Free Verse Poetry, Villanelles, Etc.

I made a thread last year offering to write poetry for people, mostly for my own inspiration, but I figured it could help with character development or, I dunno, just for fun or whatever. There are other people who are great at comedic/rhyming/etc. poetry here, my forte is in other areas :) I've mostly done free verse, though a couple years ago I discovered villanelles, and I really enjoyed writing them. I've also tried my hand at sestinas, though I don't dare post them here, I'm willing to try though! I would appreciate if you actually end up using something I write in your manuscript if you would credit me (PM for real name :P)

Some requests from last year:

Quote:Dreamland

Black and white makes things too clear;
I’d rather see in shades of gray.
You would be darker, of course, and I would be light,
but fundamentally we would be
the same.

We are in Dreamland, so I
can believe anything.
You are my Dream, my forbidden fruit –
your lips, your chest,
your slender wrists and fingers.
I want all your bits and pieces for my own.

But I am whiteness and you are black;
a simple truth that means
our futures can never intersect,
even here.

You have to trick others to steal their souls
when I would gladly give
you mine.

Quote:Coming of Age: Two Winters

I.
He is scared of the whiteness.
There is something dark and terrible about it –
the way it beats against the windows, finding all the seams and cracks;
the noises, the sighs and moans,
a phantom trying to get in.
The snow boxes him in, a small caged fox, pacing.
It wants to get in and chew him up.
It is some sort of creature, huge, uncontrollable, wild,
and all he wants is to put a muzzle on it
and make it stop.
Oh, for trees and grass; for brown and green;
the smell of the forest, the golden meltiness
of the sun.

II.
He longs for the whiteness.
There is something wild and wonderful about it;
the power of nature; its fury; its ancient, lonesome song.
He finds himself in its rage.
All his bones are longer now, and new knowledge
is embedded in his skin (new angers, new pain).
Funny how things have switched; how the snow seems safer than
the darkness in this house, darkness that seeps
all the seams and cracks; and all he wants to do
is open the windows and let it in.
To let it shake me, wring me,
turn me inside-out
and blow all the darkness away.

This is a villanelle I wrote for someone, not my strongest piece, but I think it turned out okay.

Quote:Distillation

Two destinies as strong as chains
are battling within my mind –
two bloods at war inside my veins.

There is a darker side that reigns
at times; a fury, cold and blind;
a destiny as strong as chains

which feels no sorrows, fears, or pains.
And then, another, softer kind,
a blood that wars inside my veins

to weigh and measure losses, gains –
in wisdom I am self-defined,
a destiny as strong as chains.

I try to separate from stains
that linger; my own core maligned
by blood that wars inside my veins.

For here you see all that remains
of these, my futures, so entwined:
two destinies as strong as chains;
two bloods at war inside my veins.

A couple others:

Quote:Abandon

Sometimes she hears angels.
They sing across the playground, whisper
as her swing climbs higher. Jump.
Ribboned jeans and raw knees witness
to the perils of the ground;
she has always wanted wings.
Let go and fly.
Chains gnaw at her hands
and the sun crushes her. The voices
sound like teacups,
like silver spoons and chandeliers,
cool in the back of her skull.
Go. She goes.

Those who saw it say
she flew like a fledging swan
until wings snapped on asphalt.

Quote:Requiem for a Charlatan

Music cracks apart and splinters deep
as serpents clatter past me, for it seems
I’m dead, but I’m pretending – I’m asleep.

Dark things, wildly dancing, try to keep
me frenzied and deranged inside these dreams.
Their music cracks apart and splinters deep.

Once I could have forced myself to weep
for every child who lifts his eyes and screams
I’m dead, but I’m pretending I’m asleep

while nightmares, made of tar and talons, leap
and writhe and screech. A bleach-boned graveyard steams
and music cracks apart and splinters deep.

Now they conspire, tangled in a heap,
to ask a shining Lucifer, who deems
I’m dead, but I’m pretending; I’m asleep.

I’ll crush the stars to moonsap; let them seep
through shoulders, arms: a poison that redeems.
Music cracks apart and splinters deep –
I’m dead, but I’m pretending I’m asleep.

Sorry if this is an overload of examples, I'm trying to show some of my different styles, lol. I start on requests in order, but may finish out of order, because it's much different writing free verse vs. a villanelle or more complicated form.

