Poetry in Numbers

Blogging, humor, lessons learned, writing 1 Minute

Elfchen

An Elfchen (also known as an elevenie) is a short poem with a given pattern. It contains eleven words which are arranged in a specified order over five rows. The typical structure of an elfchen is as follows:

Row Words Content
1 1 A thought, an object, a color, a smell, or the like
2 2 What does the word from the first row do?
3 3 Where or how is the word of row 1?
4 4 What do you mean?
5 1 Conclusion: What results from all this? What is the outcome?

Desperate
Writer’s block
Page is blank
Just put something down
Relief

Haiku

The structure of a traditional haiku is always the same, including the following features:

  1. There are only three lines, totaling 17 syllables.
  2. The first line is 5 syllables.
  3. The second line is 7 syllables.
  4. The third line is 5 syllables like the first.

Blogging should be fun
But some days, not so easy
Result is nonsense 

Limerick

A limerick is a form of verse, usually humorous and frequently rude, in five-line, predominantly anapestic meter with a strict rhyme scheme of AABBA, in which the first, second and fifth line rhyme, while the third and fourth lines are shorter and share a different rhyme.

There once was a teacher who wrote
But ne’er produced a thing of note
His thoughts he tried hard to gather
But all that came out was blather
Alas, he’d never be called the GOAT

Six-word story

Agreed. Not much of a blog.

 

 

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

Published

40 thoughts on “Poetry in Numbers”

  1. 😂
    It was entertaining, didn’t know you were such a poet!
    My posts on Friday’s used to be called 6 word stories. But you know me, I don’t like numbers or counting! LOL! They kept being longer so I just changed the title! 🙂

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      1. This is how it all starts, my friend. By next month, you’ll be throwing in poetry webinars with each new purchase of tires.🤣

        Liked by 1 person

  7. I am so proud, Mr. Q! You have presented four different forms of poetry with a delightful example of each in an original poem. It is not as hard as I make it look, is it? You have brought your world of numbers into the home of poetry. Let me bring a little poetry into your home of numbers:

    Elevenie (Elfchen)

    Accountants
    Love numbers
    Maybe too much
    But they do have
    Balance

    Hiaku

    Counting is too hard
    Tax time looms, circling vultures
    Feasting on the earned

    Limerick

    There once was a number-crunching bloke
    Who saw that numbers were no joke
    I was worried about taxes, but then
    With the magical wave of his pen
    He convinced the taxman I was broke

    Six Word Story

    This is the best post ever!

    Bravo, my friend!

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