doing what comes naturally…

In search of…

I wish I had a better way to say

the things I really want to hear today.

Alas, I don’t, and there’s the rub, you see?

The words I want won’t blossom here for me.

April 6, 2015

This is a sample of iambic pentameter, pure and simple.

For me, it often seems natural to write poetry in iambic meter, that is, words that seem to flow in a rhythm captured by an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, repeat, repeat.

There’s no mystery about an iamb: think of a word like “enjoy,” the “en” is not stressed (not emphasized) and the “joy” is stressed (emphasized).

For me, this rhythm, when extended, creates a lilting, almost singsong style that is pleasing to the ear and to the eye.

Unlike some poets, I don’t determinedly write this way, line after line.

I’m sensitive to the intended and the spontaneous visual and aural rhythms as I compose my poetry, and I let the rhythm heighten the impact of what I’m writing.

The quatrain above is deliberately written in iambic pentameter.

It’s illustrative, but it’s not my most beautiful piece of work.

Usually I don’t let style cramp my choice of the right words.

* * * * * *

Book review: “Bartleby, the Scrivener”

Loneliness beyond understanding…

by Herman Melville

click here

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My first name was rain: A dreamery of poems with 53 free verse and haiku poems,

and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)

and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”

Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.