In celebration of National Poetry Month @murisopsis from A Different Perspective is once again hosting a poetic scavenger hunt. This year’s theme is “nonce” form poetry. What is nonce form poetry? Well, it’s basically a form that was created by a poet for their own use. What’s interesting about a nonce form is that if it is adopted by other poets and used more often it will no longer be considered a nonce form, but rather become recognized as a “valid” poetical form.
The scavenger hunt features thirteen nonce form challenges all to be completed within the month of April. I highly encourage you to check out the prompts and participate here.
Ok, now onto the seventh challenge…Running Repitition
Running Repetition
murisopsis
A poem of minimum 2 stanzas of 7 lines each (the stanzas can be written as 7 lines or broken into a quatrain followed by a tercet for emphasis). Rhyme scheme: x/a/a/a/b/b/C where C is the same phrase repeated as a refrain in all following stanzas. The refrain is broken into 2 parts separated by a dash to indicate a catch in breath.
Bonus: use some aspect of running or repetition.
Phew! I need to catch my breath just from reading that! This seems complicated, but let’s see how difficult it is to actually write.
I Hadn’t Seen It a-Comin’
She leapt gracefully
Across the wispy fields of hay
Late in the hot summer day
Light of foot and full of play
Under the bright blue sky
So young and lovely — too soon to die.
I hadn’t seen it a—comin’
Out of nowhere suddenly
A doe-y light brown flash
I turn the wheel so rash
To avoid a nasty crash
But it was too too late
I hadn’t seen it a-comin’
I saw her dash away quickly
Behind a shaded tree
And into the field to flee
Her early death not to be
When I suddenly struck
An oncoming truck
I hadn’t seen it a-comin’
I sat there impatiently
In the waiting room
Full of dread and gloom
I got there way to soon
At the empty desk, I rang the little bell
Suddenly appeared an angel or a devil, I couldn’t tell
I hadn’t seen it a-comin’
My life too short flashing through my eyes
I see my loved ones one by one
I see all the good and bad I’d done
I try to calculate the total sum
Stop counting at negative eighty-three
That was when I hit the truck (or was it the tree?)
I hadn’t seen it a-comin’
To hell I went with no ceremony
But I couldn’t complain about it
I’d earned my way to that pit
And if I’m honest with that company I did fit
But my number wasn’t that high
After all I was quick to die
I hadn’t seen it a-comin’
Soon my number was called
Maybe a decade or two
Or perhaps more than a few
Hell-time is different, so I’ve really not a clue
It’s not when that really matters, it’s more the fact
That I’ve come back to life as a sewer rat
I hadn’t seen it a-comin’
Well all I can say about that one is “I hadn’t seen it a-comin’”. Haha.
Be well,
Monty
Monty’s Blahg 
Oh Monty! You did a great job with this poem form!! Yes dark and sad and also a little funny. I suppose there are worse things than being a sewer rat!
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Thank you so much. I found I had to keep going and going to tell the full story and so it really was a great form — having an interesting refrain was the key decision. As for being anything worse than a sewer rat…I hope I never have to know! Haha.
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