New Poetry Thread

Title: Gone -- She's gone and now his life is gone as well.
 
What Makes a Church?
​



What makes a church?

Is it lumber and nails?
Is it studs and beams ?
Is it mortar and bricks?
Is it carpet and seams?

The answer is not among these.
for buildings do not praise.
The same wood and stones
a tavern could raise.

Buildings are neutral,
Christ is not in the mics.
Christ is not in the pulpit.
Christ is not in the lights.

Well then, what makes a church?

Is it Bibles and books?
Is it calendars and clocks?
Is it tables and chairs?
Is it doors and locks?

Never depend on these
They can never make a church.
Depending on things
Leaves you in the lurch.

Without these tools
worship wouldn’t be easy,
but it could be done
even if you were lazy.

Well then, what makes a church?

Is it rules and regulations?
Is it liturgies and litanies ?
Is it plans and meetings?
Is it songs and harmonies?

A church without these
would be hard to find.
But you could still worship
leaving all these behind.

Our Lord declares
if you can hear it.
For although their help is good,
they don’t have the Spirit.

Well then, what makes a church?

Is it Elders and Deacons?
Is it superintendents and teachers?
Is it missionaries and musicians?
Is it liturgists and preachers?

Leaders they can be,
but a church clearly not.
A church like this
should not be sought.

It would be prestigious
but true the jibe.
All chiefs
do not make a tribe.

Well then, what makes a church?

Clear it is, and difficult not.
God even makes the blind see.
The Church is you
and the church is me.

Everything else is trappings.
When all is said and done.
Love makes the church.
And all in Christ are one.
 
I'm almost loathe to bring this up. However, being one never one to duck the opportunity of warning of doomsday and judgement days in general.

Is there a case for a poetry writing challenge.

Now it may be that a monthly one is a bit ambitious but given the amazing success of the writing challenge it may be that quarterly one would get of the ground to start with. Maybe multiple entries would be allowed, given the likelihood of fewer entrants and longer period; similar to the photo challenge.
 
TheEndIsNigh said:
I'm almost loathe to bring this up. However, being one never one to duck the opportunity of warning of doomsday and judgement days in general.

Is there a case for a poetry writing challenge.

Now it may be that a monthly one is a bit ambitious but given the amazing success of the writing challenge it may be that quarterly one would get of the ground to start with. Maybe multiple entries would be allowed, given the likelihood of fewer entrants and longer period; similar to the photo challenge.
Click to expand...

That is a great idea. I , for one, would be a regular contributor.
 
Those that moderate this board
Listen and heed our plea
Co-ordinate another challenge
For poets such as we

We know this is no small task
You might well miss your tea
But if thou were to grant our boon
We'd write sweet poetry
 
What need for odes competitive
Must challenge be repetitive
Your poem's freedom, let it live
Nor force it quarterly.

A poem's fine seventy five,
Victorious examples thrive,
They've struggled well, and yet survive.
Race winners, sportily.

Insist on rhythm, stick to rhyme?
Will Calliope strike on time?
For inspiration-free I climb
My kingdom, Haughtily.

Why must we strive to versify,
To prettify, to worsefy?
The plagaristic curse is nigh;
Reflect, distortely.
 
I have a general question for all the writers of poetry out there. I enjoy writing poetry as a means of expressing myself in a challenging way which can entertain others through my frustrations (or other emotions), but I always find myself forcing my words into some rhyme scheme or pattern of words. I have read an indescribable amount of poetry that did not involve any sort of rhyme scheme, and can greatly appreciate it, but for some reason can not seem to order my thoughts so that they are expressed in poetry without a rhyme scheme. Does anyone have any ideas how I could escape this idea of forcing my words to periodically rhyme?
thanks in advance for any replies
 
You could try going back over the finished poem with thesaurus in hand, and replace any words that you like, or don't like... and see what happens. Should change the rhythm and rhyming without losing the meaning? I try

I thought I should work on my poem
As I sat all alone- in my (domicile).
But then the roof fell on my head
And kilt me, yup - I'm (deceased).
So bury me in rich (dirt)

Well, maybe not.
 
I've tried just switching out words that rhyme with those that do not but I've found that the whole poem reads awkwardly with the substitution of just a few words. I would guess that the problem here is something concerning the way my mind works rather than a technique thing since the words seem to destroy the meaning of the entire poem when I use synonyms. Oh well, I guess I'll just stick to rhyming poetry and leave the vivid descriptive scenes to my prose writing.
 
Sometimes I've seen prose broken up as if it's poetry, and it still can have a nice flow. What bout this excerpt of dialogue from The Outer Limits(1966) that I'm watching right now?

It's as if time were a rubber band,
and you were on one end
stretched out tight.
As long as the medallion is present –
the band stays tight.
But when you rip it off,
we snap back up to the future.
Well. Some back-story, or back-poem may be needed.
But rhyming tight with tight is pretty cool.
There's some good poets around here, I'd ask them, personally.
-j.j. riffings

 
Primordial, the rhythm structures all
In jigsaw rigidly intolerant of change.
No single word change but the framework shifts
Necessitating a mutation reaching far
The rhyme, while handy, can't supply the glue;
Mnemonically speaking just a parvenu
 
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