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Now, if you're not the type who is unusually keen on Latin roots, you may wonder what exactly "Meta-poetry" is. Meta-poetry is a phrase that I fabricated to describe poetry that is written on the subject of poetry itself. I am a rather simple man, and find that while thinking of poetry, I can think of nothing else, so I just write about it.

I can make no promises about its quality. I adhere rather strictly to the rules of rhyme and meter, though this often leads to awkward structure and forced sounding rhymes. Though I can hardly say that awkward structure is so different from the prose that I type. The subject matter is not terribly dark, especially when compared to much of the other verse on this forum, but I find that it's more sober than most of my prose. It seems that I just can't fit my wit within the rules of rhyme. I could say that I'm just looking for honest feedback, but is there anything sadder than a hack pretending to want constructive criticism?

Oh, and, so far at least, all poems here are sonnets, so brace yourself for iambic pentameter.

Meta-Sonnet


Muse



Immortality



Originality



State of Mind



Consumption



I Wonder Why



Aspirations



Solipsism



Red



Requiem for a Remnant

Well, after months of toil, my secret project, named "Crown of Chaos", is now complete! It is a heroic crown of sonnets: 14 sonnets, with the last line of each poem making up the first line of the next. In addition, the first line of each poem combines to form yet another sonnet, which I've called the "Crown Jewel". For further explanation, please check out the wikipedia page on the subject. The tone of the work ranges from light-hearted to serious, but I think that, in general, it's a bit more silly than most of my poetry, which I quite like. The actual topic of the work is... well, I guess I should just let it explain itself.

Crown of Chaos - Crown Jewel




Crown of Chaos 1 – Intro



Crown of Chaos 2 – Why I fight




Crown of Chaos Crown 3 – Picking a topic




Crown of Chaos 4 – Actual Introduction




Crown of Chaos 5 – References




Crown of Chaos 6 – Self Doubt




Crown of Chaos 7 – It's good to be the king




Crown of Chaos 8 – Beta



Crown of Chaos 9 – Music




Crown of Chaos 10 – Commitment




Crown of Chaos 11 – Self-esteem



Crown of Chaos 12 - Feelings



Crown of Chaos 13 - Humor



Crown of Chaos – 14 Final Remarks

I only read the first poem so far. It's late and I'm tired, but I did enjoy it. It made me think about a couple things. I'm not all that fond of sonnets myself, but I have written a couple in the Shakespearean style, like you have up there.

I'm something of a poetry nut, and I like to explore it. I'm also a stickler for forms since I'm of the very strong believe that there is not point behind writing formed poetry if you don't follow the form. That's what free verse is for.

Your comment on Haiku reminds me of some reading I did on the topic, and one of the comments was that Haiku were not designed for the English language, hence the appearance of being too short. Apparently one can say much more in the same number of syllables with Japanese characters then in the equivalent number in English. As a result, Haiku written in English are staring to break from the standard 5-7-5 or other "rules" that apply best when used with Japanese. I really like Haiku, but I think it suffers often because people keep with the 5-7-5 and call it a Haiku regardless of topic or the relations between the lines. It's become over simplified. I'm trying to get a better grasp of what they should be, but it's not easy.

The same thing has happened to the sonnet actually, though it's perhaps less noticeable. If memory serves, sonnets first popped up in Italy, and Shakespeare altered the rhyme scheme to account for the fact that English has fewer end-rhyming words than Italian does, or possibly French.

Most of what I write now is free verse, though I do subscribe to the notion that no "verse" is truly "free" (I'm quoting that but I'm not sure from where. I want to say T.S. Eliot but I'm not sure). It's always highly thought about in some way, even if it's something like where to put a line break.

I agree with your comments about haiku. They might be cool in Japanese, but the often lose their appeal when translated, and have become little more than a punchline in English. I think my favorite haiku was one that I wrote, which goes

All haiku are dumb
This one is no exception
I am so meta

I can't say I know too much about the history of sonnets, though I do recall learning that there are several types. I'm pretty sure that mine are Shakespearean in form.

Free verse can be nice, but it's almost too difficult for me. Without a pattern to follow, I don't know what to write, so I fear that it will just end up as bad prose.

Yeah, that's easy to do in free verse. One thing some editors I've heard specifically mention is no to have free verse poetry read like prose with line breaks.

I still really like haiku, and I write them often, but I find that it's something which a lot of people do and don't always do well. Haven't really read any translations, just stuff in English, but I still like the form.


I don't particularly agree with your sentiments in "Immortality" but I haven't yet decided how I might respond to that. ;)

I suppose that the message of "Immortality" is that a poem has to have some kind of meaning. You could arrange a bunch of words into a couple lines of iambic pentamenter, and call it a poem, but it wouldn't be very good. Though that is the extreme case. There certainly is value in rhythm itself, which was the theme of the previous poem.

I'm very tired, I want to go to sleep
And yet, it seems that as I lie in bed
The fruits of rest I cannot seem to reap
I guess I'll write myself some stuff instead

I wonder if it's wise to spend this time
On writing sonnets in the dead of night.
Just iterating uninspired rhymes
I guess that one might even call them “trite”

This time would be much better spent on rest
Yet I'm afraid that may not be a choice.
While this scenario is not the best,
If I can find a rhyme, I will rejoice.

If I complete this couplet, I may keep
my sanity intact, if I can sleep.


Based on a true story

Hello there! It's been awhile. I can't really say that I've returned to Tris for an extended stretch, though I do imagine that such a thing may happen some time in the nebulous future. However, I did finish my secret project, and I thought it would be rude of me to not share, seeing as how I promised I would. So it has been posted, in the second post of this thread. An explanation of what it is can be found there. I also added a new poem, called "Solipsism", to the OP. A rather unusual poem, but perhaps one of my favorites, if I'm being brutally honest.

That's some groovy stuff you got goin' on there, man.

Thanks! Your feedback is greatly appreciated, if for no other reason than to stroke my own ego.

I've added yet another poem, called "Requiem for a Remnant", and I think it might be my favorite piece so far (excluding the Crown of Chaos). I've always loved alliteration, and I'm honestly not quite sure how I managed to fit so much in a single poem. I hope you enjoy it.