Nov 18 2008
Free Verse Poetry
Ageless Icon
by jodapoet
It sits alone
a tattered fixture
housing age worn memories.
Splintered planks
forgotten woodchips
strewn over time.
I reminisce
that warm afternoon
sharing thoughts
laughter, love.
I smile
each time I pass
the green park bench
and remember us.
As it implies, free verse poetry does not adhere to the rules of metrical verse. It is free of the meter and rhyme scheme. It does not hear, see or touch versification and has no structured form. However, an ebb and flow lyrical cadence should be employed. These are phrases which fall into a symmetrical pattern which can be heard and observed when the rhythm is highly organized much like listening to a song. It should have a definite tempo as it applies to the voice of the poet. Although not structured in any traditional form line breaks are essential and observed as natural pauses between lines.
As we have all learned and grown with the traditional forms it is the mark of an experienced poet to master free verse poetry. One of the masters in my opinion was Sylvia Plath. Her use of imagery and free form cadences singled her out as one of the best at her craft. Here is an example titled ” Sheep In Fog ” from Ariel.
The hills step off into whiteness
People or stars
Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.
The train leaves a line of breath.
O slow
Horse the color of rust,
Hooves, dolorous bells-
All morning the
Morning has been blackening,
A flower left out.
My bones hold a stillness, the far
fields melt my heart.They threaten
To let me through to heaven
Starless and fatherless, a dark water.
As you can see this poem is the epitome of a free verse structure not obeying any rules yet it flows with a natural rhythm, tells a story and hosts imagery beyond compare. To master free verse you first need to find and master your own unique voice. This can only be done by reading poets of the past and present, finding your own rhythms and speech patterns and allowing your imagination to soar.
Ratty - I think you’d have not trouble at all writing. When it comes from the heart, the rest just falls into place. Try it sometime and send me a poem.