Understanding Poetry: The Minute Poem.

This concrete poetry form contains 60 syllables (one for each second to make a minute) and has strict iambic meter. Written in 3 stanzas with a specific rhyme scheme of aabb, ccdd, eeff and each stanza with the syllable count of 8444, the poem has 12 lines in total.

Stanza One
Line One: (a) 8 syllables
Line Two: (a) 4 syllables
Line Three: (b) 4 syllables
Line Four: (b) 4 syllables

Stanza Two
Line Five: (c) 8 syllables
Line Six: (c) 4 syllables
Line Seven: (d) 4 syllables
Line Eight: (d) 4 syllables

Stanza Three
Line Nine (e) 8 syllables
Line Ten (e) 4 syllables
Line Eleven (f) 4 syllables
Line Twelve (f) 4 syllables

Example:

I Need Someone

I need someone to hold me tight
Through dark of night,
Who won’t go ’way
At break of day.

Someone whose love will mend the seams
Of broken dreams,
And give me back
The trust I lack.

For love, it holds the magic key
To set me free,
To heal my soul
And make me whole.

by Linda Newman

Poetry Prompt: I would say that this concrete form is for the experienced poet, but I know you have it in you to challenge yourself. Why not create a minute poem about something you love, despise, or have no feeling about at all?

-brr