Hard to please… {Rhyme Royal}

Most of my readers and friends know I love finding forms of poetry to try and enjoy. At times, I can’t find a form that attracting compared to free verse and non-prompted poetry. The repercussions of this phase are that I find it difficult to decide whether to go with a form, or a free verse or maybe even a story. Oh well, mind won in this case! Besides, I wanted to tackle this form since many days now.

In the form, Rhyme Royal, for Friday Flash 55 and Form for All at dVerse Poets. Accompanying image from THIS SOURCE.

I tell a story, an age old fable
The battle royal, between mind and heart
Decisions to be made, words unstable
If only I knew the place where to start
To go with the flow, how to shape the art
Mind recommends formats, heart disagrees
Is this just life or my muse hard to please?

© Leo 29/July/2011

Poetry & writing are to me, a breath of fresh air in a life that is sometimes covered by the smoke of sorrow or self doubt. They also become the sweets I share to celebrate when life offers me a reason to. But most of all, they are to me, my life. For each word I write is a piece of my heart, a thought that just had to find its way into the world.

36 thoughts on “Hard to please… {Rhyme Royal}”

  1. Gorgeous! I loved the flow of expressing the internal struggle. Coupled with the picture, that’s picture perfect, in every sense of the word.

  5. I think life IS the muse hard to please!..great line though…smiles…I could feel your struggle…but a worth while excercise.

    Pic is a great match up for poem

    • No no, it isn’t as easy as it looks, and I can vouch too, Heaven. I got the meter wrong. 🙂 Glad you liked the words!

  9. Leo…
    Your Muse is doing just fine.
    On Both accounts!!
    Great job My Friend.
    Thanks for playing, and have a Kick Ass SWeek-End

    • LOL 😀 I’m glad to hear it, G-man. She is a little hard on me at times, doesn’t get happy easily if the words don’t come as needed. Cheers!

  10. Well this was really good. The rhyme scheme correct, the word usage superior, and topping some today you got the line length correct in syllables. But [you knew there would be a but, didn’t you?] you employ several anapests which throw off the pentameter and are not iambs frankly because they’re anapests. Also there’s a sprinkling of trochees to bump into the defined iambs.

    In the first line you have “a story” and “old fable” both of which act as anapests. This makes your line tetrameter, not pentameter (but isn’t is pleasant, rhythmic, and pleasing to the ear? That’s why ballads are written in tetrameter and most song lyrics too). Then there’s “words unstable” that would be two trochees. So “words” sits next to “made” and both are stressed making that line not work. “If on” follows and I read that as trochee as well but perhaps not – “if only” could be read as anapest which would then be followed by the iamb “I knew” but then scansion requires “the place where” be read as an anapest too. Yes I think you’re hearing that galloping anapest rhythm and not quite that sing song rhythm of iambics.

    Take a look at it and see what you think. As I said, the poem is really enjoyable, well crafted, and well said. Just not quite iambic pentameter.

    • Hey Gay 🙂 Yeah, I knew. I don’t get the pentameter rhythm that easily; but I thought I’d give the rhyme and syllable count a shot atleast. It is a beautiful form, and I am attracted to the formaic poetry very much. I’ve taken it into count, and will work some more pieces into the poetry. Cheers..

  12. Like so many of us, you have the rhyme perfect but haven’t used iambic pentameter. For that, the rhythm needs to go da-DA, da-DA, da-Da, da-DA, da-Da (five times). I know this, but I didn’t quite manage it perfectly either. lol. Your words are good, though, and the poem as a whole. 🙂

    • Yeah I know, Rosemary 🙂 I know the pentameter rhythm too, and that I couldn’t get it right. Glad you liked the words 🙂 Thanks!

  17. Ha ha…. everyone is hard to please nowadays. Your boss, your family, your expectation. I don’t blame the poor muse.
    A lovely post Leo. You sure come up with a diverse range of very novel pieces. 😀

    • Yes, lots of people hard to please, Deboshree, but why does the muse have to be one of them too? Very demanding she is 😛

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