The Heartbeat of Poetry
Poetic neophytes are not necessarily young. I am 65 and have only been writing in abundance since age 62. A door opened and feelings came attached to words that made a painful past real yet beautiful. My heart beat for everything and everyone. Thus, I refer to iambic meter as “the heartbeat of poetry." Iambic pentameter sounds like a heartbeat in that the first beat is softer than the second so you have daDUM/ daDUM/ daDUM/ daDUM/daDUM. Notice there are five daDUMS, five feet or iambs, ten syllables or five pairs like Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29, “When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,” when in = 1 iamb/, disgrace =1 iamb/with for= 1 iamb/, une and = 1 iamb/, men’s eyes=/1 iamb total= 5 iambs, five two syllable metered feet with the stress on the second syllable. This meter of poetry is rhythmic in itself and when done well flows like the music of life. Heartbeats are measured in rhythm, sinus rhythm, Junctional rhythm or unfortunately, as in poetry also, Arrhythmia. When you want to convey a certain kinesthetic experience to the reader, you employ rhythm. Thoughts want to become words that sing and push forth clearly from that first line in your head. Ask yourself how often is great poetry lost for want of a computer, paper and pen to start the opening line that sets the pace of the poem? Above everything, anyone wanting to write must let the feelings flow, dumping their pain or pleasure in print without inhibition, daily paying homage to your craft. Within you is “the heartbeat of poetry.”
The Flame
You are the flame that keeps the heart alive.
Without your warmth our love would not survive.
I know you have a world that’s full of dreams
and yes, we share those same visions it seems.
So, walk with me along the sands of time
and let me breathe a sigh to know you’re mine.
7/18/18
READS LIKE MUSIC - haibun look Poetry Contest
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