(Chriscrawfordphoto.com)‘Mother’s TV’ and Other Poetry by James Kirkpatrick The Society December 20, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Triolet 15 Comments . Mother’s TV It numbs regretBut, better yet,Helps her forget,Lest devils spawn. It quells each thoughtOf folly’s rotLost, sold, or bought,From dawn till dawn. Time Confounder,Siren Sounder,Demon Drowner …Is always on. . . Amber of the Evening Amber of the evening meeklyCreeping up the stairs,Slinks into the room discreetly.Amber of the evening meeklySettles on the chamber’s seemlyTenant unaware.Amber of the evening meeklyCreeping up the stairs. . . James Kirkpatrick is a writer and poet living in Texas. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Trending now: 15 Responses Jeremiah Johnson December 20, 2022 That 2nd poem really calls to mind T.S. Eliot’s bit about the fog in “Prufrock.” Very evocative! Reply James Kirkpatrick December 20, 2022 Thank you, Jeremiah! Reply C.B. Anderson December 20, 2022 Both poems were adept examples of short forms. “Amber…” I take as a triolet with uneven lines in terms of feet, but I cannot recall ever having read one in trochaic (with some lines catalectic) meter. Delectable, each one! Reply James Kirkpatrick December 20, 2022 Thank you, C.B. (And now I’ll pretend like none of those things happened by accident.) Reply C.B Anderson December 20, 2022 I think you were in complete control all the while, James, and were merely unaware of the terms that applied to what you did, as it were, instinctively. Cynthia Erlandson December 20, 2022 I really like “Mother’s T.V.” — it says so much in its thoughtful few lines, and the interesting rhyme scheme holds it together well. Reply James Kirkpatrick December 20, 2022 Thank you, Cynthia. I was actually introduced to rhupunts here; and I like them. I enjoy having to be brief and conform to the fixed rhyme scheme you mention. Reply Roy Eugene Peterson December 21, 2022 James, “Mother’s TV” is so fitting for those who keep their tv on all night. I call it my nightlight! Reply James Kirkpatrick December 21, 2022 I don’t know how you do it. Although I have to say, almost every time without fail, five minutes into Forensic Files and I’m comatose. It must be the narrator’s soothing voice! Surely it’s not the lurid subject matter. Reply Shaun C. Duncan December 22, 2022 These are both great, James. The rhupunt form works well for the subject matter of “Mother’s TV” – the rolling, repeated rhymes help convey something of the mind-numbing quality of endless programming in an enjoyable and playful manner. Reply James Kirkpatrick December 25, 2022 Thank you, Shaun. I’m glad you see playfulness, too; without it, analytical and critical, not to mention presumptious, is a bad look! Reply Margaret Coats December 23, 2022 James, both of these are splendid uses of special forms. As a longtime reader and student of the triolet, I have to say “Amber” is a superb and unique example. Even in the earliest French triolets, there is creative variation in line length, but you have 8 syllables for the /a/ lines and 5 syllables for the /b/ lines, which is extreme. In English analysis that works out to tetrameter versus trimeter, a pattern not hard to find, but I don’t have an 8/5 in my collection, so I plan to file your piece. It is not only an exciting form, but a beautiful atmospheric story in so few words, with so many required repetitions. You make good use of imperfect rhymes to craft a tale. Trochaic triolets are not rare, but they usually come in poems with /a/ and /b/ lines of equal length. Seven-syllable lines are common in French triolets, and trochees are a good means of translating these into English. Here’s my translation of one by Eustache Deschamps (1346-1406): Come salute my jubilee! I have passed my fiftieth. Good times now are quick to flee, Come salute my jubilee. You may not remember me, Worse for wear and out of breath; Come salute my jubilee– I have passed my fiftieth! And here’s an original one in English by Rosamund Marriott Watson (1860-1911), who published as Graham R. Tomson: Love hath wept till he is blind: Lovers, guide him on his way; Though he be of fickle mind, Love hath wept till he is blind. Once ye knew him fair and kind; Now, alas and well-a-day! Love hath wept till he is blind: Lovers, guide him on his way. I’m glad you like the challenge of limited space and repetitions. I prefer more words (as this extended comment shows), but I love seeing masterpieces in careful form, like the two here. Reply James Kirkpatrick December 25, 2022 Thank you, Margaret, for your thorough analysis of my triolet, and for those two great examples of trochaic triolets that you provided (what beauties!). Also, I’m honored to be included in your collection. Sometimes, I wish I had your stated propensity for more words; it might make longer forms come more naturally. Years ago I developed an inclination toward leaner lines, mainly because of two things: 1.) the modern attention span, ever shortening, and 2.) people’s tendency to interrupt. My solution: get in as much content as you can, with the fewest words, before you get steamrolled or tuned out. The problem, of course, as you know, is that as soon as you start exercising one group of muscles, the neglected ones start to atrophy. (Kind of an indictment of my own attention span, come to think of it.) Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 27, 2022 James, both poems are bold and beautiful in their brevity. The triolet is one of my favorite forms and I love the atmosphere ‘Amber of the Evening’ conjures… it has an eerie beauty about it. Wonderful! Reply James Kirkpatrick December 29, 2022 Thank you very much, Susan. I’m glad you see that in these poems, since that’s what I was going for. Happy New Year to you and yours. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Jeremiah Johnson December 20, 2022 That 2nd poem really calls to mind T.S. Eliot’s bit about the fog in “Prufrock.” Very evocative! Reply
C.B. Anderson December 20, 2022 Both poems were adept examples of short forms. “Amber…” I take as a triolet with uneven lines in terms of feet, but I cannot recall ever having read one in trochaic (with some lines catalectic) meter. Delectable, each one! Reply
James Kirkpatrick December 20, 2022 Thank you, C.B. (And now I’ll pretend like none of those things happened by accident.) Reply
C.B Anderson December 20, 2022 I think you were in complete control all the while, James, and were merely unaware of the terms that applied to what you did, as it were, instinctively.
