[I thought that I would bring a challenge on poems having a fixed format in QL when I read a "formatted" poem by Song_bird, A Kiss From Spring (a Kyrielle Sonnet) . I saw a challenge on "Sestina" on another writing site that I rarely visit, and I thought that i would throw a challenge on Sestina in QL.]

"*A sestina is a form of poetry with very strict rules. There are six stanzas, each with six lines. Each line ends with one of six selected words; these words are repeated at the end of the other sentences and must be placed in a particular order. The finale is three lines, repeating the six words, and the six words must appear in designated order."click here for further insight into Sestina.

Try! Good luck!


~"Some people are so opposed to murder they will kill anyone who commits it."~-Magazine advertisement (I quoted this line from Petrarch's reply to: Killing too slowly.........
~Death sentence can be a punishment-but it cannot be justice.~me, Letswriteandshare.

[This message was edited on 04-23-03 at 08:27 AM.]

I'm a little confused - in your instructions, the writer is instructed to place the six "selected" words in a "particular" or "designated" order. Well, in the link you provided, I could discern no apparent order in which these words are to appear. Can you clarify?

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..." - Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Here's another link which explains the "strict" order in which the ending words of each line are placed.
Hope it helps

Sestina

I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance - e e cummings

Ahhh... of course!!! 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 1 5 2 4 3 3 6 4 1 2 5 5 3 2 6 1 4 4 5 1 3 6 2 2 4 6 5 3 1 2 5 4 3 6 1... how could I miss such an obvious pattern??

Maybe I'll give this a try.

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..." - Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Grinchman042- Sorry about the confusion, I took the "difinition" from the link I provided itself. Song_bird provided a more explainatory link.

Everyone: [I attempted to write a “Sestina” today and was relieved that I wrote a “Sestina” today- but humph! I checked the link Song_Bird provided, and I see that there’s a fixed pattern of how the words are repeated, this I didn’t remember/know…so I’m posting this work now, but I think I’ll have to edit this “sestina-like thing” to make it a “sestina”.]

My attempt at a Sestina-like thing (not Sestina!):


Sketch a different story!
The forgotten and untended night
is now getting pierced with fierce light;
so then is this a normal day with the birds as usual taking flight
and the hungry dogs engaging in their daily little fight;
another day with the minds of men full of fright;
will this day just present the everyday sight?

Or can there be a change in the sight
with the dogs resorting to flight
and the birds barking amidst a gigantic fight;
the men happily working at night
and snoring under the sun ignoring the light
and saying good-bye to fright?

Sometimes things do change but only to offer us fright
the men bark at each other waging a massive fight
and a nuclear bomb momentarily makes the day light
seem dark as a night;
the birds have can see but have no visionary sight
is such misery the destination of imagination’s flight?

Can we let our imagination take flight
and unleash the magic of the mystical night;
joining hands in this fight
to ensure that the men and the birds and the dogs don’t drown in fright;
then we would glimpse the most miraculous sight
and amid every darkness there we would see the ray of light!

But will we ever attempt to see the light
or would we continue to see this drab sight
oh-just the thought of drabness gives me a fright;
not yet another day and yet another night
without each heart leaping into a sweet flight
I hope this drabness our imagination can fight!

So I pick a pen in this dreary afternoon light;
failure does give me a fright
but I have to toil day and night
and persist in my fight
if I am to touch the heavens with my alone flight
and offer the world a splendid sight

I will fight the fright
through the light, through the night,
I take this flight to realize the imaginary sight.


~"Some people are so opposed to murder they will kill anyone who commits it."~-Magazine advertisement (I quoted this line from Petrarch's reply to: Killing too slowly.........
~Death sentence can be a punishment-but it cannot be justice.~me, Letswriteandshare.