CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

I don’t always write in specific forms of poetry, but I like to try and master the older styles of poetry because it teaches me discipline—like writing word-limited flash fiction. It teaches me to think about my words, and my word choices. It makes me think of alternative ways to say something, rather than to just change the poem form to suit. It’s easy to be creative when you don’t have to obey the rules, but only when you strive to achieve your goal within a somewhat restrictive framework can you truly be creative. This is because restrictions make you think. You can’t just go from Point A to Point B in one easy step; you have to figure out a viable path. As with real life, when there are obstacles to your path, creativity can spark a new solution you would not have thought of otherwise. Restrictions bring about discovery; they force solutions to be found that might not have been uncovered otherwise, and these discoveries feed into the array of tools that can be applied to o...

For a long time, now, I’ve been writing poetry, and it never ceases to amaze me how many different types of poetry there are. Now, my poetry does not always come spontaneously. If I waited for that to happen, I wouldn’t fill my annual collections or anthologies on time, so there are days when I sit down and say “I’m going to write 10 poems today.” I’d like to tell you that it got easier over time, and it does, but it doesn’t. Some days the poem is waiting to come out—and those are the ones that are either wonderful, or need the most editing. And, some days, you have to fight for every word, and those ones are either wonderful, or need a lot of editing. Most days, however, the poem arrives shortly after you type the first line and has enough momentum of its own to keep going. I like those days. Some of my best work comes from those days. For the difficult days, however, the days when I’m tired, or don’t feel like writing poems or whatever, I needed a little help, and that’s w...

The kyrielle is a French poetic form dating from medieval times. It sometimes consists of couplets, or couplets paired into a quatrain usually linked by a chorus or refrain. The chorus may be as short as one word, or take up a whole line. Each couplet is usually four lines long, and each line consists of eight syllables. Different rhyming formats are used. If the poem is written in couplets it has an a-A, a-A format. If it is in quatrains, it might be rhymed in   a-a-b-B, c-c-b-B or a-b-a-B, c-b-c-B format, with the capital letters signifying a rhyme ending a chorus line. A kyriells should be no less than three quatrain stanzas (24 lines) long. An example of a kyrielle is below. Have all the Dragons Gone and Died Long ago, they lived in caves, as did mankind; we were their slaves We feared them once, all men and I Why ever did the dragons die? Where did they go, the dragons bold? Where did they go, when they grew old? There is no sign of them on high. ...

Well, we’re moving on from cinquains, but there are a few more 5-line verse forms to explore. The tanka is a five-line Japanese poem, that helped inspire the cinquain. It has five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, five in the third, and then seven in each of the fourth and fifth. Dragon Up Overhead it flies Catching thermals, finding wind Its scales a-glitter It searches the earth below Seeking, not finding, keep low. And here is a second attempt: Modern Lurker Under the stone bridge While traffic roars overhead Waiting in shadow Murder gleams within troll's eyes Within troll's heart evil lies. Why don’t you give it a try? Try writing at least one tanka for each day of the week. They don’t take a lot of time, but they can be a bit tricky. Here’s one way you might want to approach them: Decide on a topic; Think of words, phrases, feelings and ideas that relate to your topic and work out the orde...