is the repetition of the first consonant in several words in the same line.
An example from one of my very early poems, Old Man Drought. "Men can sail the seven seas in ships of steel so stout." Another one from The Quickness Of The Hand Deceives The Eye (and sometimes blackens it).
"Weaving through the water‑way and down the winding walk
past the pond in Peoples Park ‑ with never pause to talk.
Wally worried while he worked and wondered what he'd say
when he went to wash his hands and put his gear away."
is a handy tool that most good poets use. It helps a line flow and look more natural.
I love a good solid rhyme at lines end but there is a danger of monotony if overdone. A few enjambed lines throughout the poem ensures this does not happen.
An example stanza from my poem The Spreading Blight.
"The mournful low of starving stock is echoing their fate;
the harking crows in loud refrain all day anticipate
another beast will flounder on its weakened joints and fall ‑
repast they share with carrion hawks. 'The foxes cruelly maul
the helpless prostrate animals and eat the bovine tongue.
Abandoned calves moan touchingly and wander dazed among
the carcasses of mothers rotting in a putrid field;
all victims of a tyranny beyond compassion's shield."
Enjambment is one reason why I have discarded the old idea of starting every line with a capital letter.
An unwarranted capital letter in the middle of a sentence of prose is a stumbling block and looks unnatural. I find the same with verse. But that is a personal choice for individual writers.
is simply painting pictures with words. Example from my poem Fall Of The Seasons.
"Summer has faded and autumn's extolling
all of its virtues through downs ever rolling.
Tanned with the colours that patiently mellow ‑
tinting the dales with a tawny and yellow!"
Read Veronica_Weal's, Where The Eagle's Shadow Falls -- Bruce Simpson's Gold Star -- Peter Moltoni's Slaughter Road ‑‑ or Ron Stevens' Westerly. One needs little imagination to see a vivid picture.
Likewise great performance poets such as Bob Miller with The Will, Milton Taylor with Queenie Lucinda O'Toole and Bob Magor with his Caravanning Bliss can make their words live and paint pictures a blind person might see clearly. These great writers and performers ‑ and many more like them ‑ have the wonderful talent of imagery. We are privileged to share this. |
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