It was a glow unlike most had ever seen in the community of leprechauns. This was the one, the phenomenon, the long-awaited rainbow that held treasure for them. Even before the blare of the muster horn sounded, excitement drew the multitude to the assembly cave. The vibrant shine over the glen illuminated the pathways throughout the thickets.

  Only a handful had seen this spectacle before, although every member recognized the miracle. The din of their gathering was deafening inside the walls of the dimly lit pit.

 A sudden hush spread like a breeze over the crowd as Jeagaer appeared, making his way to the altar. His aged movement was brisker than usual as he climbed the elevated rocks. In his hand was the renowned scepter, seldom seen by the mass of leprechauns. It was with great awe each elf watched the scepter raise high above Jeagaer’s head. Not a sound was uttered, for this was a ritual whose tale was repeated to each elf countless times since birth; the rite of selection. The wand would move with mystical power over the group and when it stopped, would be pointing to the chosen. One among them would journey to the rainbow’s end to accept the treasure it offered. Visions of gleaming pots of gold coins danced in heads all around the circle.

   The scepter moved slowly, as if scrutinizing each individual. It took several moments to realize it had ceased moving when Jeagaer’s eager eyes squinted to bring the selected into focus. L’aucervels glanced quickly around him expecting the scepter to be marking a nearby comrade, but all eyes were upon him and he stood as if hypnotized. No instructions were warranted, no grand celebration at his designation, for he knew time was short for the brilliant rainbow. Dallying would risk the loss of their fortune.

   He set out, amid the growing murmur of those around him. Eyes viewed his departure in disbelief as he walked toward the dimmer, pastel rainbow end. His companions were amazed that he strode with his back to the beckoning brighter end, a luster of colors holding the magnificent, golden fortune. Although dismay permeated over them, Jeagaer’s wand had fulfilled its task and was sheathed. No disgruntled word dare be uttered, else there would be severe consequence. As L’aucervels disappeared from sight, disenchantment accompanied the group's dispersing. Each leprechaun returned to his previous daily task, heart heavy at the folly of the designated fortune seeker.

   Hardly had they resumed activity fully, when the muster horn signaled them back. The incredible news of L’aucervels’ return astounded and filled them all with newfound hope. Perhaps L’aucervels had realized his error and turned around? Certainly he would not return without the pot of gold! Again the assembly cave filled. Anxious faces searched L’aucervels as he made his way to the front where Jeagaer stood. A look of pride greeted L’aucervels as he approached and knelt before his leader. Not a glimpse of gold could be seen by anyone.

   As Jeagaer came to him, L’aucervels pulled from his cloak a small leather skin and placed it in Jeagaer’s hand. A gasp sounded throughout the room. What was this? This could not possibly be the quest he set out after! Disappointment was obvious as it became clear no pot of riches was to be produced. Above them, the rainbow had faded. With it went the coveted prize they had expected to possess.

   Quiet overcame and they waited for the leprechaun king’s proclamation of failure. Instead, they saw Jeagaer lift the tiny leather flask and sprinkle the ground around the altar with droplets of water collected from the rainbow’s pale tip. Like a sudden dawning, the sun pushed the clouds away and lit the entrance of the cave. Everyone moved into the clearing in front. The murky pond near the well transformed to clear, refreshing water. Plants and flowers took on brighter color as the soil became fertile. The gloom that had blanketed the glen lifted as a fog and vanished. The heart of each leprechaun lightened with recent disharmony forgotten.

   Now celebration was rampant, for L’aucervels indeed had been the chosen. Fulfilling prophecy, he had brought rich, new life to the village. And in the brightness of the heavens not even a hint of their benefactor remained.

A Ballad is a poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend which often has a repeated refrain. A typical ballad is a plot-driven song, with one or more characters hurriedly unfurling events leading to a dramatic conclusion. It is often constructed in quatrain stanzas, each line containing as few as three or four stresses and rhyming either the second and fourth lines, or all alternating lines.

Ballad of Cynthia

Up on the hill over Riverton

Cynthia knotted her thread;

Stitching a quilt for her baby

to keep warm in his small wicker bed.

