Poetry Place Collected Poems

Guns Don't Kill Cavatina Poem

Guns Don't Kill Cavatina Poem

First thing in the morning I drink coffee
While watching the news.
Too many talking heads talking nonsense.
Soon feel the blues.

Politicians offering thoughts and prayers.
I blow a fuze.
Thinking about all the deranged gunmen.
I need some booze.

The NRA continues to just lie.
If guns don’t kill, why do so many die?
Form Poetry: Cavatina
WHAT IS A CAVATINA POEM?

The Cavatina is an Italian form of poetry, similar to many French forms in that it was often used in music. It has a minimum length of 8 lines and can be any length beyond that. The format is syllabic: alternating 10 and 4 syllable lines until the final two lines which are both 10 syllables. It does not require meter, although the poet may use meter if preferred. There is a simple rhyme scheme.
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FORMAT for Cavatina:
• Title: Yes.
• # of Lines: 8 or more (so long as it is an even number of total lines.
• Stanza Form: normally only 1 stanza of variable length
• Meter/Syllable Count: metered or non-metered with syllable pattern of 10/4/10/4/10/4 until the last two lines of 10/10
• Rhyme Scheme: xaxaxabb, where x represents the non-rhyming longer lines.
• Punctuation: up to the poet
• Repetition: none required
The Cavatina is an intriguing form consisting of at least two quatrains followed by a couplet. Each quatrain is structured with alternating lines of iambic pentameter and iambic dimeter. The short lines of each couplet rhyme, as do the lines of the concluding couplet, as described and demonstrated in the following links:

https://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1155-the-cavatina/

The Cavatina is a simple rhymed verse. One source, Poet's Garret, indicates the poetic form originated in Italy in the 14th century. The same poetic frame is also described in Pathways for a Poet by Viola Berg. The frame is suited to both reflective verse which leads to a strong climax or for light verse.
The term can be found in the dictionary as used in 1830 to describe an opertic solo shorter than an aria. On the internet it primarily refers to a classical guitar piece. The term Cavatina does come from the Italian "cavata" which is the production or extraction of sound from an instrument or the Latin "cavus " to dig or hollow out.
The elements of the Cavatina are:
1. stanzaic, written in any number of quatrains made up of uneven couplets and finally ending in a declamatory couplet.
2. metered, alternating iambic pentameter and iambic dimeter lines. The end declamatory couple is iambic pentameter.
3. rhymed. Rhyme scheme x a x a, x b x b, x c x c, etc. d d. x being unrhymed. The end couplet is rhymed.
Eye of the Beholder by Judi Van Gorder
I never thought my Mom was very pretty--
the glasses ruled.
It was Dad we always deemed the stunning one--
the ladies drooled.
So tall with sea green eyes and wavy hair
he'd win your heart.
We all adored this playful handsome man
who stood apart,
and oh, so smart, he knew that Mom was first class,
her beauty shined right through the wire frames and glass.