INVENTING A NEW POETIC FORM - FABRIQUE

The Fabrique takes its inspiration from the popular French forms (villanelle, pantoum, etc.) of poetry in that it makes use of rhyme and repetition throughout the verse, woven much like a thread through a swatch of fabric.


The pattern of the "Fabrique":

It requires a short (2-3 word) title.

Line 1: The title doubles as the first line (A)
Line 2: Two verbs depicting an action of the subject.
Line 3: Three adjectives describing something about the subject.
Line 4: Rhymes with line 1, seven syllables in length. (A)
Line 5: Twelve syllables; third word is an internal rhyme (A); last word (B)
Line 6: Twelve syllables (B)
Line 7: Twelve syllables (C)
Line 8: Seven syllables in length (C)
Line 9: Two rhyming adjectives (D-D)
Line 10: Two rhyming adjectives (E-E)
Line 11: Repeats line 2
Line 12: Repeats line 3
Line 13: Repeats line 4 (A)
Line 14: Repeats the title of the poem. (A)

Example:

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
Christmas lights.
Blinking, twinkling.
Red, yellow, blue.
Green and white; burns all night, bright.
Beacons of light in a mid-December snowfall.
Offering a brilliance not seen since early fall.
Silent, accenting vignettes of serenity.
A Christmas amenity:
strung and hung,
eclectic and electric.
Blinking, twinkling.
Red, yellow, blue.
Green and white, burns all night. Bright
Christmas lights.
　
　　

PAIGE

The freshest face
sporting a smile,
revealing the sense of style.
Unknown, unflaunted.
Undaunted to take the world
by storm, a heart so warm
it is self-inspiring.
Never tiring of the point of view
that fills each sentence
and paragraph of this Paige.
Newly discovered, yet unexplored,
sweet as melin could be,
with a respectfully kind word
shrouded in the exuberance of youth;
Exposed in the wantonness of womanhood.
Learning, yearning for the muse
to strike her, releasing
the passion and emotion
that lies dormant within,
where do I begin on this Paige?
From her awkward civility,
to her recent ability to verbalize
the beauty she espouses; that is Paige!
She, the heroine in the book of life
in which each page is filled with Paige.
This Paige is never blank,
always searching for the right words
to express all that lies sheltered deeply
in her heart and soul. In control,
fragile and breakable,
never mistakable that she
will dazzle the world.
This woman/girl
stepping out of her shackles
and into the sunshine
of another new day.
This poetic Paige, fully grown…
…with a style all her own!



“A STYLE ALL HER OWN” – Ladies Home Journal

FIRE AND ICE

mentally snowbound in this solitary room of one,
lost inside and searching, longing
for relief from the throes of an internal winter
that has been foisted upon this heart.

the cold goes through me, chilling me,
the ice that has formed on my soul
hampers my emotions, killing me
with a slow and painful reality.

for years these chill blains
have rattled my bones and left me
wanting for a chance to defrost myself
to find a heart still beating.

this frostbite is relentless.
tearing me apart with every moment passing.
in its apathy
I find myself cold and alone.

cold and alone, until thoughts of an ember bright
illuminates my being and cautiously finds the soul
left slumbering, shivering,
yearning for the spark to burn uncontrolled.

this warmth penetrates me,
gradually soothing me and finding
a willing and wanting heart that can feel again,
heating me with a fire that smolders.

I sense your flame in my familiar hearth,
opened wide with arms embracing,
and glowing incredibly, tendrils of flame
the color of your warmth; the color of you.

this fire consumes my heart
completely and deliberately, seeking the connection
to be shared for a lifetime,
and kept lit by the oxygen of a single breath. Ours.

the ice is releasing me from its grip
as the fire that is you, replaces its hold
with a warm and loving caress,
and easing my mind to think loving thoughts only.

this yearning searches for a fire that
will kindle a fire of my own
and spark another wave of brilliance.
looks like I’m just warming up.




“JUST GETTING WARMED UP” – ESPN Magazine