Poetry Partners #67
‘The poem of your life’, a poem by Kim Whysall-Hammond of ‘The Cheesesellers Wife’
You have always strived to understand when very small you deduced gravity was invisible strings tied to our feet and God sat at the world's centre pulling hard which is why He doesn’t answer little boys prayers, He has not got the time. Mathematics teachers despaired of you as they tried to teach you something that wasn’t “Too easy, Mum.” Each day you grow taller your shoulders broaden I must stretch up and up to kiss your cheek. At dinner last month the other two discussed History theory and you mouthed “I just need equations, don’t you?” I had to agree.
- Kim Whysall-Hammond: https://thecheesesellerswife.wordpress.com/
A ‘descort’ poem by ben Alexander of ‘The Skeptic’s Kaddish’
You might be awesome, or maybe I'm subjective, but perhaps my subjectivity is justified in this case. You might agree or argue with me, as you love to do. At only seven-years- old, you reason that the countries of Eastern Europe likely fear that Vladimir Putin might attack them if he conquers Ukraine. You're exactly right. Don't get me wrong, daughter; it's very clear that you're a seven- year-old; you can be such a pain in the tushy, as I often say to you. Even if you call yourself medium- sized, you're still just a little girl and often act very immaturely. But you're so incredibly sweet, my child, and -constantly- tell me and your mother that you love us; I haven't met any other children who tell their parents that they love them more often than their parents say so to them. To be honest, I was concerned at the start of this school year because I thought the other first-graders might tease you for being different than them, but you have so many friends, and nobody gives you a hard time for reading books in English at a fourth grade reading level during recess, while you're all being taught to read Hebrew at a(n age appropriate) first-grade reading level. Your little friends respect you; some of them have even asked you to teach them English words. Oh, and you know how to use an abacus to add and subtract numbers in the thousands and millions, and you've written the multiplication table out for yourself from memory (also during recess) in your little notebook, which you often refer to; recently I explained the concept of negative numbers to you, and you caught on right away. The problem with this poem of mine is that I have enough fodder for it to become endless. Literally, not figuratively, as you say.
Descort poem?
The descort differentiates itself from other forms by differentiating its lines from other lines within the poem. That is, the main rule of descort poems is that each line needs to be different from every other line in the poem.
A descort poem has different line lengths, meters, avoids rhyming with other lines, no refrains, and that goes for stanzas as well. In other words, no two lines in a descort should look like each other, and the same could be said for each descort.
Note: This is different than free verse, because even free verse may occasionally have similar line lengths and meter. However, descort is very intentional in its variability.
Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.
–Ben Harper (b. 1969)
Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!
List of Poetry Partners
- Murisopsis
- Judy Dykstra-Brown
- Jennifer Patino
- Mike L. Utley
- Barbara Schaefer
- Ron Rowland
- Cheyenne MacMasters
- Rae Cod
- Eric Erb
- Chris Reilley
- Jim-
- Selma Martin
- Vidah (Chavi)
- varityteller
- Veera
- Kunjal Gupta
- Coco
- Lov Verma
- bodypositivefemme
- Steven S. Wallace
- Shay Simmons
- Constance Bourg
- C. L. Barton
- Madamchryzl
- Sangeetha
- Jo
- Audrey Duff
- Gillena Cox
- Yasmin
- Martha Anewa
- Malalai Khan
- Adam Taylor
- trE
- Cindy Georgakas
- Punam
- davidatqcm
- Orion Foote
- Susi Bocks
- Mister Bump UK
- Kate Blake
- Freddie Omm
- kittysverses
- enchantedwords
- Saint Gaona
- Alan Steinle
- Karina Lutz
- Sarah David
- Beka Tucker
- Maria L. Berg
- Colleen M. Chesebro
- Jane Aguiar
- Jan Beekman
- royalpalmtree
- Marian
- M Jay Dixit
- Ken Hume
- Naa Lamiorkor Boye
- Reena Saxena
- Bridget
- Ash Evan Lippert
- Freya Pickard
- Harshi
- LaMon Brown
- Nomad
- Vedran Markovic
- The.Richard.Braxton
- Kim Whysall-Hammond
- Jeff Flesch
- hutschi
- Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
- Anca
- douryeh
- enchantedwords
- Kerfe
- Puvanesvari Rajan
- MistyBlue
- Henry Mworia
- Anna Smit
- Larry Trasciatti
- Sarah Cope
- Filipa Moreira da Cruz
- Robert J. Jr.
- Rosemary McMahan
- Iswar Kar
- Mapule Somo
- Anne Morrigan
- George Ellington
- J. P.
