Sherlock Holmes: 60 for 60

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, is this week’s suggested poem to read—a suggestion inspired by the themes and subjects in this week's story. Hopefully you will enjoy the poem, and perhaps it 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.



An Upper Chamber In A Darkened House

by Frederick Goddard Tuckerman


Note from Rachel: I think that the tragic end of young Mr. Openshaw will haunt Mr. Holmes for a very long time. This poem reminds us of that poor man, who stumbled upon old papers within his own house that he never understood and that ultimately led to his murder. As well as recalling his literal misfortunes, this poem suggests metaphorically that Mr. Openshaw’s memory has taken up residence in the darkest corners of Mr. Holmes’s mental attic.


Thank you so much to Rachel. And here is my suggested form to revisit this week: micropoetry. (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, free verse, ghazal, haiku, In Memoriam stanza, Italian sonnet, jueju, kennings poem, lanturne, limerick, lyric poetry, mathnawī, micropoetry, mini-monoverse, musette, 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 Five Orange Pips in the comments on this post. I look forward to seeing them!


Warm regards,

Mrs. Hudson

This Sunday, 6th November, we'll be posting our 60 word ficlets for The Five Orange Pips.

The orphaned Mrs. Watson is apparently on a visit to her mother, and so Watson is temporarily back at Baker Street. And even though a storm is raging outside, that doesn't stop a desperate client coming to ask Holmes for help. What is behind the strange communications that have been sent to the unfortunate Openshaw family? And can Holmes prevent young John Openshaw sharing the fate of his father and uncle?

If you haven't tried 60 for 60 before, full information - including our schedule - can be found on our profile. But in essence: you read ACD's story and then you write a 60 word story inspired by it! You don't have to post a story every week - just join in whenever you feel like it.

Each Sunday we will also have our weekly discussion post, where we discuss a topic inspired by the canon story. And there’s Mrs. Hudson's Poetry Page too - any poems written about this week’s story can be left as a comment on her post. Mrs. Hudson informs me that the poetry form being revisited this week is micropoetry. And her housemaid Rachel is happily back with us and will as usual be suggesting a poem for us to read, to give us added inspiration.

You can choose one activity, or have a go at everything. Or just come along and read the 60s! (And have a chat in the comments.) All options are absolutely fine.

Hope to see you on Sunday. But don’t worry if you can’t join us then - we stay open for posting and commenting all week!

Canon Story: The Five Orange Pips
Title: Put in Order
Author: scfrankles
Rating: G
Author's Notes: “...the rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it.” ...for a few days I was a dweller once more in my old quarters at Baker Street.


In my old room books covered every surface.

“Holmes,” I said, “I demand you rearrange your library!”

He agreed, and returned later smiling. “I think you will fit in nicely now.”


I am still uncertain whether it was accidental—that WATSON,JH spent his stay sleeping between WATERFOWL OF BRITAIN on one side, and WATTEAU: A Life on the other.