Constrained poetry

Martin DeMello

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Sep 6, 2004, 6:07:11 AM9/6/04

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An unlucky man from Japan's
Dejected, for all of his plans
For bliss will be shredded -
Yum-Yum's to be wedded
And he's not a part of the banns

Spot the constraint and write a poem (of any style) using the same
constraint as a followup.

martin

The Qurqirish Dragon

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Sep 6, 2004, 9:47:23 AM9/6/04

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A limerick it seems to be
But just that, it appears to me.
Perhaps it would be great,
If eight-eight-six-six-eight.
Were the line's syllables to see.
--
The Qurqirish Dragon, posting from his home somewhere in Ohlam.
--==<<{{ UDIC }}>>=--

Remember- my address is no laughing matter

Martin DeMello

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Sep 6, 2004, 11:11:54 AM9/6/04

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The Qurqirish Dragon <qurqi...@aol.comhaha> wrote:
> >An unlucky man from Japan's
> >Dejected, for all of his plans
> >For bliss will be shredded -
> >Yum-Yum's to be wedded
> >And he's not a part of the banns
> >
> >Spot the constraint and write a poem (of any style) using the same
> >constraint as a followup.
>
> A limerick it seems to be
> But just that, it appears to me.
> Perhaps it would be great,
> If eight-eight-six-six-eight.
> Were the line's syllables to see.

Nope, that's not it :) I'll continue posting additional poems as hints -
anyone getting it, do try to post a poem rather than an explicit
spoiler.

martin

Jim Gillogly

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Sep 6, 2004, 1:55:02 PM9/6/04

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My previous reply didn't get back to me, so I'll try my double
dactyl again:

Hollowly, sleeplessly
Yum-Yum dismissingly
Blenched and rejected that wretched event.
Ko-Ko, dejectedly,
Abracadabraly,
Pledged on his honor that match to prevent.
--
Jim Gillogly

Carl G.

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Sep 6, 2004, 2:20:14 PM9/6/04

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"Martin DeMello" <martin...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:jFW_c.325713$J06.192911@pd7tw2no...

I think I got it,
So look at my text,
Check the essence,
And see what is next.

With such standards to follow,
Which can be sorrow and a half,
To show that I know them,
Can it warrant a full paragraph?

A craftsman of words,
Can form a short verse,
But skirting all flaws,
Begets a sentence that's terse.

My meter is haphazard,
And my words stagnant and short,
But it's the best that I can do,
When I'm such a backwards sort.

Carl G.

Martin DeMello

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Sep 6, 2004, 2:20:32 PM9/6/04

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Cherry blossoms fall
Gentle in the drifting breeze
Jim has got it right!

martin

p.s. nice to see another fan of double dactyls! my next hint was going
to be one.

Ilan Mayer

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Sep 6, 2004, 3:06:04 PM9/6/04

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Martin DeMello <martin...@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<jFW_c.325713$J06.192911@pd7tw2no>...

A man with a wolf, grass, and sheep
Stood by the Mississippi the deep.
"With no fight, row, or tiff
I need to cross in this skiff,
which up to two on a cross trip can keep."

Please reply to drgmayer at hotmail dot com

__/\__
\ /
__/\\ //\__ Ilan Mayer
\ /
/__ __\ Toronto, Canada
/__ __\
||

Ted S.

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Sep 6, 2004, 3:44:46 PM9/6/04

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Somebody claiming to be Martin DeMello <martin...@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:jFW_c.325713$J06.192911@pd7tw2no:

This is free verse:
I pen the words I wish.
They do not rhyme,
Nor do the stanzas scan.

If the truth is to be known,
It looks right back at him or her who looks at this.

--
Ted <fedya at bestweb dot net>
Barney: Hey, Homer, you're late for English.
Homer: Who needs English? I'm never going to England.
<http://www.snpp.com/episodes/7F12.html>

Phil Carmody

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Sep 6, 2004, 5:05:09 PM9/6/04

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Martin DeMello <martin...@yahoo.com> writes:

It's not a good hint
As it has very few words
And thus is dull.

(opting for the 5,7,4 rather than 5,7,5 because I FUCKING HATE HAIKU.)

Calm down, calm down, our Phil.

There was an old man from New York
Who fed his fat cat on rank pork
But then with a start
It did a big fart
And now all the meeses do talk.

Pahhh! You got quantity; don't expect quality.

Phil
--
They no longer do my traditional winks tournament lunch - liver and bacon.
It's just what you need during a winks tournament lunchtime to replace lost
... liver. -- Anthony Horton, 2004/08/27 at the Camdridge 'Long Vac.'

Puzzle Monster

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Sep 9, 2004, 9:18:03 AM9/9/04

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Martin, please grade
Folks' other attempts
So we know if they're right or they're wrong;

It's driven me crazy
For three solid days
Should I stop now and go hit the bong?

PM

Message has been deleted

Martin DeMello

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Sep 9, 2004, 11:36:26 AM9/9/04

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Oops - my bad, sorry! Carl G., Ilan, Ted S. and Phil have all got it
right.

martin

Martin DeMello

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Sep 9, 2004, 11:37:08 AM9/9/04

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Arthur J. O'Dwyer <a...@nospam.andrew.cmu.edu> wrote:

> Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.
> If I were thee I'd hit that bong.
>
> (These stanzas conform to the form that was set.
> If it still is too hard, well, don't succumb yet!)

