The Versesmith

O vi or O vee is a form from India which was commonly used in the folk-songs and narrative poems of the 12th century, and is still used today.  There are two forms, literary and women's.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovi_(poetry) O vi is written in 4 line stanzas, any number of stanzas.   8/8/8/less than 8 lines 1, 2, 3 in each stanza rhymed, line 4 unrhymed   O ut of Order  gets its title from the sign on the bathroom door in this pen and ink drawing I got at a Goodwill, framed, for $1.65.   I read the sign, was thunderstruck. It's Out of Order , just my luck. No other place, I'm kinda stuck. I might just wet my pants! Perhaps though, I could sidle in, simply shut the door, just begin. But, would that be a mortal sin to disobey a sign? I've stood before the door too long. My need to get in much too strong, that even though I know it's wrong, I push my way inside. ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Ri...

A N once  form is a poem created by an individual poet, usually for one-time use.  Depending on the poet's preference, it may be based on a pre-existing form, but will have its own structure.   So, basically, a nonce is a form for one-time use.  I wrote n ine stanzas, two rhyming lines each, with n ine syllables in each line, so a lot of N s. N ativity is my name for this diptych (an artwork in two connected parts), a term from Greek meaning " pair of writing tablets ."  I found it in the Goodwill Outlet bins, and it's one of my favorite pieces.  The artist is  Marlinde von Ruhs , which is rather incredible to find!  The two parts are hinged, trimmed in gold braid, with the backs covered in turquoise felt with beading.  It's the most incredible nativity I've ever seen! Marlinde often mounted her smaller works in felt or velvet, brocade, and gold braiding.  According to some sources she didn't want them to be just paintings in a f...

A  M ondo is a poem with a question and an answer, often written by two poets in collaboration.  The focus of a M ondo is on nature.  It is comprised of two 5/7/7 stanzas, the first being the question, the second the answer.  M agpie Goose (artist's title) is a limited edition (154/500) print by Australian artist Doris Gingingara (1946-1999).  I bought it as Goodwill for $2.06 with the signed and dated (9/99) Certificate of Authenticity on the back. Beautiful you are. I will ask you only this; are your eggs pure gold? My eggs are golden, this is true, for they contain my priceless goslings. ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved  

L anturne,   or L antern poetry has only two requirements and forms more or less a Japanese lantern shape.  5 lines syllable count per line: 1/2/3/4/1  The L ighthouse is a lithograph copyright Henry B. Sandler Co. Inc. New York City published around 1962-1964.  The artist of the original painting is shown as Alfieri, most likely a publisher house artist or contract artist.  The name Alfieri is found on multiple Sandler Co. prints from the 1960s.  I found this in its original frame (Sandler lithographs were sold in frames, ready to hang) in the Goodwill Outlet bins.  10¢ a pound glass price! his safety dependent on the steady light ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved    

  K imo  is the Israeli version of haiku.  Like haiku it is 3 lines, however the syllable count differs.  A K imo is  10/7/6.  It is not rhymed, and is a single image, no movement, frozen like a photo.  I'm not sure how well I did with that part! These are titled by the artist, K analen I and K analen II, monotype mixed medias by Helle (Melchoir) Hamilton 1989. K analen means "canal."  A monotype is a one of a kind artwork, which is why these are numbered 1/1.  Ms. Hamilton was born in Denmark and moved to the U.S. in 1965 at the invitation of her grandfather, Lauritz Melchior, a world-famous tenor who also performed in musical films. Two years later she married David Hamilton, the brother of actor George Hamilton, who was the best man at the wedding.  I rescued these, literally, as one was fallen out of the frame, from the Goodwill Outlet bins.  They still had the gallery artist's information on the backs.  I paid $1 each....

The J oseph's Star was created in 2007 by Christina R. J ussaume in memory of her father, J oseph.  It is a syllabic form with the following "rules" that should make the poem rather star-shaped. 8 lines 1/3/5/7/7/5/3/1 Unrhymed Any subject, and no limit to the number of stanzas, but each should be a complete statement. Center aligned  This sketch came professionally framed from St. Vincent de Paul for only 50¢. It is signed Paunch, and on the back is a doodle that reads PaunchoDoodles.    Jazz time to dance so strike up the band flute and drum and sousaphone tap your toes and nod your head leave off your worries tonight nothing like Jazz ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved  

I am thrilled to share these five poems that were  published  today on  I Write Her: The Short of It , edited by Susi Bocks. She “ aims to find those poets and writers with something big to say in as few words as possible .”  I wrote three haiku, one tanka, and a short free verse (4/4/4/9) in the style of a haiga .  These forms are usually not given titles, but have been here.  Feathered Messenger  poised on the lamp post raven's keen dark eyes stare down harbinger of news Benny  my house panther snores a big boy once, now wasted spends last days with me   Moon Music sultry summer night cicadas shrill serenade nocturne in moonglow Silent Muse   the poet fails, sobs words have left him, blank paper laying on his desk mock the once great man of verse his muse no longer whispers Portrait of a Nun The new submission cycle for The Short of It will open July 1, 2027. #haiku #tanka #theshortofit #iwriteher #shortpoems...

