2019-10-01_Writer_s_Digest

12 I WRITER’S DIGEST I October 2019

POETIC FORM: CATENA
RONDO
Th ecatenarondois a funpoeticform
createdbyRobinSkelton,authorof
Th eShapesofOurSinging. Hetook
thenamefromcatena, whichmeans
chain,andconnectedit withrondo,
whichmeanscircle.Andthepoemis
a bitofa “chaincircle”becauseofits
intenserepetitionwithinstanzasand
thepoemasa whole.
Herearethebasicrules:

• The poemis comprisedofa vari-
  ablenumberofquatrains(four-
  linestanzas).


• Eachquatrainhasa rhymepat-
  ternofabba.


• The firstlineofeachquatrainis
  alsothefinallineofthequatrain.


• The secondlineofeachqua-
  trainis thefirstlineofthenext
  quatrain.


• The finalquatrainshouldrepeat
  thefirstquatrainwordforword.

Here is an example by a Poetic Asides reader:

WhatWasIt?byJohnBeaton

I knowthere’ssomethingI forgot.

I reallyhadtobringthatthing.

WhatwasthatthingI hadtobring?

I knowthere’ssomethingI forgot.

I reallyhadtobringthatthing.

Withoutit I’llbehighanddry...

orsoI think.I don’tknowwhy.

I reallyhadtobringthatthing.

Withoutit I’llbehighanddry.

WhenI putonmythinkinghat,

I dorememberthinkingthat

withoutit I’llbehighanddry.

WhenI putonmythinkinghat,

I knowthere’ssomethingI forgot.

Alas,myheadgetsfartoohot

whenI putonmythinkinghat.

I knowthere’ssomethingI forgot.

I reallyhadtobringthatthing.

WhatwasthatthingI hadtobring?

I knowthere’ssomethingI forgot.

POETRYPROMPT

Writea disappointmentpoem.The poemcanbeaboutyourdisappointmentor

thedisappointmentofanother.Or,it canstartatthelowpointandbuildupto

newopportunities.

BREWER ILLUSTRATION ©

RobertLeeBreweris theeditorofPoet’sMarketandauthorofSmashPoetryJournal. TONY CAPURRO

SHARE YOUR POETIC VOICE: If you’d like to see your own poem in the pages of

Writer’s Digest, check out the Poetic Asides blog (writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/

poetic-asides) and search for the most recent WD Poetic Form Challenge.

With so much repetition, it’s

imperative to pick a subject

that can handle it, like this

humorous poem.

In the fi rst stanza, Beaton

end stopped most of his lines

but mixed it up with some

enjambment in this line.

Remember to set up your per-

fect landing in the fi nal stanza

with the second line in your

penultimate quatrain.

No matter what you write, a bit of poetic license can be a

valuable asset to any writer’s arsenal.

BY ROBERT LEE BREWER