Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page: The Retired Colourman

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

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, inspired by Mr. Holmes’s remark to the Doctor: "Cut out the poetry, Watson", my featured form is micropoetry.

Micropoetry.com gives this definition:

Be creative! Poetry with limited characters. 140 with Twitter. 160 with SMS :-)

Micropoetry.com was set up to encourage people to write creatively within the small amount of text space provided in social networks platforms like twitter and on our mobile phone SMS. We aim to demonstrate that although your message may be limited in the amount of characters that you can use; your actual message content is unlimited in the amount of feelings, ideas, and emotions that you can express.

Yes…

Well, I am not quite sure what all this means. But Mrs. Frankles assured me that as long as all the letters, punctuation marks, symbols and spaces in my poem added up to 160 characters or less, it would be fine.


And so here is my example poem—160 characters, including spaces:


Purples, violets, lemons & limes
I’ve repainted 221B 43 times.
I am blue.
(My language too.)
Red, grape, burgundy, claret
Mr. Holmes can find himself another garret.



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, 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, 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, villanelle


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


Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

Comments

Limerick

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

A house too run-down to be quaint
That nonetheless reeks of fresh paint.
The smell it conceals
From a gas-pipe reveals
How he dealt with his faithless wife’s plaint.

Re: Limerick

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

However he viewed his wife, this was a terrible revenge.

Re: Limerick

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Well done. Yeah, that murder-room is just creepy.

RE: Limerick

[debriswoman]

Particularly like the first line:-)

Re: Limerick

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I wonder whether I could use the same ploy when I redecorate 221B yet again?

Re: Limerick

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I love your opening couplet. And "plaint" is a great choice of word ^^

Micropoem

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

The smell of fresh paint
So very familiar
Covers that of gas
Destroys the family

Playing chess
A favourite game
Tactics as always excelling
Opponent vanquished

Re: Micropoem

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Nice inclusion of the chess motif. It's a great metaphor along with the paint.

RE: Micropoem

[debriswoman]

Nicely sinister:-)

Re: Micropoem

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Your micropoem has a rather haiku feel to it. Terse and to the point.

Re: Micro poetry: A moment of empathy.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Although it doesn't happen often ;)

Re: Micro poetry: A moment of empathy.

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Oh, very nice!

Re: Micro poetry: A moment of empathy.

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

I thought of that line of Holmes as his own small contribution of humour (I can hear Watson giving a very silent groan).

Re: Micro poetry: A moment of empathy.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Nice play on "ceaseless grind" ^^ And a darkly amusing last line.

Re: Written earlier: A Terzanelle

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Watson, you are quite right, poetry does have its place, as you have ably proved.

Re: Written earlier: A Terzanelle

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Wow! You definitely made the case for poetry--and Watson. Holmes should be more appreciative.

Re: Written earlier: A Terzanelle

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

I'm always blown away by your mastry of so many different poetry forms. This is one of my favorites.

Re: Written earlier: A Terzanelle

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Crikey - that's a complicated form. I applaud the excellent results, madam ^^ I particularly liked Now vanished, Holmes would clearly have moved on - the way it so neatly led both to Seen neighbours, talked to tradesmen, asked around and to To theatre tickets, bought to please his wife.

Re: Written earlier: Charm

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Nice one - and testament to Watson's abilities.

Re: Written earlier: Charm

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Aw yeah! Go Watson!

Your poem, Mrs H

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I presume, madam, you tried the old trick of painting the door the same as the walls so he couldn't find his way in?

RE: Your poem, Mrs H

[debriswoman]

Excellent poem Mrs H, and excellent notion, small hobbit:-p

Micropoem (160 characters, including spaces)

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

“Left shoe wrinkled, right one smooth. I spotted his artificial limb.”

Amberley attacked Holmes w/ his ambulatory prosthesis!
Barker took away his limb & left him unarmed
So Amberley shook his fist
But he didn’t have a leg to stand on

Re: Micropoem (160 characters, including spaces)

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I presume your telephone wire has been removed to curtail the spread of puns.