The I mayo is a 4-line Japanese poem that has 12 syllables in each line. There is a planned pause (caesura)) between the first 7 syllables and the final 5 in each line.  I created those pauses as best I could!  The I mayo was originally written to be sung, but that's not a requirement. Poets have free range on subject matter. I nés  is my name for this painting on canvas I found unrolled in the dirt of a yard sale.  I got it for under $1.00.   She watches out the window, as she often does. Light shines behind her; there's a gap in the curtains. Her vigil began at dawn, it is evening now. Soon she'll sigh, close the gap, and slowly climb the stairs. ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved  

  H ay(na)ku is an  invented form by Eileen Tabios.   3 lines 6 words line 1 - one word line 2 - two words line 3 - three words    H arvey  is the name of the artist, and for lack of any title given I call the painting  H arvey .   H arvey  is a big guy, 24" x 30" from St. Vincent de Paul.  I paid $6.50 for him.  Stop! Your eyes see too much. ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved  

The  G ogyōka  is a modern invention of the Japanese poet Enta Kusakabe (born 1938) and only has two simple rules. It is five lines long. Each line is one phrase.     G reen Pheasant  (referred to as  Pheasant  until the 1920s when publishers used G reen Pheasant  in import titles), original painting by  Sakai Hoitsu, print  c. 1923-1925. This belonged to my paternal grandmother who may have purchased it at G ump's in San Francisco, which was a major importer of Japanese art and woodblock prints. There is a bit more to it along the left, but it had been folded for decades to fit an inappropriate frame.  My green pheasant scratches in the yard. His claws disturb an ant’s next. Seeing me, he approaches. I scatter barley. I  toss mustard greens. ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved  

F ree Verse is poetry f ree from limitations, it does not follow a regular meter or rhyme scheme, poets are free to shape lines freely.  I bought this antique print, F rost Breaking , c.1850s-1880s, in 1969 or 1970 in Portobello Market, London, when I was 13 years old. Fox Terrier wants to be one of the big boys howling at dawn. His strident “yips” bring s laughter to the Huntsman as he mixes their morning pudding.                                                        ©202 6  Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved   (Hounds were usually fed early in the day. The huntsman would prepare a mix called “hound meal” or “pudding,” often boiled grains, meat scraps, and broth.)

An   E levenie  is a short poem with just e leven words in five lines.  It is also called an E lfchen.  " E lf" is German for e leven, and "chen" is a term of endearment and denotes something small.  Each line in an E levenie has two specific requirements.  First, what words are used.  1 - a thought, object, color, etc. (some instructions list this as just a noun) 2 - what does that word in line one do? 3 - where is that word, or how is it? 4 - what do you mean by that? 5 - What is the result?  Second, how many words in each line. 1,2,3,4,1 The E ye of God , or   L’Oeil de Dieu , is not the title Salvador Dali gave this print, however it is the dealer title, or marketing name.  He created it for one of the illustrations in  The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini .  This is not from the book, it's a later print.  While some think " Oh!  A Dali print!  That's valuable! "  Not really....

  D ribble is the poem form of the D rabble, a 100 letter (don't count spaces for punctuation) word story.  The D eath , by Charles-Fernand de Condamy, print date 1880-1910, from Goodwill for $5.21 in frame not shown. Torn between the gruesome scene and beauty of the print, I focus on the latter, and imagine Reynard lived to see another day. ©202 6  Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved  

C ognac and C actus, my name for it, is a pastel I got at St. Vincent de Paul.  The poetry form is a cinquain, a syllabic form of 2/4/6/8/2. cognac and cactus pair strange bedfellows indeed one goes down smooth, the other not so much ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved  

   B ird Women (my name for it) is a ink on paper I rescued from the Goodwill Outlet bins. B lackout is a type of Erasure poetry where you take existing text and black out words to reveal a new work from what remains.  The B lackout follows my poem. Dryope was a mortal woman in Greek mythology who was transformed into a tree nymph. She sighs, this nymph, her arms all verdant boughs, with blossoms. Her sister found her rooted in the ground. A f ace , tr embling and weep ing. ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved     The Fable of Dryope - Ovid's Metamorphoses by Alexander Pope  The Fable of Dryope - Ovid's Metamorphoses Book 9, [v. 324-393] She said, and for her lost Calanthis sighs , When the fair Consort of her son replies. "Since you a servant's ravish'd form bemoan, And kindly sigh for sorrows not your own; Let me (if tears and grief permit) relate A nearer woe, a sister's stranger fate. No Nym...