The Syllibole, 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 ‘S’, David created the ‘Syllibole’ form.

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S: Syllibole

David’s Syllibole

Benjamin, rexcitated, sloppered... "Please?" 
While tongling Margaret's tisnuffalies;

Margaret indignantly covered them...
Depugnipply retorting, "Thert privvem!"

Benjamin, crushed, withdrew fubarointed,
Yet again... zizzexly disappointed!

Sangeetha’s Syllibole

Often, I meander beyondering
into blad labyrinthine gleebithings;;

I rummage caterwoose imagination,
and drummuse poetic pensication;

Words skedaddle splafficously startled,
Leaving me utterly unsylliboled!

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Syllibole?

• Intended to be silly;
• Composed of at least three rhyming couplets;
• Each couplet:
  • Contains one to four nonsense words of your own creation;
• Each line:
  • Contains four words: one word has four syllables, one word has three syllables, one word has two syllables, and one word has one syllable

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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!