For the hockey fans...

     Today, I experiment with the zeno form of poetry.  This form, named after the philosopher, Zeno, was created by J. Patrick Lewis.  (To learn more about this Poet Laureate, check out his website.)  It never occurred to me that poetry forms could just be created, but indeed they can.  This type of poem is very mathematical in nature.  It has 10 lines, with the first line having 8 syllables.  Each line is reduced by half until you get to one, then the pattern repeats twice, each time starting from 4.  As an added challenge, the lines where there is one syllable have the same rhyming pattern.  Even with Pat's description at Miss Rumphius Effect, this was confusing to me.  In my notebook, I built myself this template:

A 8
B 4
C 2
D 1 _________
E 4
F 2
D 1 _________
G 4
H 2
D 1 _________

Using this template helped me remember how many syllables each line should have.  I added the underline so I knew where the rhyming pattern had to be.  Next, I read some examples of ZENO poems.  Finally, with last night's Buffalo Sabres' game on my mind, I created this...

We Live Hockey

By Melinda Harvey

When it comes to playoff hockey

we hope our team

can get

 in.

Their chances are

getting

thin.

Looking for a 

Sabres

win!

     In case you don't follow hockey, the Sabres gave us the win we were looking for...it took a sudden death overtime, but they did it! 

     I was lucky enough to go to the Sabres game, thus the topic of my poem.  What are you lucky enough to experience? What do you hope for?  Can you turn those thoughts into a zeno poem?  Give it a try today!