Poetry - Sestina Form

Hi everyone,

One goal I set as a New Years resolution was to explore new poetry styles.

I was reading Lynn Crawford's Fancy earlier. It's a Sestina-Story. Without looking at the notes I was able to find three of the six words. I was talking to my mom and she ended up reading the story too. She didn't want me to give her the words until after she read it. She got one of the six words right. This format is interesting. It has gotten me excited and re-inspired my love for writing poetry.

I did a bit more research on Sestina and it continues to put me in awe. Some people have different ways of interpreting it. Check out this poem. The author picks six words and sticks to only those six words, just rearranging them yet the different punctuation adds to the poem.

I attempted to write a piece:

The fall of leaves
blanket the ground
the cats play in it
as it swirls into the flowers
I stay indoors with my coffee and chocolate

The smell of coffee and chocolate
lures me inside
tracking the leaves that fall
the cats follow me inside
where flowers also grow
I cuddle with my blanket

I flower into a young woman
my cats fall into one another
I'm old enough to have coffee everyday with my chocolate
I blanket my thoughts

I fall for a lover
and continue to blanket my thoughts
my cats are suspicious of him
I give him my chocolate
and make coffee
and he gives me flowers.

I cover my cats in a blanket
as they are sick
and can't smell the flowers
I'm sick too and fall
I can't smell the coffee and chocolate.

I'm covered in a headscarf
sometimes in a blanket
as I flower into a young woman
my cats are suspicious of me
people congratulate me with flowers and chocolate
as I make them coffee.

I then worked on turning it into a story:

Grow with the Fall

The fall leaves blanket the ground. I watch as my cats play in the leaves. The leaves swirl into the flowers. I stay indoors with my coffee and chocolate.

I’m outside for a few minutes to take a photo of my cats. The smell of coffee and chocolate 

lures me inside. On the path to the door, I track the leaves that fall. The cats follow me inside. The different rooms have flowers that continue to grow. I cuddle by the fire in my blanket.

I flower into a young woman. As I grow up my cats grow up too. I watch as my cats fall into one another. I let myself think I'm old enough to have coffee everyday with my chocolate. I blanket my thoughts that say otherwise.

I fall for a boy and continue to blanket my thoughts. My cats are suspicious of him. I give my lover some chocolate along with the coffee I make. In turn, he gives me flowers. 

I cover my cats in a blanket as they are sick. They can't smell the flowers. I'm sick too and fall into my bed. I can't smell the coffee and chocolate. 

Around the boy, I hide my eyes as if under a blanket.  Outside, I'm covered in a headscarf as I flower into a young woman. My cats are suspicious of my looks. People congratulate me on deciding to wear the headscarf with flowers and chocolate and I make them coffee. 

You can find information and more poems here.

Love, Fida

Check out my book, Her Treasures.