Acrostic 5

All of us collectively watch our dead ideals crust over like a scab.
Wandering through the remains of our principles today is obscene.
After our self-congratulatory ovations in hell
Kill any remaining authenticity we'll fall, like so many Narcissi,
Ever more with ourselves as our dreams become mundane.
None of it is necessary if you realize the entirety of yourself.

Acrostic 4

The last few days here have at last been warm, after a rough, dark, terrible winter in Maryland. This piece sums up how I felt a few days ago before the thaw.

For this one, I just let myself go in regards to beats per line. In general I have tried to keep to ten beats each, but that was mostly an arbitrary decision to define perimeters. It hasn't worked out as well as I thought, and I may just release that restriction from here on out. This one felt much easier and much more fun to write without it, and in the end, this type of poem already does have quite the defined constrictions, what with the letters and words and the order in which they appear. Probably the way to go from now on during this exploration, at least until some novel idea turns up for one specific poem.

*

Weary of the car getting buried.
Inside the house all day and all night.
Never certain when the roads are clear.
Too much ice breaking up my trees.
Every other day comes with a weather warning.
Remember summer? Does it still exist?

Acrostic 3

Sorry I have been so long in posting lately. Much of my free time has been taken up lately with: well you'll see.

*

One time, only every several years
Legions of the world's top competitors,
Yearning to obtain some national pride
Make their way, (with coaches, friends, equipment)
Past fears. Past doubt. Past personal ego
Into descendants of ancient glories:
Competitions paying tribute to when
Society mingled with all the gods.

Acrostic 2

This acrostic isn't complex, but isn't obvious either. Look long enough, however, and you will see the message. I may do more than one of my name, but for today, enjoy this one.

I will say the goal was to keep each line to ten syllables, just for the sake of some sort of perimeters.

I did resort to breaking up lines in the middle of sentences. Many poets doe this, but I usually regard it as hackneyed and a bit of a cheat. But for this, and because I'm trying to experiment a bit, I allowed it.

*

These things are true; I'm behind, alone, scared.

Words from others, and from my former selves

Are the blades, bullets, bombs of my regrets.

But, with patience, love and faith in myself,

Reflections of my best intentions and

Of those of other people will dispel

Shadows of my past, as well as nightmares

Of my present. Then shall the future show

Me that I'm: ahead. With friends. Courageous.

Acrostic 1

Time at last for a new form, and it's one that can be both childish in its simplicity as well as dizzying in its complexity. Cute or mechanical, obvious or secretive, obvious or mysterious. It is the acrostic.

In it's simplest form, this type of poem, (designed originally to help pilgrims easily remember religious truths) consists of lines the first letters of which spell something. Usually that which is spelled relates to who springs from the content of the poem itself, though not always. At other times, it is the first world of each line that spell the message. Or the second word. Or basically any number of complicated ciphers can be involved in the creation of an acrostic.

It can rhyme, but need not. There are no official limitations on syllables per line or stanzas or any such thing. In short, an acrostic can be as little or as much as the poet wishes.

I will be experimenting with both the easy and the complex during this exploration of the acrostic and I'm looking forward to it. The form has enough freedom to allow me a relief from the specific complexity of the villanelle, but offers the potential of complexities that allow it to be a challenge to me at times.

So, enjoy my first simple example. Not as straight forward as it could be, as I don't use uniform meter in each line. But the "hidden" segment should be obvious to you.

*

Tell
Your friends
Until they understand
(Not merely hear) that
Given the particulars of his
Life, he will almost never have
Enough patience to accept or ignore
Bouts of their rapid verbosity,
Or any assumed intimacy
With such people.
Extroverts prevail
Rarely.