Say Boys and Girls and all you Grown Kids, too! Anyone wanna play with me?
I mean,
we learned what a tetractys is a few weeks ago and several of us tried them. Now I have an idea I hope will catch on:
or Interactive Tetractys
Here's how it would work: I'll write a single or double tet, the next person begins their tet with the last word of mine, the next person begins theirs with the end word on that one, etc. They do NOT have to be on the same subject, but they CAN be if you wish. It's all up to YOU! Whattaya think? Shall we give it a go?
Remember the rules of tets:
First line: 1 syllable
Second line: 2 syllables
Third line: 3 syllables
Forth line: 4 syllables
Fifth line: 10 syllables
If you want to write a double it goes like this: 1,2,3,4,10,10,4,3,2,1. Every line must be as self-contained as possible not relying on the next line to make its point.
Here comes my first one: (Uh-oh, it feels like a serious one is coming .... here it comes ............ yess ............ it's coming ......... almost here .......... and yeppers ..... it's a serious one, but that's OK, right?)
know this:
as designed,
with tetractys
each line is essentially self-contained
in that it should add a separate thought,
part of the all,
yet distinct,
standing
whole
© Daniel J Ricketts 26 Jan 2004
What a great idea!
I'll be back myself with something (but may be a few days)...
Thanks and HUGS!!!!
~Cleo
or part,
images
are reflections
that lead us to wondrous discoveries...
Travel the mind in color; feel journeys
through sensory
imprints of
musing
thoughts.
know this:
as designed,
with tetractys
each line is essentially self-contained
in that it should add a separate thought,
part of the all,
yet distinct,
standing
whole
© Daniel J Ricketts 26 Jan 2004
Excellent reminder, Daniel, and written in a tetractys is GREAT! Thanks for your marvelous participation. I'm going to push myself to write another one tonight.
Look forward to your next one, Daniel,
Always trying to learn,
Dolly
a word
that is thrown
around by men
and women alike. Some people have no
deeper conviction of that term than ants ...
while this great word
means so much
to some
folks.
© D. Harris Jan 2004
Folks,
know this:
as designed,
with tetractys
each line is essentially self-contained
in that it should add a separate thought,
part of the all,
yet distinct,
standing
whole
© Daniel J Ricketts 26 Jan 2004
Whole,
or part,
images
are reflections
that lead us to wondrous discoveries...
Travel the mind in color; feel journeys
through sensory
imprints of
musing
thoughts
© Lori Kanter
Thoughts
like rain
keep coming
if you want them
or whether you don't ... can't stop rain, either.
© D. Harris 26 Jan 2004
Hmmmm
Since tets begin with one syllable, and your last word is either....
either one must end the train, or start with ther?
Now what?
ther
don't seem
nothin' mor
I c'n do her
but limp along the pag until it end
sLightly lopped, Daniel :sun:
Why don't you use rain Daniel?
Close enuf.....
:wink:
Of course you're right, Daniel!! I was much too sleepy to be trying to write anything! I'm so sorry to leave you with such a dillema, but you met this challenge like the trooper you are. You gave me quite a laugh, which I certainly needed.
Thanks so much,
Dolly :pharoah:
or start
a new thought
that blossoms bright,
expanding into amusing gardens
cared for by creativity, color,
a splash of spice,
and good 'ole
'musing
fun!
Now THAT is a tetractys, LorII! Brava!
I wish to add my brava to yours, Daniel!
Lori you've written what I'd call a PERFECT example of what a proper double tetractys looks and reads like and your subject choice is absolutely ideal!!!
MARvelous, Lori,
Blessings,
Dolly :sun:
Thankies Daniel and Dolly!
Dolly, you newest is simply gorgeous! :pharoah2
HUGS!
can come
in varied
shapes and sizes;
Sometimes, it finds you when you're not looking.
Always embrace a warm hello, a smile,
an open heart;
You'll seldom
go wrong,
friend.
CHARITY BEGINS, AND ENDS
Friend
in need,
when knocking
on my damn door,
gets bowl of "nourishing soup for the poor"
from a recipe by Mrs Beeton,
consuming
leftovers
kitchen
had .....
