A local friend of mine has been hosting “Poetry and Prompts” on Tuesdays for quite some time now. (I’m thinking years.) Except for one failed attempt, when I tried from Starbucks but didn’t realize we would be reading aloud, I hadn’t attended. Since I decided I would be focusing much more on my writing in 2021, I made sure to go today.
The poetry prompt we used today was “Happy _______.”
Sometimes, if I have a poem rattling around in my head, I can just write one, but I usually need a structure to write poetry on demand. My friend Heather has recently introduced me to the nonet, so I decided I would go with that for today.
A nonet is a nine-line poem which has a structure based on syllables, The first line has nine syllables, the second has eight, with each line decreasing by a syllable, all the way down to the last line, which has just one syllable.
Here is the poem I wrote:
HAPPY RAILS The train rolls to a lumbering stop The conductor drops down the step Eager passengers detrain We wait in line to board Finally seated Feel brakes let go On my way Moving Gone
Love it! The poem sings and has movement! I love it when form sprouts creativity nicely. I’ll have to give that poetry form. Thanks for sharing!
“Happy Rails.” I love it! This is a cool form, and I’m also going to have to give it a try.
I wish trains were a bigger part of our world. There’s a museum here in Huntsville that runs a two- or three-mile line a few times a year, and I enjoy it when I can (I mean, I enjoy taking my grandkids). We used to ride the train regularly when we lived in Japan, and I loved it.
Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you so much, Tim!
I’ve been a fan of trains since I was a toddler. In 1999, I took the train across Canada. I would love to do it again someday!