Zaze

       Zaze

Stanzas	3
Lines	10/stanza=30 lines
Syllable/Words	14 syllables/line
Rhymes
Repeat

Channeling

1              In my teens I knew I was Emily Dickinson.

                I wrote in short and choppy verses with four line stanzas.

                Angst and death were the common themes of my doggerel works.

                Maybe a flower or two, but nothing light-hearted.

5              Life was very bleak to me so that was what I wrote.

                I could not see the goodness of what life had to offer.

                I thought an artist had to suffer for their craft and live

                On the fringes of society’s understanding;

                An artist was a person who never quite fit in.

10           And I never quite fit in, or so I truly thought.

                Later, I wanted to be more like the great Robert Frost.

                His images captured what I yearned to capture myself.

                Being from New England too, I thought he could influence me.

                A common understanding might lead to a common bond.

15           I tried to emulate the images of which he wrote.

                Frost lead me to Mistress Anne and her New England images.

                Praise and glory were a common theme among her musings.

                Yes, I thought, my life had changed too, I now saw the positive.

                No more did I need to suffer for what I called my art.

20           And my poetry did seem to get better, when I chose to write.

                Of late I see T.S. Eliot influencing me.

                He wrote for the betterment of the craft, the work most important.

                That is how I write today, I strive to improve the craft.

                The great masters I do love; Tennyson and the Brownings.

25           I welcome what they have to say and what they can teach me.

                When I read them with my students I always learn something more.

                I don’t ever think I will be of their great caliber,

                But I will keep striving towards those who have gained acceptance.

                Here my doggerel dedication must come to an end,

30           It’s all about the form you see, and this is where it ends.