Poetry Forms - the Letter C, part 1
Wow, the letter C is a long one - I've a whopping 24 poems here, each in a different form. Most are pretty short, but it still seems prudent to set them out in readable batches so I'll go with four sets of 6 apiece. All types here, enjoy the buffet - still mostly cat and garden themed.
Cancione (canzo): Order
See the tulips, how they grow!
Red or blushing, pink or snow,
Staves of color, down they flow,
Lined up perfect in their row.
Springs own beauty, how they glow!
Midst the petals bees will stow,
In soft breezes bob and blow,
Swung in cradles to and fro.
In the riot as I mow,
Weeds dug gently by the hoe,
Peace in order do I know,
Lined up tulips in a row.
-
Capitola: It Figures
It just figures, working the yard all day,
Weeding, spraying to make it like a park,
Dragging fallen branches from where they lay;
But now my guests behold it in the dark!
Slug-bait spread, all the flowers blooming fine,
All that beauty - and visitors stone blind.
If just figures, they were invited in June,
And then I had glowers in every bed -
Oh the colors! If they'd only come soon,
Instead of when my garden lies there dead!
All that planting and all those aching hours,
Only to bear impressions of dead flowers.
All my pride frost-bit to mush, wilted zen,
Alas! "If only you had seen it when!"
-
Carole: Silver Frost and Candlelight
Silver frost, candlelight,
It is God's blessing we're in His sight.
Wintertime branches are laced with frost,
Grateful we are to not be storm-tossed
In blankets and firelight fears are lost,
Silver frost and candlelight.
Like the branches that stay evergreen,
Lacking in faith here is seldom seen,
He has forgiven what we have been,
It is God's blessing we're in His sight.
Even in wintertime children grow,
By snow and fireside, share all they know,
Providence holds us in shining glow;
Silver frost and candlelight.
We know that one day Spring will unfold,
Tho' new flowers sleep beneath the cold,
Like the evergreens, this thought we hold:
It is God's blessing we're in His sight.
Silver frost, candlelight,
It is God's blessing we're in His sight.
-
Casbairdne: Pilling the Cat
I'm a sinful simpleton,
Must shun, wasted medicine:
Clawing cat runs mettlesome,
Again, same jaw jettisons.
-
Cautionary Verse: Kit Clause
I had a friend who thought it amusing when his kittens climbed his legs...at first.
Light as a feather a new kitten weighs,
A litter of kittens held in the hands.
Harmless their weight climbing your legs,
Claws tiny as velcro, prickling like sand.
Beware as they climb you,
Patient teach them to be,
Or all too soon grown cats
will climb you like a tree!
Though cute are the pin-pricks
Of each tiny kit,
Treat them as machetes,
With caution to fit.
-
Cento: For Want of a Cottage and Picket Fence
This works a bit like 'found' poetry - from P.G. Wodehouse
A distinctly fruity concern -
He could watch a worm for hours at a stretch,
The blighter had a love-light in his eyes;
He had retired there to wear gaiters,
To prod cows in the ribs, good egg.
One of those rather jolly houses,
With a bit of garden, caught in the rain.
He stood or fell by the roses:
If they failed to sweeten her,
Great fat, beastly roses…
"She regards me as a worm,
and an outcast…
A vegetarian fishing a caterpillar
out of a salad."
You could see he was feeling deeply,
What ho, what ho.
-
Cancione (canzo): Order
See the tulips, how they grow!
Red or blushing, pink or snow,
Staves of color, down they flow,
Lined up perfect in their row.
Springs own beauty, how they glow!
Midst the petals bees will stow,
In soft breezes bob and blow,
Swung in cradles to and fro.
In the riot as I mow,
Weeds dug gently by the hoe,
Peace in order do I know,
Lined up tulips in a row.
-
Capitola: It Figures
It just figures, working the yard all day,
Weeding, spraying to make it like a park,
Dragging fallen branches from where they lay;
But now my guests behold it in the dark!
Slug-bait spread, all the flowers blooming fine,
All that beauty - and visitors stone blind.
If just figures, they were invited in June,
And then I had glowers in every bed -
Oh the colors! If they'd only come soon,
Instead of when my garden lies there dead!
All that planting and all those aching hours,
Only to bear impressions of dead flowers.
All my pride frost-bit to mush, wilted zen,
Alas! "If only you had seen it when!"
-
Carole: Silver Frost and Candlelight
Silver frost, candlelight,
It is God's blessing we're in His sight.
Wintertime branches are laced with frost,
Grateful we are to not be storm-tossed
In blankets and firelight fears are lost,
Silver frost and candlelight.
Like the branches that stay evergreen,
Lacking in faith here is seldom seen,
He has forgiven what we have been,
It is God's blessing we're in His sight.
Even in wintertime children grow,
By snow and fireside, share all they know,
Providence holds us in shining glow;
Silver frost and candlelight.
We know that one day Spring will unfold,
Tho' new flowers sleep beneath the cold,
Like the evergreens, this thought we hold:
It is God's blessing we're in His sight.
Silver frost, candlelight,
It is God's blessing we're in His sight.
-
Casbairdne: Pilling the Cat
I'm a sinful simpleton,
Must shun, wasted medicine:
Clawing cat runs mettlesome,
Again, same jaw jettisons.
-
Cautionary Verse: Kit Clause
I had a friend who thought it amusing when his kittens climbed his legs...at first.
Light as a feather a new kitten weighs,
A litter of kittens held in the hands.
Harmless their weight climbing your legs,
Claws tiny as velcro, prickling like sand.
Beware as they climb you,
Patient teach them to be,
Or all too soon grown cats
will climb you like a tree!
Though cute are the pin-pricks
Of each tiny kit,
Treat them as machetes,
With caution to fit.
-
Cento: For Want of a Cottage and Picket Fence
This works a bit like 'found' poetry - from P.G. Wodehouse
A distinctly fruity concern -
He could watch a worm for hours at a stretch,
The blighter had a love-light in his eyes;
He had retired there to wear gaiters,
To prod cows in the ribs, good egg.
One of those rather jolly houses,
With a bit of garden, caught in the rain.
He stood or fell by the roses:
If they failed to sweeten her,
Great fat, beastly roses…
"She regards me as a worm,
and an outcast…
A vegetarian fishing a caterpillar
out of a salad."
You could see he was feeling deeply,
What ho, what ho.
-