Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Ma-ma-ma-My Shadorma...

Today I attempted my first shadorma.
Never heard of a shadorma? Neither had I until the February issue of Writer’s Digest, which had the following to say about this rare and unusual poetic form.
“The origins of the shadorma poem are a bit elusive and mysterious, but there’s no denying that this poetic form is highly addictive. The poem, which consists of a six-line stanza (or sestet), is entirely ruled by syllables:
Line 1: 3 syllables
Line 2: 5 syllables
Line 3: 3 syllables
Line 4: 3 syllables
Line 5: 7 syllables
Line 6: 5 syllables
In the spirit of “three strikes, and you’re out,” here are my first three tries at writing a shadorma poem.
Shadorma Poem No. 1:
My lone son
Sleeps with Mickey Mouse
Under head
Pillow-like
And is unaware that I’m
Watching over him.
(Crystal called me into the baby’s room earlier tonight to look at James, who was using his Mickey Mouse doll as a pillow, which was the subject behind the above poem.)
Shadorma Poem No. 2:
My daughter
Wore her cowgirl boots
All day long
To fit in
With her friends on Western Day
At the local school.
(It was “Western Day” at Harper’s daycare today. Does anyone remember having theme days like this when they were in preschool? I don’t.)
Shadorma Poem No. 3:
Here I sit
While all are asleep
Writing poems
For people
Who may not ever read them
Or try one themselves.
In the end, this was pretty fun to toy with for a while, and in my down time, I may make a more serious attempt at writing a try and artsy shadorma. I invite you to try you hand at it, and post your original shadormas in the comments section below.

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