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Mary-Eliz Jul 2018
it may have been a parody
may have been in jest
written to be awful
certainly not his best

but in and of itself
it doesn't come across
as parody or humor
more as a gaping dross

but I challenge anyone
to follow rules precise
to form the proper stanzas
make them turn out concise

an attempted joke by Billy
has been turned upon its ear
it can be done "correctly"
and won't just disappear
Mary-Eliz May 2018
She saw a flower, sensitive plant of my garden
She saw a flower, sensitive plant of my garden
it was the warmest, sunniest morning
it was the warmest, sunniest morning
Warmest of garden, it saw a flower in the morning
sensitive, she was my sunniest plant


The wind is blowing from west over the river
The wind is blowing from west over the river
The sky turns dark above the mountains
The sky turns dark above the mountains
The west wind turns, is blowing over the mountains
From the river above the dark sky


The city far away, the buildings tall
The city far away, the buildings tall
Disguise the green fields beyond the crowds
Disguise the green fields beyond the crowds
The tall fields, the green buildings
Disguise the crowds beyond the far away city                                  


The tall mountains, the fields, the sky above                              
saw a disguise of crowds over city buildings                                                        ­                
my morning, it was the sunniest beyond the west                                                             ­             
The green river she turns dark                                                             ­                               
The warmest wind is blowing from far away                      
Plant the sensitive flower in the garden
Paradelle: a form that was first presented by Billy Collins as an Old French form. He fessed up later that he had created the form. It is complicated but a good challenge!

When Collins first published the paradelle, it was with the footnote "The paradelle is one of the more demanding French fixed forms, first appearing in the langue d'oc love poetry of the eleventh century. It is a poem of four six-line stanzas in which the first and second lines, as well as the third and fourth lines of the first three stanzas, must be identical. The fifth and sixth lines, which traditionally resolve these stanzas, must use all the words from the preceding lines and only those words. Similarly, the final stanza must use every word from all the preceding stanzas and only these words."
Levi Bradford Apr 2018
Desk creaks under pile of calendars
Desk creaks under pile of calendars
Arranged like candy below a piñata
Arranged like candy below a piñata
Candy pile arranged below like creaks;
Calendar of desk under a piñata

I have not seen a new movie in a year
I have not seen a new movie in a year
I wonder what it is that I have missed
I wonder what it is that I have missed
I I I that is it.
A wonder movie in a missed year, what have not seen have new

It is time to walk about the place
It is time to walk about the place
I get up and sit down, my *** growing bigger
I get up and sit down, my *** growing bigger
Place bigger time up my ***
Growing down about the walk, I get to sit and is it

Sit in creaks under a bigger year
I have time to wonder what is arranged of calendars
I get *** like a piñata growing candy
I walk up and down the movie
It is that desk I have not missed about my new place
Seen it below a new pile
A paradell is a form first used by Billy Collins to parody strict forms (i.e. a villanelle). 3 stanzas have a line, that line repeated, a different line, that different line repeated, followed by 2 lines that use each word that appears in the 2 bespoke lines, like a word jumble. The 4th stanza does the same thing but using each word again to for 6 lines. It's super fun.
sophia Aug 2017
Your shoe is untied, the nervous man said.
Your shoe is untied, the nervous man said.
Perched on the park bench, coffee breath.
Perched on the park bench, coffee breath.
Bench said, shoe is untied breath.
Perched the, your on the coffee nervous man.

I see through the trees a young building grows.
I see through the trees a young building grows.
And emerald trees and topaz skies brighten its youth.
And emerald trees and topaz skies brighten its youth.
Trees youth the trees young skies building grows.
And emerald the through, young it’s and, topaz brighten I see young.

The nicotine fresh, second-hand smoke.
The nicotine fresh, second-hand smoke.
Clouds the buildings lungs too early for it to care.
Clouds the buildings lungs too early for it to care.
The smoke to care too fresh early.
For hand clogs nicotine buildings clouds the it lungs the.  

Their shoes will always be untied, I always nervous.
Scratched knee on the park bench,
Reassuring coffee breath.
Emerald and topaz brightens the eyes of youth,
Second-hand smoke, they cough.
I care too much, we say good-bye to the building.

— The End —