And this (almost needless to say) is right too :)

martin

Andrew Krywaniuk

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Sep 9, 2004, 12:38:44 PM9/9/04

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I can conform too,
in verse that can reverse:
a man, a plan, a canal;
madam, I'm Adam.

Andrew

"Martin DeMello" <martin...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:EM_%c.352394$M95.315811@pd7tw1no...

Jim Gillogly

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Sep 9, 2004, 9:25:21 PM9/9/04

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On Thu, 09 Sep 2004 15:36:26 +0000, Martin DeMello wrote:
> Oops - my bad, sorry! Carl G., Ilan, Ted S. and Phil have all got it
> right.

And me... don't forget me!
--
Jim Gillogly

James Dow Allen

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Sep 10, 2004, 2:47:55 AM9/10/04

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Martin DeMello <martin...@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<jFW_c.325713$J06.192911@pd7tw2no>...
> Spot the constraint ...

Perhaps James solved Martin's constraint,
However one does make idle complaint:
Limerick's overly difficult:
Could you allow himself somersault?
Wrote anti-poem solving your anti-constraint.

James Allen

Martin DeMello

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Sep 10, 2004, 7:35:15 AM9/10/04

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Heh :) I must say that's an excellent job of trying not to follow it.

martin

Martin DeMello

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Sep 10, 2004, 7:35:56 AM9/10/04

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Yep :) I already said you'd got it right.

martin

Alan Morgan

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Sep 10, 2004, 2:31:28 PM9/10/04

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In article <jFW_c.325713$J06.192911@pd7tw2no>,

Martin DeMello <martin...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>An unlucky man from Japan's
>Dejected, for all of his plans
>For bliss will be shredded -
>Yum-Yum's to be wedded
>And he's not a part of the banns

This took me too long, oh yes, too long to get
But now that I see it, I'll show it to thee
I'll post here my work, but I'll mess up I bet
"So, how did I do?" I ask, facetiously.

Alan
--
Defendit numerus

Puzzle Monster

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Sep 10, 2004, 7:11:05 PM9/10/04

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For a week I did try
To grasp the trick
"I must know the secret
Ere I get sick"
I think that I know, now
'Less I am wrong
I feel like a moron
For thinking so long

-PM

Puzzle Monster

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Sep 10, 2004, 7:46:06 PM9/10/04

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I think I screwed up
I feel such a fool
Can I do it now,
Not infringing the -

Aw, hell!

PM

Martin DeMello

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Sep 11, 2004, 1:25:52 PM9/11/04

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LOL!

For those of you who haven't got it yet, this one and Alan Morgan's are
pretty big hints.

maritn

Rich Grise

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Nov 30, 2004, 5:44:21 PM11/30/04

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The only "constraint" I've seen here and in all the answers seems to be
"it rhymes, or it doesn't."

I have absolutely no clue.

Will someone please end my misery?

What's the answer?

Thanks,
Rich

Jim Gillogly

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Nov 30, 2004, 5:56:15 PM11/30/04

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I guess it's long enough... look at the vowels in the individual
words. It'll be more obvious in some of the follow-up poems.
--
Jim Gillogly

Rich Grise

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Nov 30, 2004, 8:43:56 PM11/30/04

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a uu a o aa
eee o a o i a
o i i e ee
uu o e ee
a e o a a o e a

??????
Rich

Jim Gillogly

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Nov 30, 2004, 8:57:22 PM11/30/04

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On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 01:43:56 +0000, Rich Grise wrote:
> a uu a o aa
> eee o a o i a
> o i i e ee
> uu o e ee
> a e o a a o e a
>
> ??????
> Rich

Good start. And in my double dactyl response:

oo eee
uu iii
ee a eee a ee ee
oo eee
aaaaa
ee o i oo a a o ee

Anything yet?
--
Jim Gillogly

Rich Grise

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Nov 30, 2004, 8:58:15 PM11/30/04

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D'oh!

I was thrown off by this:
quote------------

A limerick it seems to be
But just that, it appears to me.
Perhaps it would be great,
If eight-eight-six-six-eight.
Were the line's syllables to see.

-----------not quote ;-)
But then, when I saw his "not right" follow up[sic],
I knew I'd got it ever so sweet. I just now got the sum of
one and one, and it's not two, it's three! ;-)
[Ed: blank verse]

Thanks!
Rich

Ed Murphy

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Nov 30, 2004, 10:52:51 PM11/30/04

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"aaaaa" seems to be a big hint. Can we say any word that has less
than two types of them in it?

Rich Grise

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Dec 1, 2004, 12:45:40 PM12/1/04

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Yes, I think even that's OK now. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

Rich Grise

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Dec 1, 2004, 12:50:32 PM12/1/04

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D'oh! x2!
> <start>------------

> A limerick it seems to be
> But just that, it appears to me.
> Perhaps it would be great,
> If eight-eight-six-six-eight.
> Were the line's syllables to see.

> -----------<end>
;-)

I think I got it now!
Thanks!
Rich