Page 3 Free Verse
Completion requirements
Free Verse
Pattern poems can range from long in an epic such as The Odyssey or short in an epitaph on a grave marker. They may be sung as a carol (a celebration poem sung by a group) or chanted as a dirge or lament ( for example, at a funeral).
They may even be written as epistles (letters).
| Epistle
Dear Mama Time I pay rent and get my food and laundry I don't have much left but here is five dollars for you Langston Hughes (1902-1967) |
Following are elegies or epitaphs from various generations and centuries.
| At age 22, Ben Franklin composed a mock epitaph for himself: Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
The body of B. Franklin, Printer, Like the Cover of an old Book its Contents torn out, and stript of its Lettering and Gilding, les here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be wholly lost, For it will, as he believ'd, appear once more, In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and Amended By the Author. He was born on January 6, 1706 Died 17--. |
| W. H. Auden reprinted under several titles, the best known of which is "Funeral Blues". Stop all the Clocks W. H. Auden (1907-1973) Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead, Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now: put out every one; Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun; Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good. |
| Nicholas Evans
(1950 - ) If I be the first of us to die, Let grief not blacken long your sky. Be bold yet modest in your grieving. There is a change but not a leaving. For just as death is part of life, The dead live on forever in the living. ... Be still. Close your eyes. Breathe. Listen for my footfall in your heart. I am not gone but merely walk within you. |
Free Verse
The most loosely structured pattern poem is the free verse.
Free Verse poems do not contain rhyme, they do not have a particular rhythm, and they can deal with any subject.
Sometimes, punctuation disappears, as in the poem below in which the poet imitates the voice of a moth; therefore, punctuation is ignored. The lack of punctuation can enhance the message of the poem.
Sometimes, punctuation disappears, as in the poem below in which the poet imitates the voice of a moth; therefore, punctuation is ignored. The lack of punctuation can enhance the message of the poem.
| Read “the lesson of the moth” by Don Marquis below. |
the lesson of the moth
Don Marquis (1878-1937)
i was talking to a moth
the other evening
he was trying to break into
an electric light bulb
and fry himself on the wires
why do you fellows
pull this stunt i asked him
because it is the conventional
thing for moths or why
if that had been an uncovered
candle instead of an electric
light bulb you would
now be a small unsightly cinder
have you no sense
Don Marquis (1878-1937)
i was talking to a moth
the other evening
he was trying to break into
an electric light bulb
and fry himself on the wires
why do you fellows
pull this stunt i asked him
because it is the conventional
thing for moths or why
if that had been an uncovered
candle instead of an electric
light bulb you would
now be a small unsightly cinder
have you no sense
plenty of it he answered
but at times we get tired
of using it
we get bored with the routine
and crave beauty
and excitement
fire is beautiful
and we know that if we get
too close it will kill us
but what does that matter
it is better to be happy
for a moment
and be burned up with beauty
than to live a long time
and be bored all the while
so we wad all our life up
into one little roll
and then we shoot the roll
that is what life is for
it is better to be a part of beauty
for one instant and then cease to
exist than to exist forever
and never be a part of beauty
our attitude toward life
is come easy go easy
we are like human beings
used to be before they became
too civilized to enjoy themselves
but at times we get tired
of using it
we get bored with the routine
and crave beauty
and excitement
fire is beautiful
and we know that if we get
too close it will kill us
but what does that matter
it is better to be happy
for a moment
and be burned up with beauty
than to live a long time
and be bored all the while
so we wad all our life up
into one little roll
and then we shoot the roll
that is what life is for
it is better to be a part of beauty
for one instant and then cease to
exist than to exist forever
and never be a part of beauty
our attitude toward life
is come easy go easy
we are like human beings
used to be before they became
too civilized to enjoy themselves
and before i could argue him
out of his philosophy
he went and immolated himself
on a patent cigar lighter
i do not agree with him
myself i would rather have
half the happiness and twice
the longevity
out of his philosophy
he went and immolated himself
on a patent cigar lighter
i do not agree with him
myself i would rather have
half the happiness and twice
the longevity
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You can also listen to this poem below. |