Roger Jenkins - the poet?
From time to time I like to answer questions on QUORA relating to poetry. Mostly these are poetic responses, though sometimes the question is answered with a prosaic tip (or quip!)
Updated 4 August 2024
What counts as a line in a poem?
I was taught
That each line in a poem is a single thought,
Which explains why some lines are seven feet long
And others are short.
Some poems’ appeal because their lines
Use rhythm and rhyme to form a pattern,
A pattern which naturally aligns
With the subject of the verse,
And as we read we recognise, and take delight
In the form and structure poets bring
To our chaotic world when they write.
Other poems eschew the gardener’s guiding hand
and lines seem left to wander
where they will –
and yet,
as in nature, where water
always finds its course
downhill,
a good poem’s path,
though unpredictable,
is clearly planned.
How do poets who rhyme their poems know where the end of each line is going to be when they start writing them?
How do poets who like to rhyme
Know as they write a line it’s time
To hit the space bar and commence
a new one? How do they so consist
ently get it right without mist
akenly missing the mark?
A poet must surely be a pro
ficient writer to do this, bro.
Whene’er I see a rhyming line enjamb
ed I think to myself, Well I’ll be damn
ed
How do I know if I am truly a ”good” poet
or am I simply a mediocre poet?
Is poetry a binary art?
If a consistently mediocre football player
Can produce a stunning shot and broker
The most unlikely winning goal of the season,
Then the club-footed mundane poet,
Can still create – defying rhyme and reason –
A simile that soars, a line that sings,
A poem anthologized repeatedly for crystallising
Something unique that etches in collective memory.
Its rarity – ahh! That makes it all the more surprising.
And so I say, poetry is not a binary art
With writers lodged in the land of Good or Other:
We cross the tracks to a new neighbourhood
When our mediocre metamorphoses into good.
(awaiting inspiration)
What is ‘monosyllabic poetry’?
A tough way to write verse
That makes you want to be terse.
The rhyth goes on and on the same,
The sound is flat and feels so lame.
It lacks a voice that makes me smile,
It has no joy, no play, no guile.
“A thing of beaut is a joy for ev” —
Don’t write (nor read) such crap – not now nor nev!
Is it possible to start a poem
with the phrase “I am”?
going to start my poem
as you request,
but as you ask nothing more,
as you might have guessed,
I’m not going to finish it
am I?
.
Can someone write a beautiful poem with the title “Life” for me?
Life is what you make it –
The emphasis is on you
Asking someone else to make it?
What a self-defeating thing to do!
An Acrostic (instead of a coven!) of WITCHES
Whenever people want someone to blame
It’s easy to find a scapegoat,
Targetting the defenceless,
Hounding the old, the odd, the ostracised
Endowing them with evil powers
Sure to scare the stupid shitless.
What are some ideas for writing poetry
based on ‘MACBETH’?
If you’re writing a poem about Macbeth
It’s a foregone conclusion it’ll end in death .
It’s tough to be a Porter
When the wind whips up a storm,
And you’ve nothing underneath your kilt
To keep your privates warm.
Then guests come ceaseless knocking
At the heavy Castle door,
And the sods won’t tip you a single groat
For a shot of malt whisky to pour.
It’s no fun in the Castle laundry, neither,
When Lady M paces about,
For no matter how hard you scrub and scrub
You can’t get the dammed spots out!
Write a poem using these three sentences:
1. Joined forces with the French.
2. It took Britain long to get supplies. 3. They knew the clony’s terrain well. THIS IS DUE TOMORROW PLS HELP?
My teacher is a bastard –
He’s joined forces with the French —
setting poems on why it took Britain
long to get supplies — man, what a mensch!
My teacher is a lazy sod who can’t even spell
“They knew the clony’s terrain well”?
And this shit’s due tomorrow —
May he rot in hell.
What is a poem on the open hand?
To help a student understand
I wrote a poem on my open hand,
Then slapped him hard upon his cheek —
A haiku keisaku. I did not need to speak.
Is a limerick similar to a haiku?
There was a young chap in Japan
Who was a huge limerick fan –
But when he wrote haiku
He was left to rue why coo-
-uldn’t he make 5-7-5 syllables scan?
What should I write a poem about? I don’t have anymore ideas.
Oh no – what can I do?