Also, I know there were two people last year who I never finished before the forum wipe, and I'm sorryyyyy :( I moved two states away while I was working on both poems, and I actually forgot about the thread until the wipe :( If you re-request I swear I'll finish straight away.

I'm actually writing a story that features a band, and poetry is close to song lyrics, so...
In the story, these songs would be written by either a cheeky free-spirited girl, or a girl with an abusive past and a more hope-filled future. I'd appreciate whatever you give me, and I'll be sure to credit you if I end up using anything in my book.
Possible themes would be running away, running circles around the enemy, friendship, ect. Pretty much anything, in any style. Thanks in advance.

This could be something that would be quite interesting to use as an inspiration. I was thinking - in my novel, I have two characters who have a shared history. They're both angels - one of them's the arch angel Raphael, healer and warrior - while the other one's an angel who kind of went dark side and got trapped inside a book. I guess it's more like something that might be their separate thoughts/feelings. In the current storyline, the female angel (Kayrien) is in control of the dark seed inside her, but it's almost a constant struggle.

Sorry if that's too much information, but feel free to use any or all of it. I will probably just use it as inspiration, but if I do use it in the novel, I will certainly credit you.

This seems like an awesome idea! I can't write poetry to save my life, but I find it a good source for inspiration.

In my novel Paper Lies, my MC Jack is considered the coffeeboy of his workplace (i.e. He runs around getting coffee for everyone and being treated like a maid). The agency he works at is actually a secret agent facility, and he desperately wishes he could be treated like the actual agent he is. I was thinking of maybe a humorous slightly snarky poem about his day. Nothing specific, just stuff you would expect from the office secretary. Getting coffee, making copies, occasionally having to beat up the random rogue agents who happen in his path (I have an awesome line for this:
"Would you like me to proceed in attacking, sir?"
"No, we're just going to let him walk out the front door- of course I want you to attack him!")

I'm sorry if that was too much information, or not enough. I'm really open to anything you come up with. If you have any questions, NaNoMail me! :)

I just wanted to comment that I love villanelles and I know they are extremely difficult to write. Yours is really good!

Would you be interested in making the song/story that is told by a storyteller at a bonfire in my story? It is not quite a poem, but a half song/half legend story about the king, and how he won the throne from the corrupt king that ruled Kilyen before him. I'll give you more detail, if you're interested. Feel free to PM me, then I'll reply faster :3

AND IT IS SO COOL THAT YOU CAN WRITE POEMS!

Kay bye xD ^_^

Sorry I've been away for so long. I moved. Again. >_>

C.Angelina wrote:
I'm actually writing a story that features a band, and poetry is close to song lyrics, so...
In the story, these songs would be written by either a cheeky free-spirited girl, or a girl with an abusive past and a more hope-filled future. I'd appreciate whatever you give me, and I'll be sure to credit you if I end up using anything in my book.
Possible themes would be running away, running circles around the enemy, friendship, ect. Pretty much anything, in any style. Thanks in advance.

This is what I came up with:

* * *

Drey's Song

I’ve never seen a raincloud outlined in silver
but every silver lining carries a cloud
a girl scribbles pictures with her markers and her crayons
hoping someone reads the stories she can’t say aloud
there’s a monster who pretends that love lies in his hands
but no one ever comes to set her free

She’s on her own
Can’t find no one to save her
Pick up the telephone
Only silence coming from the receiver
but after all, bruises make pretty colors
when else do you get to grow rainbows
under your skin

They say darkness tries to run away from light
but actually it’s the other way around
the black pushes the light around wherever it wants to
leaving it where it can be found
illuminating corners of our dirty little closets
showing cracks and holes we wish we could forget were there

The world is cold
and we can’t trust anyone to save us
we watch ourselves grow old
the girl I used to be’s forgotten and useless
but after all, bruises make pretty colors
when else do you get to grow rainbows
under your skin

I met a girl once with yellow hair
I was invincible when she was there
and then like everything else one day
she was gone for good

but she would say after all bruises make pretty colors
after all bruises make pretty colors
when else do you get to grow rainbows
when else do you get to grow rainbows
when else do you get to grow rainbows

I have rainbows under my skin

* * *

I actually, um, recorded myself singing it :$ I don't have a great voice but I could hear the melody in my head as I was writing it. You can listen or not, depending if you want to put your own music to it or whatever. But this is how I heard it as I was writing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn872ZEkvKk

Anything you want changed?

You still doing these? :)

Is this now not happening?

Is this still open?