Vol.3 (03) - The Mighty (and Not So Mighty) Pause

The Mighty (and Not So Mighty) Pause

Ferrick Gray

Poetically Speaking
Volume 3, Issue 3 (January 29)

Prefatory Comments

When we are reading prose material, we find that we will naturally pause at different places even if there is no punctuation to signal a pause. When we are reading a verse format, we tend to mark metrical divisions with a (slight) pause at the end of a verse.

In this essay, I will discuss the nature and necessities of such pauses, and how they come together to produce flowing, connected poems. Most of what follows will have more importance to formal structures, but can be applied to others.

Zarathustra's Cows

Ferrick Gray

Poetry Showcase (January 23)

(A tale of mine.) ’Twas once upon a time,
But could it really happen? Who would know?
Caught in a dream? To dream is not a crime.

Days follow nights, then nights the days and so
Eventually the repetition reigns
Forever it would seem. The ebb and flow

Vol.3 (02) - Controlling the Pace of a Poem

Controlling the Pace of a Poem

Enjambment, Punctuation and Whitespace

Ferrick Gray

Poetically Speaking
Volume 3, Issue 2 (January 23)

Prefatory Comments

The enjoyment and beauty of a poem are greatly enhanced when the poem is read aloud. If the poet wishes their poem to be read in a particular manner, then they must organize and structure their poem appropriately. The reader will then be guided expectantly. Many poets believe that simply breaking a verse will suffice. Generally, these breaks often come across as random and do nothing to effectively control the pace, and the reader is left to their own devices for interpretation. The fact is that one needs a very discerning ear to know where and when to break a verse. In this essay I will discuss three main techniques are used to control the pace of a poem. These are enjambment, punctuation, and whitespace.

Consider Not My Lips

Kenneth Daniel Wisseman

Poetry Showcase (January 22)

Your words they flow, out pour from lips sublime,
Unlike these many worded tomes of prose,
An unforeseen revival of the rime!
Burnt in the Revolution's vogue repose.
The air of music sweet, the poet's heart,
Which bled with every beat until the bloom
Beset, his crafted charm was torn apart,
The petal pluck'd and placed upon his tomb:
'Consider not my lips to give you breath,
Depart from me! I knew such beauty not,
Nor care about what nearly spelt your death,
Your lovely writ romaunt shall be forgot.'
⠀⠀To hear my lines with longing, have not heard,
⠀⠀But on her lips—the sigh of every word.
⠀

May 4, 2025

---

Permission has been granted to reproduce earlier work on xiv lines.

Does silence ——

Ferrick Gray

Poetry Showcase (January 21)

⠀⠀⠀truly exist?
⠀⠀⠀Though I speak not, is this silence?

I hear the birds⠀⠀⠀their mingled calls,
⠀⠀⠀no quietude at all. The sounds, and hence
⠀⠀⠀it ⠀⠀⠀(silence) ⠀⠀⠀cannot be.

Vol.3 (01) - Poetry: Could It Be A Game?

Poetry: Could It Be A Game?

Ferrick Gray

The Yellowed Page

Volume 3, Issue 1 (January 18)

According to The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, game is defined as to play, sport, jest, or amuse oneself, and to amuse, please, or give pleasure to. There is the alternative to while away time by gambling, which in some ways may be appropriate when writing poetry. But is it fair to call poetry a game? It certainly fits with the definition.

Fourteen Lines

Ferrick Gray

for Poetry Showcase

 When fourteen lines are used to write a verse,
 These fourteen lines, fond memories oft recall —
 Just fourteen lines? You ask. Well what is worse,
 To use these fourteen lines or none at all?
 In fourteen lines, I pause to gaze a while,
 In fourteen lines, I touch your tender cheek,
 In fourteen lines, I see your loving smile,
 In fourteen lines, I drown in your mystique.
 But you may wonder, if I really feel
 The things I say, (O’ quell this aching heart!)
 I beg of you, accept my sound appeal —
 To give my all, and never be apart.
  A verse so simple, with a love so true;
  In fourteen lines, I write my love for you.