Holding kite, excited to run
grinning in sun.
Wind picks up speed
flight guaranteed.
Running down field, kite takes to air
eyes glaze in glare.
Excited screams,
Better than dreams!
String tugs, yanks and breaks. Kite floats free
stilling her glee.
Kite disappears
brings on the tears.
Written for Meet the Bar Thursday at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets. Today, Grace asks us to “explore an invented poetry form – The Minute Poem. It’s a 60 syllable verse form, one syllable for each second in a minute. The theme must be an event that is over and done completely, as in a minute. Since the dominant line is short, the effect is likely humorous, whimsical or semi-serious. It was created by Verna Lee Hinnegardner, once poet laureate of Arkansas.”
For me, it’s another “sudoku” poem! That is, a complex form that challenges me. Here’s the elements we must adhere to:
* It must be narrative poetry: tell a story.
* It is a 12 line poem made up of 3 quatrains (3 four-line stanzas)
* Syllabic form is 8-4-4-4, 8-4-4-4, 8-4-4-4 (8 syllables in the first line of each stanza; 4 in the second, thrid and fourth line of each stanza.
* It must have the rhyme scheme of aabb, ccdd, eeff
* It should be a description of a finished event (preferably something done in 60 seconds).
PHOTO: taken in Bermuda about 7 years ago when we went to their Good Friday kite festival.
lillian the home poet 
How sad that the kite floated free. Good work on the poetry form. And I love the photo Lillian.
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What disappointment… and it can be a metaphor for all our ambitions lost.
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This is so evocative! The disappearing of the kite speaks volumes here, Lillian. Perhaps there is something better waiting around the corner. 💝💝
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as a keen kite flyer this resonates … never lost one yet but it would bring on tears!
A romping fun write thanks Lillian
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These can be almost lifetime traumas….I feel for that young girl…
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Perfectly capture & this seems like the perfect form for the tale. Thanks.
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Oh I remember the glee and then the tears. Wonderful!
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Oh poor little girl! Your words tell the feelings so well, Lillian. I remember kite flying when I was a little girl. It was so much fun to see them way, way up there!
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OMG a tear jerker, this one
Much love…
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Oh that’s so lovely! Even the sad ending – devastating as a child, but something we can smile at as an adult.
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Kites, springtime, wind, breeze, kids laughter … what’s not to love? Well, perhaps the tears … which no doubt you will gently wipe.
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So sad for that disappointed little girl. Wonderful write Lillian… 🙂👍🏼✌🏼❤️
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A great narrative of a part of childhood some of us have experienced.
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What great memories of flying kites!
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Like dreams, kites sometimes soar, sometimes crash. You flew the form effortlessly, Lillian!
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Every good things must end somehow! A lesson in loving (to do something), Lillian!
Hank
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I never flew a kite in my childhood,but reading your poem,it sure sounds like a great activity! 🙂
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Love how you have captured both the exhilaration and disappointment in a minute poem. ❤
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Lovely poem, Lillian!
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Awww I sincerely felt the elation and the disappointment in this. You worked the form so well.
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Oh, this brought back bittersweet memories of childhood! Losing a kite was so disappointing.
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Poor little girl, hoping she’ll remember the fun before the string snapped.
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Wonderful imagery and storytelling in such a short space. I was totally there in the moment, and disappointed when my kite broke free!
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This was a fun poem to read, Lillian!
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Wonderfully written 🙂
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