Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page: The Naval Treaty

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Welcome once again to my poetry page!

I hope each week you will read Dr. Watson’s delightful narrative and then go on 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.

And here, courtesy of my housemaid Rachel, are this week’s suggested poems to read—suggestions inspired by the themes and subjects in this week's story. Hopefully you will enjoy the poems, and perhaps they may give you some ideas for a poem of your own or allow you to look at Dr. Watson's story in a new way.



God's Grandeur

by Gerard Manley Hopkins


I Saw in Louisiana A Live-Oak Growing

by Walt Whitman


Note from Rachel: These two poems were inspired by Mr. Holmes’s contemplation of the rose and his sense that some benevolent purpose was implied by its existence. The first poem echoes the religious themes raised by this passage, while the second poem uses the contemplation of nature to reaffirm a more human love.



Thank you so much to Rachel. And here is my suggested form to revisit this week: terza rima. (The link takes 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, florette, found poetry, ghazal, haiku, In Memoriam stanza, 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 Naval Treaty in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!


Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

Comments

Clerihew

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

Poor Percy ‘Tadpole’ Phelps
Found each connection helps
His uncle’s name meant an exalted station
But a school-bully’s friend saved his reputation

"What a Lovely Thing a Rose Is" (written earlier)

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

There is a tune for this song, but it works as a poem.

CHORUS:
How lovely a thing is a rose!
Its petals in tender display
Protected by sharp outer thorns --
So is my friend the same way.

You show the wide world the keen edge of your mind.
It's sharp and unyielding, the truth for to grind.
And yet, in that sharpness, you pause and you find
The time to admire a rose --
"How lovely a thing is a rose."

CHORUS:

For you see, the sharp thorns guard soft petals within,
So easily torn by the coldness of men.
All men know your coldness -- but I know you, friend.
And the thing that you guard with your thorns
Is as lovely and wild as that rose.

CHORUS:

For I once saw your love for me open and plain,
My one glimpse of the great heart beyond your great brain.
We have shared every triumph, each sorrow, each pain.
Let the world see the cold Sherlock Holmes --
Only I know your soul is a rose.

CHORUS:

A poem in terza rima

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

As a boy I was a tadpole.
Well-connected but an underdog.
As I grew I did not lose the role -

I seemed to still remain a frog,
And not a man to look up to.
But wait: here is the epilogue.

I met someone brave and true
And I have learnt this since,
It’s only when a princess kisses you

That you become a prince.

Re: Clerihew

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Holmes to the rescue!

Re: "What a Lovely Thing a Rose Is" (written earlier)

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Aw. What a wonderful tribute to the heart & soul of the Great Mind.

Re: A poem in terza rima

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Nice inversion of the fairy tale. I hope Tadpole appreciates Miss Harrison's devotion.

Terza Rima

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

The letter had come from Percy Phelps
‘Bout a document which had been nicked
The alarm had been raised by his yelps

Clearly the papers had been picked
From the desk on which they were laid
Poor Phelps felt he’d been kicked

To find how he’d been betrayed
He contacted Holmes by letter
After which plans were made

Which trapped Harrison the debtor
Who had been dabbling in stocks
And hoped to make his loss better

He and Holmes exchanged knocks
And then Phelps suffered more shocks

Re: Clerihew

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Reliant a lot on his connections, wasn't he.

Re: "What a Lovely Thing a Rose Is" (written earlier)

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

A lovely way to celebrate the inner Holmes, as seen by Watson.

Re: A poem in terza rima

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Clever thought - and good rhyming - I have to admit I found the form somewhat challenging.

Re: Clerihew

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I think perhaps Watson did owe Phelps a favour ^^"

Re: "What a Lovely Thing a Rose Is" (written earlier)

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's beautiful ^^"

I particularly like All men know your coldness -- but I know you, friend./ And the thing that you guard with your thorns/ Is as lovely and wild as that rose. and Let the world see the cold Sherlock Holmes --/ Only I know your soul is a rose. Whether to a friend or to a lover - it's a gorgeous love song.

Re: A poem in terza rima

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Thank you ^^ And I think that he does.

Re: A poem in terza rima

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much ^_^

I know what you mean - it can be awkward writing lines out of order because in the end it all has to link up. I find I'm all right as long as I mark the lines with the letters for the rhymes as I go, and I decide before writing how many lines the poem is going to have.

Re: Terza Rima

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

That's very neatly done. I particularly liked the use of 'debtor' to rhyme with 'letter' and 'better' ^_^

Re: Terza Rima

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Nice summary of the story with a very challenging form.

RE: Clerihew

[debriswoman]

Excellent:-)

RE: "What a Lovely Thing a Rose Is" (written earlier)

[debriswoman]

This is wonderful:-)

RE: A poem in terza rima

[debriswoman]

Neatly done:-)

RE: Terza Rima

[debriswoman]

Debtor works very well in particular:-)

Re: A poem in terza rima

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much ^_^

Re: Terza Rima

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you - I was rather taken with it myself.

Re: Terza Rima

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I was pleased at the way it went.

Re: Terza Rima

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much.

Re: A short poem about Percy

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

What an excellent description of Percy.