- Christine Bialczak
- Shalini Kathuria Narang
- LaToya Williams
- Maitreyee Telang
- Amelia Michelle Nicol
- A. J. Wilson
- Nick Pipitone
- Myrna Migala
- Kathy Labrum McVittie
- Dawn Pisturino
- Eugenia
- Tea Solon
- Marion Horton
- Hassan Safdar
- Grace Y. Estevez – Reddy
- Eileen Backman
- Suzette Benjamin
- Candace
- Tarlie Francis
- Aishwarya Kannan
- Michaël
- Mary Anne Abdo
- Benjamin Nambu
- Scotti Woolery-Price
- Ara
- Sean Matthews
- Joy A. Burki-Watson
- Mike L. Utley
- Hadizat Motherconfessor
- Murisopsis
- Cindy Georgakas
- Swathi Rao
- Filipa Moreira da Cruz
- Di
- Ami Offenbacher-Ferris
- Christine Bialczak
- Rob Kistner
- Michaël
- Sarah Cope
- Stephanie Malley
- musingsbymac
- Verne Ivars Krastins
- Brandon Ellrich
- Tallisman
- kalabalu
- Kunjal Gupta
- Malalai Khan
- Mary Anne Abdo
- M. Snyder
- Sherry Lens
- Barbara Dean Aliaga
- Devine Success
- Veera
- Maria Pavlova
- Kevin L. Perrin
- Alex Budris
- Wm. “Mark” Parry
- Rayla
- Rayla
- Artem Miachin
- Jeff Lee
- Artem Miachin
- Tanmay Philip
- Dee
- Tricia Sankey
- Cassa Bassa
- 3L
- Charles
- WickedLizzie
- L. M. Montes
- Marsha Ingrao
- WickedLizzie
- Jan Beekman
- Neha Singh
- Kaci Rigney
- Kaci Rigney
- Irobiko Chimezie Kingsley
Our children never cease to amaze do they? Lovely poetic observations in your poems David and Kim ❤
💛 Marion 💛
Marion, I would be very honored to respond to a poem of yours too someday, if that might interest you.
❤
David
Thank you, David. I have enjoyed reading your partner poetry. I may well do that.😊
💕
[…] https://skepticskaddish.com/2022/03/27/literally-or-figuratively/ […]
❤
She’s so smart! Has she been writing more poems with you, too? 🙂 I like how well these worked together to explore the wonder of children.
Not since the last time, but occasionally she gets the bug because she sees me doing it all the time 😌
I bet she will write more with you! My oldest has started making his own books– and then he has to read them to everybody. 😀 It’s so neat to get to see ourselves in these tiny (or “medium sized”) people.
such a great job on the poem Kim and David.
“can be such a pain in the tushy, as I
often
say to you.”
All i can say is get used to it.. lol 💖💖😂😂
🤣 Cindy 🤣
I’ll be here-:)💕
you’d better be 😁
Our children are an endless source of wonder. (K)
❤️💓 Kerfe ❤️💓
I love your response poem! The descort form was an interesting way to go with it. Your daughter sounds very bright, with some wonderful classmates that will hopefully stay with her throughout her education. The son I describe in the poem is now training to be an aerospace engineer, so equations won.
This is a fun thing to do isn’t it? Hedgehog Poetry Press likes to publish poetry ‘conversations’ between two poets, where a chapbook is made up of poems written in response to the previous poem.
💖💚 Kim 💖💚 ~ I’ll check it out! Thanks for letting me know!
Sincerely,
David
Very touching to read 🙏🏻
❤ 🙂 Marieke ❤ 🙂 ~ thank you so much for your kind comment!
Sincerely,
David
I loved both poems…
🌼🌼
😍💙 Komaljeet 😍💙
Thank you Komaljeet!
😀❤
Both poems are wonderful. Children always have a way of keeping us on our toes. When my eldest, at age 4, wanted to understand the reason the mirror reflected the image backwards, I knew I would be a frequent flyer viewing the encyclopedia.
🧡💘 Lauren 🧡💘
I learnt so much bringing up my two boys. Thank goodness for reference books — That’s how I managed to keep one step ahead of them!
I understand
Shavuah Tov, David.
I can see that you can go on endlessly, and you have the right to do so, as a proud parent of an amazing little girl. Credit goes to her parents, of course!
Much love,
D
💚🥰 Dolly 💚🥰
Both poems are utterly delightful and startlingly touching, and the love of parents for their children is so readily apparent. Put together, there’s a wonderful synergy at work. Honestly, I want to read more of both. These are fascinating glimpses into both childhood and parenthood, and the love shared by both. Well done, Kim and David! 🙂
😘💙 Mike 💙😘
Thank you Mike!
She is wise beyond her years! I love the two different poems that point to the differences in children. Yet there is a similarity in the pride every parent feels when reflecting on their progeny…
💓💚 Muri 💓💚