Today I feel iambic! I would say
of all the meters, I like it the best.
An iamb starts with some soft sound to say
then ev'ry second syllable is stressed.
Trochees likewise, alternate their stresses;
even-numbered syllables are muted.
Nowhere near as popular (my guess is) -
Trochee fans, though, fervently dispute it.
Feet are the units of meter - such fun!
Dactyls have syllables STRESSED/, un-/, and un-.
"T'was the Night Before Christmas" is in Anapest:
that's a foot with three syllables: un-/, un-/, and
STRESSED.
The meter is the pattern of the beats within a line
"Iambic" and "Heptameter" describe this line just fine.
Anapestic Tetrameter: four anapests;
and the best part of THIS lecture series? No tests!
Trimeter has three feet
Tetrameter has just four feet
Pentameter adds one foot, making five
Hexameter adds one: six feet in this beehive
Heptameter has seven feet, but now it's getting late;
and so I'll close with this (you may have guessed):
Octameter has eight!
written 1 July 2023
I’m an unwitting symbol of fear
just on Halloween night every year.
I’m a pet, someone’s lovely black cat--
not a goblin, a ghoul, or a bat!
three anapests per line
Date: October 31, 2019
Contest Title: Good Luck Halloween Poem second picture
Sponsor: Eve Roper
Placed 1st
July 26, 2022
entered in the Bite Size Poem no. 50 Contest
Sponsor: Line Gauthier
I give dozens of treat bags each year,
and along with the thank-you’s I hear,
“Your mask looks like a ghoul."
Kids are easy to fool.
Some of us don’t need masks to cause fear!
I used howmanysyllables.com. Syllable counts are 9-9-6-6-9.
Each long line has three anapests; each short one, two anapests.
Date: October 16, 2019
Contest: A New Halloween Inspired Limerick Contest
Sponsor: Tania Kitchin
I was breezing along having fun,
making quick plans and getting things done,
but then up jumped a glitch,
such an odious hitch.
Thus, I found myself under the gun!
I was all packed and ready to go
with my bag full hundreds in-tow,
but I never would reach
that exotic, grand beach,
Al Hoceima in north Morocco.*
By the whole police force I was mobbed.
The community Bank, I had robbed.
“I just stole a small part
‘cause I’ve got a good heart,
and I needed a trip, y’all!” I sobbed.
“And the gun was fake!” Now I’m in jail,
yelling, “When is my hearing for bail?”
I know there’ll never be
surf and sun time for me,
since that ship for me surely has sailed!
******************
Unforeseen glitches cause us great pain.
Some invite them through ill-gotten gain.
Thinking they won’t get caught,
prison time they have bought.
Now their lives bear a permanent stain.
*The U. S. has no extradition treaty with Morocco.
In these limericks, each long line has three anapests; each short one, two anapests.
Date: October 12, 2019
Contest Title: Itch, Witch, Glitch, or Twitch Contest
Sponsor: Nina Parmenter
Mississippians want y’all to know
it is only their speech that is slow.
Yes, they’re known for their drawl;
but, for most of them, all
of those brain cells are rarin’ to go!
Lines 1, 2, and 5—three anapests each (nine syllables)
Lines 3 and 4—two anapests each (six syllables)
used howmanysyllables.com
Date: July 16, 2019
Contest Title: State Limerick
Sponsor: Kevin Shaw