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Monday 7 April 2014

F is for Funiculifunicular

Fantasmagrorical, fundamental, fiddlesticks, fork, fancy, femur, fixate, fellowship, follow,fallow, fink, flow, floppy, feather, famous,

well I am at the end of my immediate F's but of course we cannot have an F day without the F word, you know the one, that very decadent and naughty F word.

FOOD (what else were you thinking? Hmmm?) I cam smell sausages cooking. I suspect I am having sausage for lunch if my number 2 son is dictating food preference for this meal.

Have I read a rhyming book yet today?, nope but I am off to the library. I did however write a free verse poem. Free verse meaning kind of lyrical with no conformity to strict rules and should convey  images or impressions.



Travel

So many different groups and places merging into one great, kaleidoscope of images.

Swirling movement on the cobbled stones beneath rainbow treads of vibrant people.

Through corridors of scent written on the air in invisible ink, only discernable by Noses.

Spice. sweat, perfume and burnt sugar, floral highlights wafting in from nearby gardens.

Overseen by ancient buildings marking time as a ribbon marks the place in a book. 




Okay BIG changeabout on my book. Last month through the chapter book challenge I wrote 27000 words in six stories for two anthologies all on the theme of fairies, well the Fey or seelie and unseelie Celtic others
I had begun another piece to do with a character from four of the stories or more correctly her great great great grand daughter.  I put it aside because it was not working for the purpose of last months submissions however now that I have hit a screeching halt on the story I was doing for this month I have decided to revisit that one instead and I feel so much better about the decision. My genie will have to go on the shelf or back in his bottle for the time being.
The new character is a smart phone kid from our modern world. If it doesn't have a power socket to plug into she doesn't know how to use it.
She lives in a pretty loud and boisterous family who like to yell rather than talk as they sit in various part of the house at their keyboards. She is the quiet one in the house and tends to be the one who runs errands or helps with homework. She has an older brother and sister and the family dog to compete with for airtime. A strange letter arrives one day from a law firm with three really odd questions in it. Even the cousins, aunts and uncles receive a copy. The person who gives the correct answers to the three questions will inherit a property in Scotland.  the word count stands at 2412.



I rose to the Rhyming challenge: I am attempting one stanza of a Spenserian thingamebob...
Spenserian stanza was invented by Edmund Spenser a long time ago, think queen Lizzie the 1st.. Each stanza contains nine lines in total: eight lines in iambic pentameter(five lots of DA da) followed by a single ‘alexandrine’ line in iambic hexameter.(six lots of DA da- or so you would think) The rhyme scheme of these lines is “ababbcbcc.”  line one and three rhyme, two four five and seven rhyme and then six eight and nine rhyme. Now for the tricky bit(yes you thought the first bit was tricky but NO). The last line has to go like this...


A foot can be made up of two long syllables (– –), a spondee; or a long and two short syllables, a dactyl (– Ï… Ï…).
    The first four feet can contain either a spondee DA DA  or a dactyl DA da da
    The fifth is almost always a dactyl DA da da, and last must be a spondee. DA DA
Okay got all that? .. 

no? I am struggling with it to but some of the er great poets of previous centuries liked this style of poetic crazy and I really think it is why television was invented. So here is my first attempt with erasures and instruction lines...



1A 5 x da DA I went to the circus to see a clown
2B 5 x da DA I saw a lady upon the trapeze
3A 5 x da DA she flew and she tumbled, hung upsidedown
4B 5 x da DA twirling and twisting she did it with ease
5B 5 x da DA light as a feather upon a warm breeze
6C 5 x da DA Then came the monkey leaping through rings
7B 5 x da DA scratching and leaping I think he has fleas
8C 5 x da DA  Port/ly/ LA/dy, /Tall /and / fair/ proud / SHE/sings
9C 6 x da DA elephants balancing, jugglers, circus things.

9- C    DA da  2 DA da 3 DA da 4  DA da 5 –uu(DA da da) 6 – - (DA DA)
STRI/py/ TENT/and/AN/i/MALS/the/ CIR/cus/ gives/ ME/ WINGS


see I got it wrong in the last line with lots of iam(DA a) rather than dactyl or spondee so back to the drawing boards.  I sort of managed the fifth and sixth feet but not one to four. sigh. Practice right?
 

20 comments:

  1. Ha ha ha - a great take on F Cecilia! Great read! Happy to see you visiting my blog - I will come by yours again - to see what you are up for for the next letters:-) Best of luck with the challenge:-)

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    1. thanks Eli Z :) I am enjoying this month tremendously

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  2. Food - that reminds me, I'm hungry and it's nearly lunch time, yay! :) Fantasmagorical is such a wonderful word.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings - AtoZ (Vampires)
    FB3X - AtoZ (Erotic Drabbles)

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    1. food is the best word when we are hungry :)

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  3. The second plot of the boisterous family / kid and letter is so interesting. Will try to read it :) all the very best for ur novel and anthologies
    Thanks for visiting my blog

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    1. I am really enjoying the second story. The characters are working really well.

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  4. I adore poetry...good luck with your poem-a-day. That's pretty ambitious

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    1. Some of the poetry styles are simply beyond me but I do love a good challenge

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  5. Overseen by ancient buildings marking time as a ribbon marks the place in a book: that's so beautiful!

    Damyanti, co host, A to Z 2014


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    1. thank you so much. I love it when the words blend into an image.

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  6. Beautiful prose! I love it.

    You really do have to where the muse is dragging you, eh? I'm excited to see what comes of your quiet kid.

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    1. My muse is certainly dragging me to some good places. :)

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  7. I love the character for your new work-in-progress! The story sounds really intriguing!

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    1. I think I am going to love it Becky and the other four pieces were a thrill to write.

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  8. The Spenserian challenge sounds very interesting!

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    1. I think I will need a LOT of practice to be able to master it though. :)

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  9. Cute opening to your F post. :P I like your story idea. Interesting already, the letter from the attorney and a good start on the circus poem!
    History Sleuth's Writings - Blogging A-Z

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    1. Thanks Cindy. I am going to keep working at it.

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  10. HAHA, love that little trick you pulled there with the "F word," very clever. :)

    Random Musings from the KristenHead — F is for 'Fringe' and 'Firefly': First-class Sci-fi Shows

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Thank you for taking the time to read my chatter and look at my pictures. I hope you found something to brighten your day. <3