sherlock60 | Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page: The Sussex Vampire

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.

This week my featured form is Parallelismus Membrorum.

Poetry Magnum Opus gives this definition:

Parallelismus Membrorum or grammatical parallelism is of traditional Hebrew origin and dates back to biblical times. It is an independent clause presenting parallels or opposites in balance using contrasting and complimentary extensions.

The verse employs the same grammatical elements for each side of the parallel. This pattern is often used in prose poetry or is written in long lines often broken at the caesura into couplets making 2 short lines, 4 to 6 words each.

From the Hebrew text Proverbs 10:1

A wise son gladdens his father,
but a foolish son grieves his mother.

Here is my example poem:

A man who values learning
but who doesn’t value the teacher.
A man who values thought
but who doesn’t think before speaking.
A man who values his friend
but who diminishes his work.
A man who values the science of deduction
but who didn’t predict Dr. Watson’s rugby tackle.

As always, this is simply something to consider for the future. 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, 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, found poetry, ghazal, haiku, Italian sonnet, kennings poem, lanturne, limerick, lyric poetry, mathnawī, 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, villanelle

Please leave all your poems inspired by The Sussex Vampire in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!

Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson