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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/books/action/view/entry_id/1083655

$\"Reading$

Details

Activity Blog

by Dave Ryan

Rated: 18+ · Book · Activity · #2313407

Book for recurring activity entries

<<< Down By The Withered Tree

Vokabular, Vokabular, Vokabular >>>

#1083655 added February 23, 2025 at 8:51pm
Restrictions: None

Beat The Clock!

Prompt ▼

Just four hours to deadline;
that's never a good sign
for reaching a creative summit.
A last minute fluster
to churn out some bluster;
the chances of eloquence plummet.

That burning ambition
for great erudition
that heralds the start of each week,
soon crumbles asunder
in haste to dip under
the deadlines by barely a squeak.

Delusions of grandeur
just generate ordure;
tsunamis of meaningless drivel.
Completing this token
my muse, bruised and broken,
just sits in the corner and snivels.

But one day I wager
I'll write something major
befitting a gifted wordsmith!
Till then such endeavours
remain, firm as ever,
within the dark province of myth.

Form: an ad-hoc amphibrachic thang with aabccb rhyme ▼

A basic unit of tum-TUM-tum (stress on the middle syllable) is apparently called an amphibrach. So my basic pattern of every three lines being

tum-TUM-tum tum-TUM-tum
tum-TUM-tum tum-TUM-tum
tum-TUM-tum tum-TUM-tum tum-TUM-tum

is apparently two lines amphibrachic dimeter followed by one line of amphibrachic trimeter.

Unfortunately this only works for stanzas 1 and 3. In stansas 2 and 4, the trimeter line is a syllable short.

tum-TUM-tum tum-TUM-tum
tum-TUM-tum tum-TUM-tum
tum-TUM-tum tum-TUM-tum tum-TUM

This is apparently called "catalexis", so it would be amphibrachic trimeter catalectic.

I could try to pass this inconsistency off as an intentional witty nod to the rushed nature of leaving it to the last minute. In reality, it's just a screw up due to leaving it to the last minute, and I can't really fix it without a major rewrite.

Lines: 24

Comment

<<< Down By The Withered Tree

Vokabular, Vokabular, Vokabular >>>

Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/books/action/view/entry_id/1083655