She was widowed that fall on a blustery day

when a large tree erroneous fell;

Through grieving and grit she came up with a way

in raising her child up well.

She sewed aprons and bloomers and lace petticoats

and took them to market each week;

While Benjamin played with stick and string boats

in nearby Low Cumberland Creek.

Benjamin grew tall and straight as a man

despite what his Ma could avail;

He kissed her goodbye, and his new life began

His desire in life was to sail.

As years took their toll on the poor woman's lot

her hands could no longer pull thread;

She mourned for her son as she lay on her cot

with his quilt used to pillow her head.

She dreamed of a sailing ship billowing proud

with her boy facing battering wave;

commanding his crew boldly and loud

A ship captain worldly and brave.

Though she missed him she knew he was happy

in doing what he wanted to do;

defending his ship strong and scrappy

with sea winds and gales he fought through.

He returned on a morn in December

When the smoke from her chimney rose high;

Much taller than she could remember

with a son's look of love in his eye.

He took her to live by the ocean

where sailing ships came in from sea;

She knew Benjamin's care and devotion

wishing all to be happy as she.

 Poets who chose to use the Fibonacci form, need only decide whether to use syllables, (like the cinquain, etc) or words. Whichever is chosen it is an extremely impressive visual poem with the following scheme: 1. 1. 2. 3. 5. 8. 13. 21. 34. etc. Each line consists of a series of numbers (syllable or word) produced from the sum of the two previous numbers.

Child's Prayer

Child's

Prayer

Dear God

Please bless Rex

He is a big dog

But he is out there lost somewhere.

I have looked for him but cannot find him anywhere.

Will you take care of him please and keep him safe until I can bring him back home with me?

I promise to be good and do my chores every day and eat everything on my plate and say my prayers and never let Rex get lost again.

A footle is a series of 2 line, 2(3) syllable  poem with an integral title suitable for light, witty, pertinent, topical verse

Snow Day

schools say

snow day

moms hear

kids cheer

call work

boss jerk

don suits

lost boots

outside

sled ride

next plan

snowman

cheeks glow

track snow

cocoa hot

hits spot

quick lunch

all munch

more snow

out they go

angel making

picture taking

once more

mop floor

sleepy heads

in beds

Dad views

weather news

Mom winces

more inches

Tetractys: The poetic form of the tetractys is a poem with only five lines. Each line adds another syllable until the last line which has ten.

Line 1 – 1 syllable

Line 2 – 2 syllables

Line 3 – 3 syllables

Line 4 – 4 syllables

Line 5 – 10 syllables

Tunes

old songs

treat my ears

spark memories

of dances, old friends and our long lost youth

Junebugs!

Bugs!

June Bugs!

Big June Bugs!

I hate June Bugs!

When I hear them my blood goes cold as ice!

They fly at me and get stuck in my hair!

Sometimes I freeze!

I can't move!

I'm scared!

Help!

Rhopalic Verse is a tricky form that at first appears simple but in fact requires a lot of hard work to accomplish a satisfactory piece. The rules are simple, with each line the first word is monosyllabic the second word has two syllables the third three syllables and so on.

Rhubarb

Sweet rhubarb satisfies delightfully

baked into strawberry delicacy

by skilful bakery virtuoso

Lilacs

White lilacs blossoming abundantly

send perfumed enchantment delicately

to sweetly encompass wonderfully

Anaphora is when successive phrases or lines begin with the same words. The repetition can be as simple as a single word or as long as an entire phrase.

Nyctophobia

There was

an old tire swing swaying in the moonlight.

There was

a tree branch casting an eerie shadow on the dew covered grass.

There was

the sound of footsteps from a flapping rag hanging alone on the clothesline.

There was

a haunted silence above the ticking clock and humming refrigerator.

There was

a strange image staring at me in the smeared window from my own reflection.

There was

no one but me in this old farmhouse set far back in the valley from the main highway.

There was

an occasional beastly growl that grew into a shriek each time the windmill started rotating.

There was

a weighty lump in my chest even as I stood fixed, half wrapped in long dark drapes.

There was

a cold dampness on my forehead that surged its chill through every part of me.

