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TJMF Publishing - Open Mike Cafe Editor's Desk Staff Editor Patty Zion |
Pieces of a Poem, Part Two
The Middle
By Patty Zion
By now, you have constructed a poem with a dynamite opening. In that line or lines, you have established several major aspects of the poem, perhaps without even realizing it.
First, you have established the mood of the poem. Joyous, sorrowful, bittersweet, or mysterious – the mood is already there. Second, you have established the voice. Each poem has a voice. First person or third person, introspective or jovial, the voice is an integral part of the work. And third, whether the poem adheres to a metrical form or flows in free verse, you have established a formal or loose rhythm.
Continue the craft. The midsection of a poem has work to do. It has an assigned job with clear duties. The middle must carry on. Whatever the mood, voice, and rhythm of the poem, the middle must keep in the same vein without fail. The reader has come to expect certain things, and this is not the time to disappoint him or her, because every book closes as easily as it opens.
Essentially, in the opening lines, you have set up an unspoken contract with the reader. It is now up to you to carry out the terms of the contract.
Many poets forget this simple advice and end up puzzling or confusing the reader. When I began writing light verse, I wanted my readers to laugh, to enjoy my ideas and little jokes. But, unfortunately, I often started out in a seemingly serious context, so when the funny parts came, the reader was unsure whether to laugh or not.
We need to keep our promises.
If the poem starts out in a regular, established meter, the midsection must remain in the same metrical pattern, or at least a similar one. Likewise, if you have started out with a rhyme pattern - for instance, abab - you need to continue the same way. This might seem like elementary advice, but it’s surprising how many beginning poets switch rhyme schemes or rhythms mid-poem. Some careless poets start out with a very strict rhythm. They are writing in metrical verse. But later, they slip up in the set meter and allow the poem to slide into loose rhythm – free verse style. This makes the reader feel betrayed.
Provide a road map. Another important job of the middle section is to mark out a path for the reader to follow. Show the reader where to pause, where to stop, where to turn his thoughts in a new direction. Control the breath of the reader and you will control his thought patterns (at least for a minute or two).
Echo the start. In mid-poem, you have an excellent opportunity to build on the sounds you have laid out early on. Look at the phonetic patterns of the first few lines, and mirror them in some way. Not a direct copy - more like the sensation of hearing a voice echo across a canyon. It is different, yet close to the original. This kind of approach will seal the sound in your reader's ears, giving your poetry an unforgettable reverberation.
Exercise:
Read these lines - an opener and a closing line for a free verse poem.
Opening:
Katie kissed his balding head
Closing:
Where he held the memory.
Create a middle for this poem. Maintain the voice, mood, and rhythm as you work through to the closing. If necessary, make minor changes to the provided lines - for instance, change the name, or use my in place of his, or curly hair in place of balding head. Be sure to carry the reader with you as the words follow through naturally to the closing.
Don't worry about a title yet. We will work on that later in the series.
Note: If you prefer to write a metered, rhyming poem, use these lines instead:
When Katie kissed his balding head
and
because he held the memory.
No matter how short or long a poem may be, the middle section will carry a large load of meaning. As you construct your next poem, carry through on your promises and create a midsection worthy of notice. Give your poem a superior interior!
Staff Editor Patty Zion welcomes your editing questions and comments. You may reach her by e-mail at