Poetry is the art of communicating ideas, impressions and feelings. With
words as our medium, we can tell a tale, bring smiles or tears, or arrive at a
distant land. A poem is the arrangement of words in rhythmic composition
that expresses ideas, facts, images and emotions in a manner more concentrated,
more imaginative, more beautiful
and more powerful than daily speech.
Tanka which is Japanese for short poem, are mood verses. They can be about love, seasons, sadness, the shortness of life. Tankas use strong images and poetic devices such as metaphors, and personification that haiku avoid. Basic tanka is five lines long, with the first and third being shorter than the second, fourth and fifth.
Shadow Fish
to a boathouse
in the mist
love comes
like a shadow fish,
without weight
Chrysanthemums
when I was born
unseen
chrysanthemums
unseen when I died-
always the cold scent
Moonlight
although the stars
are hidden now
the moonlight slips
between the storm clouds
of this rainy night
Birthday
a birthday gift of gloves
they hide the age spots
completely
filled with longing
I blow out the cake candles
Parting
the preacher's voice
rising and falling
as the cardboard fan
with the face of Moses
parts the mosquitoes
A Haibun
Dirt, rocks, clay, the whole earth curves to the half-lit sky. A buzzard,
weightless, rises on the updraft alone like a girl among strangers. Stars
wash out as warmth colors the fields. My eyes follow blooms slipping off
my shoe, paused while I breathe on a path turning quietly hillside. Without
my arrangement, the earth curves and turns.
birches bend with dew
filled to the brim
not spilling
they turn to catch the light
of a collected sky
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Haiku were originally the first verse of the renga- called a hokku or starting verse. Renga are traditionally 36 stanza linked poems.Haiku show the essence of a moment where nature is linked to human nature. Haiku is written about common experiences and natural object. They use simple language and usually no metaphors or similes. Haiku traditionally contains two contrasting images. One suggests time and place. The other is a strong, temporary observation. Together they form a new image - which is left for the reader to discern. The words are usually simple, concise and clear. Few, if any similes or metaphors are used. Traditional haiku include a seasonal word, such as “winter.” Haiku is a short poem of Japanese origin that creates a mood with the use of concrete images. It is usually written on three lines and uses a nature topic.
distant freighter-
in the water
or the sky?
how easily
the tide rises-
first day of summer
Memorial Day--
the neighbor's flag
at half-mast
July sun--
still in the pine shadow,
the morning dew
summer drought--
the persimmon leaves
have puckered
A Rengay
by A -Susan Bond;B- Laura Young;C-Neca Stoller
"SMOOTH STONE"
gray smooth stone
in the palm of my hand -
a heron glides
A
lacing the beach
a fringe of broken shells
B
leftover bait -
the swift paw
of a jetty cat
C
current at low tide
ripples the fine seaweed
A
from marsh
to sandbar-
the crescent moon
B
just a silhouette
beyond the breakers
C
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Free verse is poetry written without definite structure in the line length, stanza length or rhyme patterns. Western poetry is descriptive and narrative, interpreting nature both natural and human with the use of metaphors and other poetic devices. There are three general genres of poetry: narrative, lyric and dramatic.
Narrative Poetry
Narrative poetry tells a story. It has a beginning, middle and end-not necessarily in that order. Because of this structure, you should be able to sense a passage of time. The ending can be either conclusive or open with no resolution.
"The Poster"
Like a trophy,
a severance the poster
hangs over my chair.
Slightly raked, the head
has lost its gild
and the cubed face sops
waves of useless light.
The sale was frenzied.
I often wonder what
drew me to the print.
Brown and beige, etched
with a single stroke,
something a child would do
or a genius--
My fingers tingle
like healed scars
to rub the lines
that cut across the cheeks
How odd
the unbottomed mouth
the shape of a bird's wing
Flat and indifferent
the earth stained eyes
fill with distance, ride on
its flaws, waiting
for the almighty mend.
Unlike any portrait
I've ever seen
it's the only glimpse
I've ever had
of the face
between my skin and bone
"Ryan"
2 a. m. and he is breaking
into my thoughts like a soundtrack
into a quieted theater.
He was first at everything:
the dry wafer of communion
marriage and adultery,
scotch, then secluded vodka.
On T. V. men his age host talk shows
while he shifts in the settling rain
three years dead, invading my sleep.
I sent flowers to the funeral,
with my card, a wreath of something.
It's true, we always stood
on opposite ends of a row.
But there was that one evening
laughing at a cousin's wedding,
we drank Manhattans and he said,
"Did you know they are tearing down
the Rialto on Broughton Street?"
Blinking in the dark balcony
we lived as knights and princesses
cowboys and schoolmarms, flew and drowned,
slipped through crack of self-forgetfulness
taking pieces to be our own.
Soon I will have no one left
with which to compare myself."Snake Eyes"
Tuned to Elvis
it must have been like entering
the tunnel of love,
quick twilight into a sudsy lake
Going down in their cave of a car,
they must have rattled
like a pair of dice
coming up snake-eyes.
Lyric Poetry" Lyric poetry uses one central topic as its theme. It can be written in a wide range of forms, songs, elegies, ode, etc. They focus on one subject throughout.
"Shells" I can hear tapping, the rasp and crackle. A tangle of small claws, small beaks driven to get out. Not even Ulysses strained so much to break the ropes and reach the siren. When robins burst free splitting their hard shells wet feathers struggle to be wings, full and glossy as poems. Like an updraft in a hollow I expand, light filled, blood pounding. Back to Contents
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"Stoller is an acclaimed poet both in print and on the Internet. Her book details life growing up in rural Georgia, USA. A must read for poetry and southern history enthusiasts!" Nominated for Ben Franklin Publisher Award, Kate Tufts Discovery Award, Pushcart Poetry. ISBN 0-9646450-8-4.
"Piedmont Stubble"
"Heralded as even better then her acclaimed "Bound by Red Clay", well known and regarded Poet and former Editor Emeritus of La Petite Zine, Neca Stoller has composed a collection of beautiful poetry that is destined to join the classics." Nominated for Georgia Author of the Year and three poems for Pushcart Poetry Prize. isbn 1-931090-14-9
"How to Write Haiku"
"Award winning poet Neca Stoller teaches beginners how to write Haiku, Senryu and Cinquains. Complete with wonderful examples, workbook instructions and historical information, this book will become the standard for Haiku instruction for the novice."isbn 0-615-11677-9