I haven’t got any ideas, have you?
I’ m sorry to trouble you out of the blue
But my mind’s a blank — that’s nothing new!
I’m known as the poet, who hasn’t a clue
(I’m not as creative as Coz Clerihew)
I need an idea – just one, not a few —
Otherwise I’ll have to stop writing poetry altogether.
What is an ‘I’ poem?
I am I, and I will try
On my i-Phone to write I-poetry.
I am the I who is all important
And only I can write (and others oughtn’t)
About why I write about only me,
This hybrid verse called Idol-etry.
Would you like to write a four line poem on biased justice?
The scales of justice are meant to be even —
That was the principle we used to believe in.
But SCOTUS now tips them down on the right
To favour the Straight, Christian and White.
What is a history haiku?
Wars fought long ago
Teach us lessons for today –
Putin didn’t learn.
What’s a nice poem
to read at bedtime?
I like to read at bedtime
A poem dull and boring,
Because I know that ere too long
I’ll be fast asleep and snoring.
How do you write an acrostic poem with the word
“Data Gathering”?
Dont
Attempt
This
Assignment
is how I would begin.
How do I write a page-long poem?
To begin, i suggest you look
For the smallest paged notebook
You can find – a far more
Productive use of your time, I’m sure,
Than trying to compose, at your age,
Something poetic on a larger page.
You ought
To keep your lines short.
That way you will
Quickly fill
The single sheet
And your task will be complete.
As your assignment criteria
Is woefully inferior,
Do not consider quality a strength:
Focus only on its length.
Remember always the words of the sage
Who said – oh sorry, end of the page.
How do poets who rhyme their poems know where the end
of each line is going to be when they start writing them?
How do poets who like to rhyme
Know as they write a line it’s time
To hit the space bar and commence
a new one? How do they so consist
ently get it right without mist
akenly missing the mark?
A poet must surely be a pro
ficient writer to do this, bro.
Whene’er I see a rhyming line enjamb
ed I think to myself, Well I’ll be damn
ed
What is an apology poem for?
I’m sorry I really don’t know
Why anyone would care to write
A poetic apology, although —
And forgive me if this is trite —
I suspect they want to make amends
For somehow upsetting one of their friends?
Can you write a rhyming poem about Kant?
How I’d love to rave and rant
About that awful fellow Kant.
But a rhyming poem?
As much I want,
I can’t .
How do you write Urdu poetry on love and romance
in a modern style?
How do
You do
Urdu
poetry?
Who do
Urdu
Lovers
Coo to?
Do they plead
“Please love me true, do!”
In their urgent verse in Urdu?
What is the difference between
a poem that rhymes
and a poem that doesn’t rhyme?
Regarding your question
here’s a suggestion
for you:
read a poem or two.
You’ll soon see the difference
between poems that rhyme
and those that don’t.
What are some examples of poems that have no title?
This poem has no title
because I don’t think I need it.
But if you don’t know what it’s about —
Will you bother to read it?
How many words should a short love poem have?
What kind of lover measures their love
By the number of words in a poem?
Parsimonious and pedantic, not passionate —
I wouldn’t want to know’em.
How do you write a get well soon poem for your teacher?
Teach, I’m so sorry to hear you’re sick,
And sorrier still, I’m such a dick —
too lazy to bother, truth to tell,
To sit and write you my own ‘Get Well’’.
So please accept this generic note
That some cynical bloke on Quora wrote.
Why do poets sometimes write poems with only one line
(or two)? What does this accomplish for them as writers and readers alike?
The archer hits the bullseye.
Why waste a second arrow?
I have to write a poem on career exploration.
Does anybody have any ideas?
A poem on career exploration —
That’s the task my teacher has set.
I have thought about it for ages
But I’ve not thought of anything yet.
I’m clearly not suited for writing —
Not as author, journalist, librarian.
Perhaps I should try manual labour?
Or possibly something agrarian?
A career that pays me good money
Without working hard for long years —
A thief is what’s most appealing,
As I love stealing others’ ideas.
What’s your favorite poem about rising early?
Rising early to catch the worm?
That’s a thought that makes me squirm.
Let the birds be eagerly early –
Pre-dawn waking makes me surly.
I’d much, much rather stay in bed
(I banished alarm-clocks beside my head.)