Alan McAlpine Douglas
Dear Alan,
Delightful tetracys! However, may I remind you, that for the most part, using a comma PLUS "and" is unnecessary; better to choose one or t'other.
Now, you've left me a tiny word with which to begin my next tet. Hmmmmm will take some pondering. Ok, done it .. here 'tis:
Dear Dolly
You say "using a comma PLUS "and" is unnecessary; better to choose one or t'other". Where did I do that ? Not in the prev tetracctys !
Mouth
open
tongue twisting
meanings defiled :
your friendly neighborhood politician
sincerity oozing from every pore
and pouring smarm
without end
into
ears.
Alan McAlpine Douglas
Yeppersir! You're sure correct, Alan! It's about 3:45 AM and I'm heading for the bed .. should have gone before this! I'm so sorry .. don't know where I saw that, but must have been dreaming with my eyes wide open!
Hope your day/night ahead is a good one!
Blessings,
Dolly
PS I really like ALL your tets! This newest one is a doozy of a delight!
ears
hear naught
may be blocked
oft need cleaning
bearer may need attention refocused
dark glasses removed could help with hearing
body's language
stays afoot
outside
mouth
DRIVE SAFELY
First
answer
not always
exactly right
if mouth runs off before your brain's in gear;
it is best to clutch your thoughts to yourself
until strapped in
and you've cleaned
windshield
well
Alan McAlpine Douglas
well
I must
with wisdom
clear my windshield
warming up my vehicle for its trip
over treacherous road with blackened ice
heeding clear signs
well-posted
before
me
© Daniel J Ricketts 31 Jan 2004
COMINGS/GOINGS
Me
myself
and I too
wish bon voyage :
there but for the chance of weather go you,
perhaps meeting yourself on the way back,
on whether-ly
roundabout
black ice
makes ?
Alan McAlpine Douglas
Hmmmm - now Alan!
How does one start a TET with the word Makes?
Dear Cleo
Here's how :
TETRACTYS IS THE MOTHER OF NECESSITY !
Makes
of car
considered
for quality
include Rolls Royce, Volvo, Lexus and Saab
but exclude anything GM or Ford;
specially one
known as
Edsel,
The !
Alan McAlpine Douglas
clever
ones always
retort with a
rhyme and a reason to their own madness
through written words, imagery, and a boat
load of snazzy
sayings mused
for us
all!
HOW DOES HE DO IT ?
All
you need
is a mind
like a midden -
the repository of tons of trash.
There's bound to be something useful inside
to be hauled out
and displayed
right on
cue !
Alan McAlpine Douglas
ONLY XI MORE YEARS TO GO .....
Go
Boston
Patriots !
Go to Houston
to compete in Superbowl XXXVIII.
Remember, when it comes to XLIX
San Francisco've
pre-booked
in their
name !
Alan McAlpine Douglas
Ahhhh!
Great one Alan!
winning
football team
in Superbowl
Thirty-eight with an utmost confident
smile. Remember, pick the team you admire
most of all, know
in your heart
will win
game!
MY WORDS OF WISDOM, BEQUEATHED UNTO THEE
Sad ?
Be not,
no purpose
to gloom for nowt :
Be happy with a will and I'll go far.
Be happy with a will and relatives
will give much thanks
in future,
when I'm
far .....
Alan McAlpine Douglas
Sade
Marquis
who sought pain
debauched himself
and anyone who followed in his steps
with leather, chains and twisted-pleasure mind
to take their breath
away in spurts
risking
death
© Daniel J Ricketts 08 Feb 2004
far
be it
from this guy
to ignore friends
who write tetractys pieces in this place.
Forgive me, Alan, for overlooking
your gathering
relatives
who will
not
sLightly embarrassed, Daniel
Dear Daniel
No need at all to be unbarrassed ! You had me laughing into my coffee, now I've got to get a cloth !
Love
Alan
Thanks, Alan...
so I'll add to the corporate thoughts...
not
dead yet
we write on
as testaments
to our will unto our last, fading breath
vaporizing among a gathering cloud
of will-wishers
clamoring
for seed
rights
© Daniel J Ricketts 08 Feb 2004
Hey Dolly,
This is an amazing sequence of quick-fire poems !
