in my car boot. I thought this was an old boat and nobody wanted it.

I was going to give it away, to the Salvation Army.”

She gave me the boat. I took it home.

I still have it, it sits in a drawer collecting dust now.

But my memory of that boat

is always gleaming and bright,

with its worn plastic and faded red.

Imagist Poems: Status Symbols

Car

growling engines

line the broad roads;

whose roars?

Condominium

great gleaming towers

soaring skywards,

each clear glass window

like a little cell

of an unyielding organism.

Credit Card

silver stripes on stiff plastic

swiping painlessly,

flaunting purchasing power.

Cash

fat wallet bursting;

dog eared corners

peeking out the top --

no small denominations.

"The image is the poet's pigment. The image is not an idea; it is a radiant node or cluster. A vortex through which, and from which, and into which ideas are constantly rushing. It is as true for painting and sculpture as it is for poetry."

- Ezra Pound

First say how you determine where to break the lines in your poems, then read and respond to the Edward Hirsh handout (The Line) on how to know where to make line-breaks when creating a poem. 200 word minimum.

I usually write in free verse, with no rhyme scheme. When I first write a poem, I break the lines by breath and the idea or thought -- if a thought feels complete, I'll break the line. Sometimes I also end the line at the end of a sentence or phrase.
In rewrites however, I also pay attention to the length of the line. How do I want the poem to look on the page? Tall and narrow? A dense wall of text? I might also break the lines to highlight individual phrases or word at the end or beginning of the line. I experiment with different line breaks in the same set of words, to see what gives the best impact.
Line breaks are tricky and elusive, especially with free verse. Lineation has a huge impact on the way the poem reads, and therefore the reader's understanding of the poem. As Hirsch describes, lineation serves more than one purpose. It is specific to each poet and each poem - each poet sets the parameters and boundaries of the purpose and application of lineation in each poem. For example, in the excerpt from Creeley’s poem, each line yields a different meaning. I think the impact of lineation can be quite intuitive – even not really understanding lineation, one can determine what the lineation is doing for the poem.