Much as I liked the lovely Liza
I had to leave her (she’s an early-riser)
and I fell instead for my Caroline
who loves to lie-in till half-past nine.
(This is my favourite as I just wrote it and it’s probably going to be my first and only poem about rising early!)
What are some beautiful poems
about life in the Seychelles?
She sells sea shells on the Seychelles’
sandy soft sea-shore for sure.
I saw on my Seychelles chalet see-saw
sea-shells she had surely
shortly sought before.
What is a 4-line poem with the word “missionary”?
A missionary went to the natives
Extolling the Christian Hereafter —
But the natives believed it was nonsense,
And ate him with fried yams
and laughter.
Can you write a work that starts
with “o” and ends on “c”?
Optimistically, I’m confident I can
Create a poem that follows your plan:
I accept the challenge – and calm (not manic)
I’m sure I’ll complete it – if I don’t panic.
Can you make a poem of
”You have two voices”?
You have two voices
No I don’t
Yes you do!
Says who?
Says me!
shaking my head.
I’m talking to you, that’s who.
You’re not a voice.
If I’m not a voice, how come I’m talking?
You’re not. You’re writing. You’re a thought.
Looks like a conversation to me.
Looks can be deceiving.
Time you were leaving.
(Silence)
That’s better.
More room for me.
I can reclaim my side of the bed.
Page, I mean.
I have many thoughts
But only one voice.
No one else speaks for me.
(sotto voce) That’s what you think!
Can you suggest a poem for a friend who enjoys both poetry and French fries?
No matter how hard a poet tries
to versify about French fries,
or searches on Quora for helpful tips
on how to make memorable poetic chips;
sadly no matter how hard you toil
burning dud-spuds in your midnight oil,
hoping at last you’ll pen something indelible
– you’ll fail.
Versified frries are soggily inedible.
IHow do you write a short poem with two stanzas (4 lines for each stanza) expressing your appreciation on the tilt of the Earth that causes seasonal change?
Lines on Quora are straight and flat —
Thank God our earth is not like that,
But leans at 23.4 degrees
Creating seasonalities.
If it were straight – oh what a bore!
All months the same – like in Singapore.
Be grateful that our world’s a tilter —
Sometimes there’s virtue in being off-kilter.
ACROSTICS
What is the purpose of writing an acrostic poem in school?
Acrostics provide a simple structure
Challenging writers to seek the right word,
Ransacking their vocab for the first in each line.
Often students think poems rhyme. Acrostics don’t.
Sensibly scalable – ‘crab’ or ‘pandemic’
Test very different levels of thought and skill.
If a class all compose acrostics on the same word
Comparing them reveals amazing diversity!
How do you make an acrostic poem using the word catalyst? In making the poem, you may also write the importance of catalyst in our daily life.
Complacently I coasted through my boring morning
And then your casual prompt (a catalyst acrostic please)
Triggers a reaction.
Animated, I take up the challenge and a pen,
Laying aside my lazy sexagenarian self. I smile –
Yew-sapped, yang-flushed. You are my muse
Stimulating me to write –
Thank you for sparkling my afternoon.
When it’s cold and wet and windy
Embrace the opportunity to keep
Agile acrostically in cosy indoor comfort.
Then, when the wind drops and mercury rises,
Head for the beach or park or wood
Experience the delight of sun on skin –
Remember that inspiration indoors in winter.
What is an example of an acrostic poem with the word “paganly”?
Purify the sacrifice with fire
Arrange the bones by moonlight,
Gild the statue with honey’d ochre
And smear the loins with virgin blood.
Naked, dance to defy the darkness
Lest evil stalk the long night
Yelling, we greet the dawn with joyous drums.
Can you make a 16-sentence poem that the morning has broken just for Debby?
When I woke up this morning
I thought: Is this a joke?
It’s almost half past ten already –
And morning still hasn’t broke!
And it’s not just me who has missed it
But all folks in my town have, for sure.
Seems Debby the Witch in Whitechapel
Made this morning break just for her!
Don’t ask me how Debby done did it –
A spell made with innards and fur?
But what kind of self-centred satanist
Makes a morning break solely for her?
As she dances alone in her Eden
And by dawn’s dappled light she is kissed,
Though the sun may be shining on Debby
– the world (and Cat Stevens) is pissed!