But ---
your last missed the 10-syllable line starting the inverted tet !
Love
Alan
Thank you so very much, Alan! Why whatever would I do without that eagle eye of yours??
I've amended my boo-boo...all better now?
Just funnin' with ya, kiddo!
Dolly
Dear Dolly
"Just funnin' with ya, kiddo"
Well, that's one way (probably the best) to achieve philisophical profundity !
Love
Alan
Dolly... "us" makes too much muss and fuss... so I turn it inside out to find 'we' and then reduce it still further to "I"...
saw it
earlier
but thought of you
quite apt to discover it for yourself;
occasionally, silence finds its mark
much more gently
than my mouth,
reason'd
I
I see gold!
Gold
comes in
all shapes and
sizes. Within
us all, there is a light more powerful
than the most magnificent bar of gold;
Do you see it's
treasures glow
inside,
love?
LOL! I wish to see GOLD here in Vegas, maybe today? :wink:
Miss all!
Dear Lori ... I hope you do see "ka-ching gold" in Vegas, but you ALWAYS have gold with you wherever you go; to access, simply lift pen and write ... :sun:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
down South
by the train
graveyard, I spied
a man that chewed some lard. It went down, then
came back up; and the train sped off going
on his fuel.
By the train
down South
Way..
Just funnin here!
<font color='#000000'>
Stilled
crickets;
the night sleeps
too quietly
as she tosses and turns, tosses and turns,
and he listens
to the moon's
heart beat.
Thump.
I LOVE your tetractys, Jessica!
Mine will pale in the warm glow of yours, but I will attempt one anyway.
Blessings, Dolly
not one
ounce of time
on trivial
matters, that in the end, are meaningless!
am spent
from posting
meaninglessness.
I think it's time I simply stowed my pen.
a thought,
or many,
on thick parchment
of your choosing. Express that inner 'self'
we know is beaming just beneath tall stacks
of blank pages
awaiting
your vast
touch.
<font color='#000000'>
my pen
to parchment?
I am afraid
that it would just become a scratching post
for all the fat cats prone to spray their scent
on blotted words
as they run
down this
page
Page,
just an
instrument
of an idea,
brought forth from inner thoughts of mind and soul.
<font color='#000000'>
flat fish
that flounders
on the bottom
one eye migrating t'ward the one on top
trying to see something other than muck
lying beneath
its tasty
creamy
flesh
writing
exercise
whets your whistle
to stimulate your breaking out in song;
sing then with freedom and joy from your heart
while whispering
to eager
open
ears
written,
unlike speech,
have some pronounced
colloquial differences exposed
when someone is counting syllables in
different forms
and therefore
don’t quite
fit
Line 6 has "some" added to "one" to attain the correct syllable count. Thanks Daniel!
dif-fer-ent-ly
Hey Daniel,
I started at the beginning of this post and read all the parameters and then the various posts and found very few who maintained strict adherence to the " Every line must be as self-contained as possible not relying on the next line to make its point" rule of thumb. I know, mine didn't either! The reason I tried to pen one was while reading your post beginning with "ears", I found that your line 3 was 4 syllables long:
dif-fer-ent-ly; so I looked it up in numerous references to make sure I wasn't pronouncing it wrong myself. I know some people do pronounce it "dif-frent-ly". That is why I had the word parsed out in italics at the bottom of my Tetractys trial.
My line 6 is only 9 syls long but is an easy fix by adding "some" to "one" for someone, thus attaining the required 10 syls for that line. I'll try more of them but even in the Tetractys I referenced, there are a few lines there which are not self-contained and do rely on the previous or following line. None of this is a critique, just an observation.
Larry
How about a double acrostic Tetractys?
bread
and cake
kills masses
each day and night
decreasing blood flow, harming the liver
generating good cholesterol; so
omit any
or bodies
die from
same.
OK, Larry... You asked for it, so here's my response to your very clever Double Acrostic Tetractys
Great Daniel! Now, back at you once more with another D-A-T!
lines
appall
builders who
yearn to know how
rooms, halls and doors, drawn by architects, form
interiors which fill all that home’s space.
neatly, plans lined
to scale to
help, now
stun.
Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)