Welcome to Round 5, and welcome once again to my poetry page!
I hope each week you will read Dr. Watson’s delightful narrative and then be inspired to write a poem related to it in some way. All forms of poetry are permitted, and further down the page there is a selection you might like to consider using over the coming weeks.
Some exciting news for this round—I have a new contributor to assist me with the poetry page. She is
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rachelindeed: a young lady originally from America, I believe and now in my employ at Baker Street as a housemaid. She will be suggesting appropriate poems each week for us to read together.
Rachel charmingly describes herself as someone who assists me with “managing the kitchen, who restocks the restorative liquors, and is most often found squirreled away by the window with a book.” (‘Restorative liquors’? I wonder what she means...) She is a hard worker and thankfully completely unimpressed whenever Mr. Holmes attempts to throw his weight around. I am reconciled to the fact she will not be with me forever—there is a bright future ahead for her.
Anyway, here are the suggested poems from Rachel—suggestions inspired by the themes and subjects in this week's story. Hopefully you will enjoy reading the poems, and perhaps they may inspire a poem of your own or allow you to look at Dr. Watson's story in a new way.
That Day by Rudyard Kipling
Note from Rachel: Kipling wrote this poem about Maiwand. I think it expresses an ugly sentiment, characterizing the survivors as cowards who have only their own bad character to blame for their defeat. I assume his characterization was influenced by an inability to believe that Afghani fighters could legitimately best British soldiers. In any case, it might prompt discussion about the way Dr. Watson might have experienced the war, or the way that he might have been regarded by those at home as one of the few survivors of a terrible defeat.
Malalai’s landai, in translationNote from Rachel: Malalai became a heroine in Afghanistan’s history when she acted as a flag-bearer during the battle of Maiwand and urged the local soldiers on by reciting Pashto poetry. She has a stature in Afghani culture similar to Joan of Arc, and her image adorns medals for bravery in today’s military. Above is a link to a brief biography of Malalai that includes English translations of poems she is said to have recited on the battlefield.
Insensibilityby Wilfred Owen
Note from Rachel: This is a moving poem about living through heavy losses and casualties in war, how that affects the soldiers who survive it, and how easy it is for those at home to remain indifferent.
And to finish, my suggested form to revisit this week is the
cinquain. (The link will take you back to a previous poetry page.)
But you do not have to use that form. Any form of poetry is welcome this week—and every week! Here are a few suggestions for you:
221B verselet,
abecedarian poetry,
acrostic poetry,
alexandrine,
ballad,
beeswing,
blackout poetry,
blues stanza,
bref double,
Burns stanza,
call and response,
chastushka,
cinquain,
circular poetry,
clerihew,
colour poems,
concrete poetry,
Cornish verse,
curtal sonnet,
diamante,
doggerel,
double dactyl,
ekphrasis,
elegiac couplet,
elegiac stanza,
elfje,
englyn,
epigram,
epitaph,
epulaeryu,
Etheree,
fable,
Fib,
found poetry,
ghazal,
haiku,
Italian sonnet,
jueju,
kennings poem,
lanturne,
limerick,
lyric poetry,
mathnawī,
micropoetry,
mini-monoverse,
palindrome poetry,
pantoum,
Parallelismus Membrorum,
poem cycle,
quintilla,
renga,
riddle,
rime couée,
Schüttelreim,
sedoka,
septet,
sestina,
sonnet,
tanka,
tercet,
terza rima,
tongue twister poetry,
triangular triplet,
triolet,
Tyburn,
villanellePlease leave all your poems inspired by
A Study in Scarlet in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!
Warm regards,
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