Sunday, October 06, 2013

a poem with no 'E's

Some years back, at a local poetry forum where I used to hang out, there was a challenge to write a poem without the vowel 'E'. I thought, wow, it must be difficult. It was. But I managed to write one. I wasn't too satisfied with the original and did an edit on it. Below is the result.

I wonder if any of you have written a poem without 'E'. I am thinking of writing a poem each without an a, i , o and u, but the thought of writing one is already pretty scary. :)







image by dsnake1




coming home



midnight
at my corridor

i
thought i saw things
      unholy

a shadow
      gliding
at a lift landing

as a dog howls,
primordial,


distant

barking at

a sky of rusty slag
      bulging
with a storm

a wind mobilizing
X-wings
swooping in

on dim corridors
in
attack flights

as i turn
a lock
on my door

and walk 


into a warm room
to my child
hugging a pikachu

smiling
waiting
for daddy.




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
08.07.05
revised 26.04.07
****************







"Not happy? Okay, stand up and fight!"

-- dsnake1, a quote with no 'E'.



Shared on Poetry Pantry #170 at Poets United


photo by dsnake1


Sherry, this is for you. The blue sky I mentioned in your comment. Taken near my home today. :)




© cheong lee san ( dsnake1 ) 2013

Labels: , , , , , ,

20 Comments:

Blogger Brian Miller said...

sweet ending..arriving home to happy child...nice line breaks and tension in the opening...i have never written about a single letter....hmmm i will give that some thought....

07 October, 2013 00:09  
Blogger ruth said...

how clever - i'm not sure i quite believed it could be done (even the 'e' in the title is there on sufferance) ;) - & it's a lovely story as well

07 October, 2013 00:36  
Blogger TALON said...

Intriguing and beautiful. I didn't miss the "e" at all. :)

07 October, 2013 01:50  
Blogger Vandana Sharma said...

Never thought about writing without E, you have done it well:)

07 October, 2013 02:01  
Blogger Mary said...

Wow, this is great. I am totally awed by your accomplishment. I wouldn't even think of attempting it!! And it had meaning even.....heavens, I can't even write a sentence without an 'e.'

07 October, 2013 02:41  
Blogger Audrey Howitt aka Divalounger said...

I have never written without my beloved eees--you did a wonderful job--great moody piece

07 October, 2013 03:13  
Blogger Natašek said...

I love the feeling these pictures you paint leave behind..somewhat haunting.

07 October, 2013 03:30  
Blogger Lisa A. Williams said...

I never thought of writing a poem without an e, I must say you did a marvelous job. Love your close.

07 October, 2013 05:45  
Blogger ZQ said...

W*ll, you'r* right! No stinkin' *E ... then again, it read so well I wasn't lookin' :-) and I took your "word" for it.
ZQ

07 October, 2013 06:16  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this is a fantastic response to a harrowing challenge

07 October, 2013 07:34  
Blogger Sherry Blue Sky said...

Wow, kiddo, this is amazing. What an unusual prompt and look how you rose to it - I cant imagine writing a poem that long without a particular vowel. You made it look easy and I know it isnt. Thanks for the blue sky, too, kiddo. I needed that tonight. We have wind kicking up and big fat rainclouds getting ready to bucket down on us.......the blue of your sky is amazing!

07 October, 2013 10:48  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

Brian,

you should give it a try. it's quite challenging. :)


rudyan,

i am not quite sure how i did it either. :)
oh no! there's an E in the title!


TALON,

you didn't miss the 'e' at all? wow!


Vandana,

thank you! it wasn't easy. :)


Mary,

i am sure you can give it a try. :)


Audrey,

beloved eees? essential eees! :)


Natasa,

yes, i started the poem rather darkly.


Lisa,

thank you! the ending is a contrast with the rest of the poem. :)


ZQ,

my friend, you trusted me too much. There's an 'e' in the title!
now, what happened to my proofreading?


grapeling,

harrowing challenge it is. :(


Sherry,

it's not easy, really.

i have to take that picture with my cell phone. the sky was a very brilliant blue. :)

08 October, 2013 00:05  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

An interesting challenge to take on, but you handled it well. Great piece. I am now tempted to try to write a poem "e" free. Considering the number of times I used the vowel in this post alone, it's obvious it's a difficult task.

08 October, 2013 00:44  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

:)

have a bash at it!

08 October, 2013 19:25  
Anonymous tinman said...

U did it. U actually did it!

10 October, 2013 07:31  
Anonymous dsnake1 said...

wow, no e in the comment. :)

10 October, 2013 23:29  
Blogger ZQ said...

Curses! Dag-nabit! An E In the "title" did you get an A- instead of an A+ for that little faux-pas? :-)

12 October, 2013 02:14  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

ooh, dang!

:D

12 October, 2013 19:09  
Blogger ashok said...

Good one !

31 August, 2020 14:57  
Blogger dsnake1 said...

Thank you, Ashok! 😀

31 August, 2020 21:00  

Post a Comment

<< Home