Round Two Entries: Poets Traveling in Formation

Round Two Entries: Poets Traveling in Formation

1. Vacation Retreat (Ottava rima)

I'd love to go to Holy Lands, in my heart,
When turmoil ceases, and the peace has returned
Where my dear love will never have to depart,
At a place in time where people have yearned
For the way things should have been from the start.
My spirit has always longed for the point of lessons learned.
A pilgrimage to earth in which my folks rest
Consecrated sacred ground, paradise blest.

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2. Au Naturel (Triolet)

Breezy love notes tickle bare toes
lost within my lover's sweet kiss
sandy beaches and one red rose
breezy love notes tickle bare toes
shadows dancing moonlit stars glow
another love song to compose
breezy love notes tickle bare toes
lost within my lover's sweet kiss

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3. Internal Wanderlust (Quatern)

No one realizes the beauty
traveling holds until the sun
roams across dew scented meadows
and quietly whispers hello.

Two seas wave at the border yet
no one realizes the beauty
until the boat crosses the line
and points out their diversity.

Iron shoes tip-toe on the bank of
remembrance as I softly wept;
no one realizes the beauty
till you step into history.

At last, my old Kentucky home -
the moon bats her eyes as I rest
my head on nostalgic linens,
no one realizes the beauty.

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4. To the Sun, to the Hammock, and to my Sleep (Sestina)

To heaven and back, or off to visit the stars?
Perhaps, off to the clouds and the sun at sea?
Or may be, the beach and its green palms?
But a hammock might be enough, it might just be...
to sway my dreams onto a clear sky.
Though, if anything, I would love to just sleep.

It's this Summer's heat that connects me to my sleep,
And the sun itself, the brightest of the stars,
That everyday, I'm tempted, to touch the sky.
Just like I am, when on the roads, I spot the sea.
I feel the sand, and near the sun, is where I want to be..
I want to touch it. I wish, it would touch my palms

because the sun energizes the beach's palms,
So under its rays I would like to sleep.
Perhaps, my coldness might be gone. It might just be...
if I touch the sun, the brightest of the stars.
I think, it can. I think, it might be gone if I visit the sea,
And I sway in a hammock while gazing into a clear sky.

I would see the sun radiating welcomes from the sky
asking me to stand up, raise my hands, and extend my palms;
To say good bye to the cold, to wave hello to the sea;
and finally, regain my sleep.
And after plenty of rest, I too, would feel like a bright star.
I might be one with the sun, I might just be...

Though, if not, it is near the sun, where I want to be...
Or the very least to see the sun peeking through the sky
Even through the nights, just like a regular star.
I would like to see it while I sway under green palms
to feel its rays warm my heart until I meet my sleep
In the nocturnal melodies from waves at sea

But if by chance, the sun retreats from sea
Then the beach, nor the sand is where I want to be
For with the sun, it is where I find my sleep.
It is its rays that illuminate my sky
that everyday I kneel to pray and extend my palms,
facing each other to venerate the sun, the brightest of the stars.

Though I realized it's not just the sea where the sun appears in the sky
But be it dusk or be it dawn, I can also feel the sun in between my palms
It is through him, that I find my sleep, that I too can become a bright star.

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5. Outpouring of Life (Double Tetractys)

Pure
waters...
maybe love,
is not condemned.
Waterfalls of Brazil encompass my
fatalistic soul, rushing with rebirth.
I, renewed by
brisk rivers -
a quenched
thirst.

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Three poets did not submit entries for the second round. In order to have a third round, two contestants will be dropped after this round. The final three will be entitled to compete for an exciting prize indeed!

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Ottava rima: a poem written in 8-line octives. Each line is of a 10 or 11 syllable count in the following rhyme:
one octive poem. abababcc
two octive poem. abababcc, dededeff
three octive poem. abababcc, dededeff, ghghghii
...so on and so on

Triolet: a poetic form consisting of only 8 lines. Within a Triolet, the 1st, 4th, and 7th lines repeat, and the 2nd and 8th lines do as well. The rhyme scheme is simple: ABaAabAB, capital letters representing the repeated lines. Make writing a Triolet more challenging! [as in this entry] Make each line 8 syllables in length (4 metrical feet), written in iambic tetrameter

Quatern: a sixteen line French form composed of four quatrains. It is similar to the Kyrielle and the Retourne. It has a refrain that is in a different place in each quatrain. The first line of stanza one is the second line of stanza two, third line of stanza three, and fourth line of stanza four. A quatern has eight syllables per line. It does not have to be iambic or follow a set rhyme scheme.

Sestina: a strict ordered form of poetry, dating back to twelfth century French troubadours. It consists of six six-line (sestets) stanzas followed by a three-line envoy. Rather than use a rhyme scheme, the six ending words of the first stanza are repeated as the ending words of the other five stanzas in a set pattern. The envoy uses two of the ending words per line, again in a set pattern.
First stanza, ..1 ..2 ..3 ..4 ..5 ..6
Second stanza, ..6 ..1 ..5 .. 2 ..4 ..3
Third stanza, ..3 ..6 ..4 ..1 ..2 ..5
Fourth stanza, ..5 ..3 ..2 ..6 ..1 ..4
Fifth stanza, ..4 ..5 ..1 ..3 ..6 ..2
Sixth stanza, ..2 ..4 ..6 ..5 ..3 ..1
Concluding tercet:
middle of first line ..2, end of first line ..5
middle of second line ..4, end of second line..3
middle if third line ..6, end of third line ..1"

Tetractys: a poetic form invented by Ray Stebbing, consists of at least 5 lines of 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 syllables (total of 20). Tetractys can be written with more than one verse, but must follow suit with an inverted syllable count. Tetractys can also be reversed and written 10, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Double Tetractys: 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 10, 4, 3, 2, 1

Nice variety of poems again, well done all who got poems in and good luck! :)

Thanks for posting, Larry and good luck everyone!

Good luck everyone

One judge is in - no pressure.

No pressure what so ever