There was

a fleeting instinct to find somewhere warm and soft and surrounding that sounds and shadows and reflections could not penetrate.

There was

me, alert, intimidated, frightened.

List: A poem that is made up of a list of items or events. It can be any length and rhymed or unrhymed.

Stand back!  I need to open up the drawer

You know, that one that holds our odds and ends.

It's just a rubber band I'm looking for

to hold the fresh glued bud vase as it mends.

There's bottle caps and batteries of all kinds

I don't need pamphlets, lipstick, cord or tacks

or brackets for those long gone kitchen blinds

Not nail clippers, or buttons in small sacks

Why did we keep these crooked wire ties?

This recipe for fruitcake can be tossed

A little sticker book of butterflies

and here's that locker key we thought we'd lost

Ketchup packets, garden seeds, and chalk

a magnet holding paper clips and screws

a partial tube of leaking bathtub caulk

and laces from a pair of tennis shoes

There's a safety pin and picture hanging wire

a photo of somebody I don't know

a fabric softener ball for in the dryer

A toy that, when you squeeze it, it will glow

Old addresses scrawled on sticky notes

eyeglass cases, super glue and tape

clippings of newspaper anecdotes

a tie-back from that ugly purple drape

Here's that thing to open the garage

hair clipper blade that's tangled in a brush

receipts in bathtub caulk like decoupage

and directions when I need a caffeine rush

Here's a broken ruler that should be replaced

this bookmark and a coupon that's expired

a holey swatter that has been defaced

and headphones used for music I admired

No tree will grow if I don't plant these seeds

Darn! The eyeglass kit I needed yesterday

A wooden dowel that my old rocker needs

My, this faded flag has gotten kind of gray

Several pennies in a little purse

a car wash token, hairpins everywhere

a children's book about the universe

a ribbon from a tiny teddy bear.

Truck keys for a GMC that's dead

fish food for a fish, but he's dead too

More of those black hairpins for my head

I think I can stop buying them, don't you?

Now wait a minute, I must stop and think

I cannot rummage through here anymore

I think I'll just relax and have a drink

then try remembering what I'm looking for.

Rictameter Verse: Nine lines. The Rictameter form is based on the idea of the Cinquain.  

with strict adherence to syllable count. Like the Cinquain the Rictameter has a two syllable increment with each line, and a two syllable closure. However, unlike the Cinquain, the Rictameter does not stop at eight, it continues with a line of ten syllables, and instead of a two syllable closure, it decreases each line by two syllables per line until the closure. The closure being a repeat of the first line. The syllable count is as

follows . .2. 4. 6. 8. 10. 8. 6. 4. 2

Penny

picked up for luck

polished clean with shirttail

one side Lincoln other side wheat

snakes, snails and puppy dog tails and penny

buried deep in trouser pockets

goes forgotten to wash

clatters in dryer

Penny

4-22-17

Dessert

Dessert

Sweet indulgence

You know you should avoid

but it looks so darned appealing

Your mouth waters take a very small slice

then walk away and don't look back

they've brought another tray

Keep on walking

Dessert

A Paradelle is a poem of four six-line stanzas in which the first and second lines, as well as the third and fourth lines of the first three stanzas, must be identical. The fifth and sixth lines, which traditionally resolve these stanzas, must use all the words from the preceding lines and only those words. Similarly, the final stanza must use every word from all the preceding stanzas and only these words."

Gone Fishing

In the lake the sunfish play

In the lake the sunfish play

Quickly swimming into weeds

Quickly swimming into weeds

Quickly swimming the sunfish play

Into weeds in the lake

Fresh flowers stand in a mason jar

Fresh flowers stand in a mason jar

Mama makes some lemonade

Mama makes some lemonade

In a mason jar some lemonade

Mama makes fresh flowers stand

Father teaches son to bait

Father teaches son to bait

Squiggly worm on bended barb

Squiggly worm on bended barb

Father teaches bended barb

Son to bait squiggly worm

Bobber sinks out of sight

Bobber sinks out of sight

Delighted squeal, fish on the hook

Delighted squeal, fish on the hook

Bobber sinks, delighted squeal

Fish on hook out of sight