The Polymono, or: Creativity forms verses

Sangeetha & David’s new poetry project

Once upon a time, two poets who’d never met in person began writing verses back and forth over the Internet. Their first project took them some nine months: a 100 verse Hyakuin.

Once they’d completed their first oeuvre, they continued their journey together; Sangeetha came up with a fun idea. Beginning in January ’22, they took turns selecting poetic forms beginning with the letters of the alphabet (A through Z) and wrote poems to one another using those forms.

Upon completing that second project, Sangeetha suggested they go through the alphabet once more but in their new series, for every letter of the alphabet (A through Z), they would select not only a poetic form but also – a keyword for each poem.

Eventually, they completed their third series and decided to embark on a fourth towards the end of 2022. This time, taking turns, they would create their own poetic forms for every letter of the alphabet (A through Z), and exchange poems, as they’d done before.

For ‘P’, Sangeetha created the ‘Polymono’ form.

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P: Polymono

Sangeetha’s Polymono

Spring paints a smile on each new day
Skies blush pink, birds fly out to play
Sun beams at plants; Oh how they sway
So pleased to keep the cold at bay
Shy blooms peep out and make new way
Safe, at peace, in earth's lap they lay
Stirred by sounds of my soul, I pray
Spring should stay and play, come what may.

David’s Polymono

Pained, I felt my wound flare
~ Part of me could not care.
'Please', pushed my soul, 'let's share...'
~ Pressed my hand 'pon the tear-
Penned words no heart could bear
~ Peace did not find me there.

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Polymono?

• All words in the Polymono are monosyllabic;
• All lines have the same number of words;
  • The poem has the same number of lines as the number of words in each line;
• All lines must:
  • Start with the same letter;
  • Share the same end-rhyme (i.e. monorhyme);
  • Contain a word starting with ‘P’

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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!