The Versesmith

A Z appai is often referred to as a "pseudo-haiku," and haiku societies dismiss the from as having little literary value.  A  Z appai follows the 5-7-5 syllable lines of haiku, but never has seasonal references.  What I have written isn't even a proper Z appai!  I have laid it out as one sentence of 17 syllables, which is an American Sentence.    It's a Z oo Out There was bought at Goodwill for $2.69.  How could I resist!  There must be a story behind this trio of Washington D.C. powerhouses!  The title is one I used for the Challenge, I usually call it Animals in D.C .   This isn't the first time I've featured this artwork in a poem.  Here's the other .  If I say they act like animals, that gives animals a bad name. ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved     Thanks to all who dropped in this month for the A to Z Challenge!  It was fun!  

T ermelay, an unrhymed 6-line poem where line 6 repeats line 3, with syllables 4/4/4/8/8/4.  Some syllable counters will show "remembrances" as three, however it's one of those words that we pronounce differently from the formal rules. T urquoise Memories is a monotype, a print created by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface and transferring that image onto paper.  A monotype is one of a kind.  I bought this at Goodwill for $5.21.  There was a gallery sticker on the back, $550! Remembrances swirl in my mind just out of reach nudging memory, soft white sand turquoise waters, you in my arms just out of reach ©202 6 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved      

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...