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[Mostly Holy]

That was surprisingly difficult, when I saw the layout of the dezain I thought this one would be a cinch but I ended up spending hours on one I threw away, then more hours on the one I posted! How did you do yours in 20 minutes?!? ::joy::

I recycled the one I threw out into a villanelle so it was not a total loss, I actually think it is one of my better ones (it is in the practise channel if you are interested for some reason)

[CRNDLSM]

I didn't like villanelles until I saw it as a couplet followed by 5 sets of three lines followed by a final couplet. Then I could figure out the ending first and then figure out how to get there, a lot of these can be reformatted to fit your designs while still following their rules. With these 1 a day challenges are really just try to get the words out as casually as possible, its quick but there's forced rhymes and no meter check. Your effort only halfway through our duel suggests a clear winner but we'll see, you can forfeit anytime.

If this is fun for you I have a possible bonus challenge for extreme form hunters

[Mostly Holy]

Oh no, I dread to ask. Go on then, or is this a "prize" for when I lose?

---

Also I have loved villanelles since forever, "Mad Girl's Love Song" was my favourite poem as a teen ::joy::

But I have always, always, absolutely sucked at writing them. They are my white whale, and one day one will kill me.

[CRNDLSM]

The biggest form, many others white whale, is the crown of sonnets, 14 sonnets where each last line makes the first line of the next sonnet, then connecting all the repeated lines into a crown sonnet at the end. Its really daunting, and kinda more work than play, but I thought it would be fun and funny to trade the sonnets off, so we write a sonnet and pass it to the next person who starts with their last line, round and round until there's 14. So if there's 2 of us we can write two different sonnet crowns by passing them back and forth... it could be done in 14 days or 28 days if you want 2 days per poem. Its a pretty big commitment and likely to be a disaster but the offers there

[Mostly Holy]

Haha that does sound fun / awful. Let us finish the first challenge and then we shall see if either of us ever wants to write another poem again ::joy::

[Mostly Holy]

Aaah I've never watched any game shows! Oh God am I going to have to spend hours watching them for research? ::joy::

[Todd]

Aaah I've never watched any game shows! Oh God am I going to have to spend hours watching them for research? ::joy::

Don’t torture yourself. Inspired by. Use an element as a loose jumping off point.

[CRNDLSM]

Damn skip that villanelle was killer

[Todd]

My first poem idea for gameshows was a 32-line list poem. I had the structure, the rules, the first section done and I lost interest.

[Mostly Holy]

My first poem idea for gameshows was a 32-line list poem. I had the structure, the rules, the first section done and I lost interest.

Haha perfectly sums up the maximum level of enthusiasm I can muster for game shows ::joy::

[CRNDLSM]

I did clue and you did clueless thats funny! Mine was entirely quotes from the movie so I was real lazy, youre wiping the floor with me! Sestinas I think are the hardest, other than crossovers, good luck with the next one!

[Mostly Holy]

Mine was mostly Cher's lines from the film, plus I have watched that film a thousand times and know her character like the back of my hand so it was pretty easy for me, too ::joy::

The Sestina looks like a real end-game boss, I hope the topic is something I know more about than game shows ::joy::

[Mostly Holy]

I give up. I have tried all day but I cannot write a sestina. I get half way thru and it is all just nonsense. I guess I have to forfeit

[CRNDLSM]

I should have made it last so I could at least read your limerick! Would you mind sharing your half poem nonsense because its existence is an example of the struggle? I dont like throwing things away if I dont have to.

Ill ask again about the crown of sonnets in April for national poetry month

[Mostly Holy]

This is not the one I got furthest in but it is the one that was shaping up best until I realised I had totally blown the rhyme scheme. What an awful thing a sestina is to do to verse! I am still game for trying a Limerick, even tho I have lost our duel, pour l'honneur ::duelist::

ST1
childhood in poland; russian occupation; clandestine schools;

In Warsaw’s grip, she learned to swallow grief
Where science wore a shackle, not a glow
Russian tongues erased her native light
But she memorised rebellion?resistance?defiance? like a law
Smuggled thoughts in books beneath the dust
And fed a brain? too big for fear or home

ST2
arrival in paris; poverty and squalor; malnutrition; obsession

A nation? made her exile from her home
She measured out her meals like rationed grief
Each textbook read ? dust
? the need to chase that glow
Where every rule bent under study’s law;
She came to Paris starving for that light

ST3
relationship with pierre; match of equals; shared scientific inquiries

Then Pierre: Not lover, but kindred law
aligned in discipline and dust
a salve for her father's grief
He her foundation, she his guiding light
home
from respect, their romance would glow

ST4
radium, polonium, fame;

They did not fear that eerie glow
mathematics defined its law
made a lab out of their home
air that thickened daily into dust
chasing light
Oblivious to their slow-earned, glowing grief.

ST5
pierres death; cart; grief; dragging herself back to work

ST6
late work; mobile xrays; failing vision; bones weakening

Her home is sealed behind thick glass and dust
Her light still burns, but not without her grief
The glow she left illuminates life and law

[CRNDLSM]

This is not the one I got furthest in but it is the one that was shaping up best until I realised I had totally blown the rhyme scheme. What an awful thing a sestina is to do to verse! I am still game for trying a Limerick, even tho I have lost our duel, pour l'honneur ::duelist::

ST1
childhood in poland; russian occupation; clandestine schools;

In Warsaw’s grip, she learned to swallow grief
Where science wore a shackle, not a glow
Russian tongues erased her native light
But she memorised rebellion?resistance?defiance? like a law
Smuggled thoughts in books beneath the dust
And fed a brain? too big for fear or home

ST2
arrival in paris; poverty and squalor; malnutrition; obsession

A nation? made her exile from her home
She measured out her meals like rationed grief
Each textbook read ? dust
? the need to chase that glow
Where every rule bent under study’s law;
She came to Paris starving for that light

ST3
relationship with pierre; match of equals; shared scientific inquiries

Then Pierre: Not lover, but kindred law
aligned in discipline and dust
a salve for her father's grief
He her foundation, she his guiding light
home
from respect, their romance would glow

ST4
radium, polonium, fame;

They did not fear that eerie glow
mathematics defined its law
made a lab out of their home
air that thickened daily into dust
chasing light
Oblivious to their slow-earned, glowing grief.

ST5
pierres death; cart; grief; dragging herself back to work

ST6
late work; mobile xrays; failing vision; bones weakening

Her home is sealed behind thick glass and dust
Her light still burns, but not without her grief
The glow she left illuminates life and law

Oh yeah don't throw this away, I would suggest stepping away for a minute, trying another sestina, without even picking a subject, just seeing if you can keep ideas moving with the end words. Then trying to tie those words together at the end, just a goofy throw away jot.   Then come back and try this one again. Or come back and challenge a rematch, its been a real pleasure thank you!