I love abecedarian poems, also known as “ABC” poems, which is a poetic form that dates back to ancient times. They’re so much fun to read and write. And there are so many ways you can write one, such as having every word in the poem follow a sequential alphabetical order, as Robert Pinsky does in his own “ABC”. Or, you can start every line with a sequential letter of the alphabet, as I did in my poem below. I like this latter style very much, because you don’t have to worry about where to break the line — the poem does it for you! So I hope you give the ABC poem a try today.
All We Are
belies what others expect….
can they not see we
don’t care for trifles such as
evening parties with Chardonnay or
foie gras on Melba toast
grumbles about the neighbors
high cost of airfare and foreign travel—
instead we live for the
joy of one last piece of cake
kept in the freezer a little too
long but delicious licked from fingers,
moments with the dogs in the yard
nuthatch on the feeder, look!
oh! now there’s a chickadee
Puss the Minor mews for kibbles
Qu’est-ce que c’est? asks the other cat,
rescue of turtles on the road
stop, there’s another one!
too soon it’s twilight and we
undo the stresses of the day
vanilla breezes, whiff of pine
waft through the window and the
X words in Scrabble fade to
yodels of coyote
Zanzibar can wait.
Ashley Memory 