Poems

Lately, I have taken I liking to poems. Not reading them (though a good poem can be nice at times), but writing them. Here's a sample of the poems swirling 'round this mind of mine.

Deep and dark,
The Shadow dwelt,
In the dust and in the murk,
Whilst the Creature slept.

Slinking ever on,
In darkness and twilight,
Where one cannot see the dawn,
The Daske of Daraspite.

Until the Creature awakens,
And the Daske goes forth,
It stays forever there,
Somewhere in the North.

This was from the Prophecies of Shaldu, an idea I've been toying with. I've actually written out an outline for when I get around to it. But it all started with me making that first line--which had been completely random--and then going from there. The strangest things get you inspiration...

As you can see, the most of the words in that poem here don't completely rhyme with the ones they're supposed to--that's hard! When I'm feeling particularly un-rhyme-able, I either do this--rhyme only partially--or I only rhyme two lines out of four, like this;

Rhyme
Doesn't rhyme
Rhyme
Doesn't rhyme

And sometimes, when I'm feeling inspired, I rhyme perfectly--and it's always one of those 'rousing' songs.

Strength with humility, love without fail,
The force from who Ellos' enemies quail.
In the face of that evil, danger pale,
They are standing strong, faces hale.

That one was an excerpt from my short poem (one of my favorites) The Elves of the Underground. As you can see, it rhymed fairly well and had a good rhythm. That's why it's one of my favorites.

Now, back to business.

Why should you care about this? Well, if I managed to drag you through the first part of this, perhaps I'll get your attention now.

There were two main reasons why I started poem-ing.

1) It was fun. Really, you should try it. Making random poems is a lot more fun than one would think. And if it has to do with food, then, well, that's great. :) Double score, y'know. :D

2) I was kinda hoping to get some of this into my writing. I admire Jeffrey Overstreet's writing a lot, especially because of one thing; his writing had a kind of epic poetic flair and flavor to it. The description, though tedious at times, was breathtaking to the max. And I thought, "Well, maybe if I write some poems, I could insert that kind of flair and poetry in my writing, even if it is just a bit." I'm not sure that worked, but I'm glad I started poem-ing.

And, for fun, see what kind of a poem you can make up on the spot. Really. Just post it in a comment if you wish, or keep it to yourself. Something intriguing, something exciting. And maybe, just maybe, that poem will inspire you too.

--

Jake