Cynthia Erlandson December 20, 2022 I really like “Mother’s T.V.” — it says so much in its thoughtful few lines, and the interesting rhyme scheme holds it together well. Reply
James Kirkpatrick December 20, 2022 Thank you, Cynthia. I was actually introduced to rhupunts here; and I like them. I enjoy having to be brief and conform to the fixed rhyme scheme you mention. Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson December 21, 2022 James, “Mother’s TV” is so fitting for those who keep their tv on all night. I call it my nightlight! Reply
James Kirkpatrick December 21, 2022 I don’t know how you do it. Although I have to say, almost every time without fail, five minutes into Forensic Files and I’m comatose. It must be the narrator’s soothing voice! Surely it’s not the lurid subject matter. Reply
Shaun C. Duncan December 22, 2022 These are both great, James. The rhupunt form works well for the subject matter of “Mother’s TV” – the rolling, repeated rhymes help convey something of the mind-numbing quality of endless programming in an enjoyable and playful manner. Reply
James Kirkpatrick December 25, 2022 Thank you, Shaun. I’m glad you see playfulness, too; without it, analytical and critical, not to mention presumptious, is a bad look! Reply
Margaret Coats December 23, 2022 James, both of these are splendid uses of special forms. As a longtime reader and student of the triolet, I have to say “Amber” is a superb and unique example. Even in the earliest French triolets, there is creative variation in line length, but you have 8 syllables for the /a/ lines and 5 syllables for the /b/ lines, which is extreme. In English analysis that works out to tetrameter versus trimeter, a pattern not hard to find, but I don’t have an 8/5 in my collection, so I plan to file your piece. It is not only an exciting form, but a beautiful atmospheric story in so few words, with so many required repetitions. You make good use of imperfect rhymes to craft a tale. Trochaic triolets are not rare, but they usually come in poems with /a/ and /b/ lines of equal length. Seven-syllable lines are common in French triolets, and trochees are a good means of translating these into English. Here’s my translation of one by Eustache Deschamps (1346-1406): Come salute my jubilee! I have passed my fiftieth. Good times now are quick to flee, Come salute my jubilee. You may not remember me, Worse for wear and out of breath; Come salute my jubilee– I have passed my fiftieth! And here’s an original one in English by Rosamund Marriott Watson (1860-1911), who published as Graham R. Tomson: Love hath wept till he is blind: Lovers, guide him on his way; Though he be of fickle mind, Love hath wept till he is blind. Once ye knew him fair and kind; Now, alas and well-a-day! Love hath wept till he is blind: Lovers, guide him on his way. I’m glad you like the challenge of limited space and repetitions. I prefer more words (as this extended comment shows), but I love seeing masterpieces in careful form, like the two here. Reply
James Kirkpatrick December 25, 2022 Thank you, Margaret, for your thorough analysis of my triolet, and for those two great examples of trochaic triolets that you provided (what beauties!). Also, I’m honored to be included in your collection. Sometimes, I wish I had your stated propensity for more words; it might make longer forms come more naturally. Years ago I developed an inclination toward leaner lines, mainly because of two things: 1.) the modern attention span, ever shortening, and 2.) people’s tendency to interrupt. My solution: get in as much content as you can, with the fewest words, before you get steamrolled or tuned out. The problem, of course, as you know, is that as soon as you start exercising one group of muscles, the neglected ones start to atrophy. (Kind of an indictment of my own attention span, come to think of it.) Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 27, 2022 James, both poems are bold and beautiful in their brevity. The triolet is one of my favorite forms and I love the atmosphere ‘Amber of the Evening’ conjures… it has an eerie beauty about it. Wonderful! Reply
James Kirkpatrick December 29, 2022 Thank you very much, Susan. I’m glad you see that in these poems, since that’s what I was going for. Happy New Year to you and yours. Reply