·~§~·························································

“DUE TO LITTLE INTEREST SHOWN,”

Sessions are on hold until further
notice; maybe, resuming this year.
Anyone interested, message me.

I wish you all “HAPPIEST WRITING.”

·~§~·························································

Monster

Teeth bared
He’s scared
His mind’s a mess
Trying to handle with finesse
But to no avail-this ship has sailed
If it was meant to be-he will return to me

(My poem for the picture)

No meaning

I sit here thinking
Life has little meaning
Once I lived in luxury
Now I live in memory
What is the meaning of my life?
Smoke coming from my pipe has more meaning

I love the idea of this group, and I will run it for a while if that is alright with all of you. Below is the picture of Bumpei Usui, Portrait of Yasuo Kuniyoshi in His Studio, 1930, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Regis Corporation, 1984.92.
I want you all to take your time, study the picture, and write what is moving you…Read More

~———————————•§•———————————~

SESSION NINE
“LA KADUTA”
Wednesday, January 7th, 2026

~———————————•§•———————————~

The La Kaduta is a short, quick, fun form to compose in.
It can be about anything, leaving one’s creative side
completely open to its freewheeling whimsies.

La Kaduta
Original form created by
Richard W.…Read More

limericks

man from Austin

there once was a man from Austin
who said “I no longer drink. it’s a toxin”
he stood his ground
til the whiskey went down
and rewrote his whole fuckin doctrine

someone I adore

there once was someone I adore
that said “we can’t do this anymore”
one drink one grin
and I’m right back in
my morals t…Read More

·~§~·························································

“SESSIONS ARE HELD WEDNESDAYS”
Our next weekly session will be on
Wednesday, December 31th, 2025.
Taking a break for the holidays.
“MERRY CHRISTMAS, ONE & ALL!”
and “A HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE!”

·~§~·························································…Read More

~———————————•§•———————————~

SESSION EIGHT
🍀 THE IRISH LIMERICK 🍀
Wednesday, December 17th, 2025

~———————————•§•———————————~

“THE LITERARILY NONSENSICAL LIMERICK”
Most limericks are comedic, some are downright crude, and nearly all are trivial in nature.
To me, what makes the Limerick so universally appealing is the combination of…Read More

~———————————•§•———————————~

SESSION SEVEN
“POETRY, A FEW IMPORTANT BASICS”
Wednesday, December 10th, 2025

~———————————•§•———————————~

“WHAT EVERY POETESS OR POET SHOULD KNOW”
by RW Jenkins, MFA ©2004

If one’s goal or wish is to ever master the true art of poetry (as in any art form), whether it’s in oils, watercolor, or acrylic…Read More

Here is Guillotine bi-trillets

The ring of steel bells. beckons us to hell
The audience ignores the sound
Multiple bodies hit the ground

The chiming goes on, sings a restless song
Unrelenting sorrowful tears
The heart shutters to stop in fear

Hope is so far gone, whispered please at dawn
Guillotine swinging in the sun
Eternal…Read More

bi-trillets attempt. this one wasn’t easy for me…never do well when rhymin is involved.

endless night confession

breathe in the black smoke, love feels like a joke
the nights we wasted tasted strange
cheap liquor kiss, dirty exchange

you were my worst itch, struck like a kill switch
old barroom lungs in borrowed light
we swore we’…Read More

~———————————•§•———————————~

SESSION SIX
The “BI-TRILLETS” form.
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025

~———————————•§•———————————~

I had planned to teach this session on Meter, or more specifically “Poetic Meter”, which entails getting into some rather complex technical issues.
But, since we’ve been rather saturated with technicalities of late…Read More

Secret Ride (magic of Poetic Voice)

He came at night,
On a wind of heat.
A bead of sweat,
On lips so sweet.
“Come with me”
He whispered close.
They are all asleep,
Said, my sexy host.
I crawled out of bed.
On crumpled sheets.
A teddy that cling,
To my heat.
Just be quiet.
It will be fun.
No one will know,
Not even one.
Once ins…Read More

Hi, Sam Nash

Welcome to “Back to Poetry Basics” … and, thank you for joining-in.

You can take part in any of the previous lessons or jump right in on the current “Poetic Voice” lesson.
Our new lesson, beginning, Wednesday, December 3rd, will be on “Meter”.

if you have any requests or ideas,let me know and we’ll do it! ⁓ Richard

Here is the Eye’s Open sonnet. Thank you, Richard, for helping me understand the nuances of a sonnet

Was born with eyes wide-open on that day,
to be prepared for seeing every truth …
not wanting to offend in any way,
for what had happened up there on the roof.

While holding onto pasts, like in a box …
we crawled, we stood, we soon beg…Read More

This is my “Magic of Poetic Voice” submission

The Beast Confession
Confessions are made to come from the heart
To make you feel the weight of it
Whether is it good or bad from the start
I need you to sit and understand me a bit

I wandered into a space without time
Alone with my thoughts
Never hoping that someone could be…Read More

hopin to receive partial credit for late assignments…

swore under oath

rationality
face down hands cuffed to my tongue
heart screams alibi

~———————————•§•———————————~

SESSION FIVE
Wednesday, November 26th, 2025
This session is “The MAGIC of POETIC VOICE.”

~———————————•§•———————————~

WHAT IN THE HECK “IS” The MAGIC of POETIC VOICE?
by Richard W. Jenkins, MFA
©2002

After reading, closely studying, and writing poetry with considerable depth for many ye…Read More

Senryu
Haunted

A single tear drops
Haunted by her lost lover
Will always love him

~———————————•§•———————————~

SESSION FOUR
Wednesday, November 19th, 2025
This session will be on the Japanese Senryu form.

~———————————•§•———————————~

SENRYU 川柳
(sin-rew)

A Japanese 3-line, unrhymed form of mostly human theme, similar to the Haiku in that it consists of 3-lines of 5/7/5 syllables each, completely without punct…Read More

for sake of the lesson I added punctuation…don’t get attached.

gravity slip

I stumble thru a world
that’s bent slightly outa focus
as if it were half dream,
half burn.
heat risin off my skin in waves
like quiet embers tryin
to decide if I’m worth ignitin.

every breath feels wrong,
every step lands heavy,
gravity clawin up my s…Read More

This is my Free verse

Do you hear the sun?
As the rays beat down on the ground,
It is subtle but poignant
It’s purpose is to burn.
The exquisite heat,
does not match the coolness in your eyes

Do you smell the wind?
Multicolored in its complexity
Surrounds you,
Invades your very core.
It gives you life.
Then withdraws to take your b…Read More

~———————————•§•———————————~

SESSION THREE
Wednesday, November 11th, 2025
This session will be on the Free Verse form.

~———————————•§•———————————~

FREE VERSE

Because its unrhymed without a set meter or syllable count, the Free Verse is considered the most versatile poetic forms, but to be powerfully effective, t must flow smoothly…Read More

ok…not a fan of haikus apparently. they’re harder than I thought. wrote a whole bunch wrong and had to start again. then my favorite involved a pond. I saw SeaCat’s and thought damnit…let’s not both write ponds. ultimately I realized I’d rather write a thousand sonnets than a single haiku. but I definitely learned somethin.

clouds file past t…Read More

~———————————•§•———————————~

SESSION THREE
Wednesday, November 5th, 2025
This session (by request) will be on the Japanese Haiku form.

Haiku 俳句
(by Western rules)

An unrhymed Japanese poetic form recording or expressing the essence of a moment, that at fist blush might appear to be quite simple, yet is far from it. Still, it is far l…Read More

Submittted by: Twofiftythree
SENT 23 HOURS, 20 MINUTES AGO
think I got it with this one…

the world goes quiet when I think of you
as if the noise remembers to be kind
the pulse slows down the edges soften too
and somethin steadier begins to bind

I’ve spent my life in motion hard and fast
chasin the fire never once the pea…Read More

Was born with eyes wide open
To be prepared for the truth
Not wanting to offend
What had happened on the roof

Holding pasts in a box
We crawl, we stand, then walk
Rusty keys enter locks
Speaking words before caught

Streams of tears without sound
Lover’s end, rings withdrawn
heartbeat forever unbound
Dawn shows you were a p…Read More

GOODNESS, TFT!
Now, THAT is a proper Sonnet … it’s obvious you’ve done your homework.
Your creativity sparks, emotion sings, and diction dances. And, I like your use of elision. Could use a bit’a punctuation.
See critique and edits below:

I said I don’t do THIS. POems that behave (STRESS-STRESS / a count long)
that count their beats and…Read More

I said I don’t do this. poems that behave
that count their beats and beg to sound profound
but here I am the fool you couldn’t save
all rhyme and reason. love still hangin round

I hate this form. it’s polished. cold. confined
like scrubbin blood just so it stains again
I tell myself to leave your heart behind
but every line just drags…Read More

Okay, I am stuck with this, but I am trying.

Was born with eyes wide open
To be prepared for the truth
No one seemed to care or wanted to offend
What had happened on the roof

Time withholds memories in a box
We crawl, then stand, and eventually walk
As a rusty key enters an unforgiving lock
Uttering words before learning to talk

OUR FIRST ’BACK TO POETRY BASICS’ SESSION:
“LEARNING & UNDERSTANDING THE ENGLISH SONNET”
by Richard W. Jenkins
© 22 Oct, 2025

DETAILS OF THE ENGLISH [Shakespearean] SONNET
(taking notes for reference is a very good idea)

A bit of interesting and awakening study is ahead, but it will be for this first time only in order to fami…Read More

On our group “BACK TO POETIC BASICS” we’lll soon be covering anything poetry anyone wants to address.

We will meet here once a week each Wednesday beginning October 22nd, 2025. Our first session will begin with the Sonnet.
If you would like to get a headstart, checkout

And, if you watched the…Read More