Rictameter, Poetic form exercise Options

[JustDaniel]

pliers
of this format
cannot but find themselves
writing with many syllables
that dance across the page in matching pairs
but occasionally they drink
an errant screwdriver
and they can't use
pliers

[Larry]

first try
and I screw up
by mixing Tetractys
middles with the Rictameter
and duplicating ten syllable lines
instead of double checking forms
so my apologies
are sent for my
first try

[JustDaniel]

To act
as though I am
someone who I am not
involves my lying to myself.
I close my eyes to God, who ever sees,
and think my private life is hid in dark
to Him who watches through the night
and sees as day. It's time
I bare my heart
to act.

[Larry]

Okay Daniel,

Howzit spozed to be?

2,4,6,8,10,8,6,4,2

or

2,4,6,8,10,10,8,6,4,2

You've written it both ways and I'm just starting in this genre. Help!!!

Larry

[JustDaniel]

So sorry to have misled you, Larry. I HAVE written with an extra 10-syllable line several times, it seems, and each time was a MISTAKE!!

I've been working on our property in Vineland with my son, with hopes we'll be able to start moving there in the early summer, so I've been distracted from participating here, coming home from the work there very tired. But I hope to soon catch up again!

Have your heard from Alan? Missing his participation!!

Giving
to those who need
because it comes from God
reminds me that it isn't mine
By grace you have received, so freely give
The love of money is the root
of evil of all kinds
Grace is what spurs
giving

[Larry]

Vineland
is beautiful
so I hope you complete
all your repairs and are able
to start moving before it’s summertime
because by then it will be hot
so you can’t mow the yard
and it looks like
vine land.

[JustDaniel]

To go
where no one's gone
should cause its burial
so followers don't step in it
and wonder what poor soul had squatted here:
Why couldn't he have found some leaves
to cover up the mess
from when he had
to go?

[Larry]

actions
carry more weight
than speeches to spur them.
Anyone can say they will help
but those who pitch in without being asked
will show the world, without saying
that kindness can be mute.
A word without
acts, shuns!

[JustDaniel]

feelings
aren't bad or good
but have connection to
discordant, contradicting thoughts
that need to be talked out with caring friends
to help sort out the person lost
inside some secret fear
that shames those hid
feelings

[Larry]

green leaves
sprouting in spring
give off lots of pollen
causing massive sinus problems
if you happen to have that allergy
but for me, it's not a problem;
I always become sad
whenever the
green leaves

[JustDaniel]

left one
of my clippers
on the hood of my truck
after we'd been trimming our trees
on our new property in North Vineland;
we had all stopped to have the lunch
when the clippers slipped off
stabbing in my
left one

[Larry]

She’s dead
but never fell
because all her children
she had scattered throughout her life
had grown tall and strong. Her leaves had turned brown
and fell to form a soft cushion
for her eventual
resting place where
she's died

[JustDaniel]

What is
the difference
if you simply slack off?
Do most people care any more?
When I was growing up I learned to do
the best I could no matter what
my fellows want to do;
I will show them
what is.

[Larry]

Lacking
the incentive
to change your choice in life
and doing what you want instead
may be satisfying in the present
but in the future we all share
death will come with judgment
and you’ll be found
lacking.

[JustDaniel]

Aw, some
wild black cherries
have fallen in my pool;
each day I have to fish them out
so I may as well use them for something.
First I must remove the large pits;
so far I don't know how,
but once I do...
awesome!

[Larry]

Bings go
in a large pot
of boiling hot water
so as to soften the tough skins.
Then strain and drain and gently press each one.
The large pits should pop out with ease
and hopefully, the smell
of chlorine’s gone.
Bingo!

[JustDaniel]

'Wild' ones
are very small
and they say 'plup' not 'bing'
and there's no chlorine in my pool
except what the salt water system makes.
Some say to use a colander
and press them till the pits
are all that's left--
wild ones.

[Larry]

Wild ones
can be bitter
so it’s best to taste it
before going to the trouble
of removing the pits from sour fruit.
Some varieties are real sweet
and if you have that kind
you will find that
wild won.

[JustDaniel]

I'd ride
to any place
someone may show me how
to take out pits with small effort
but since pits constitute half the wild fruit,
the work it takes to get them out
has caused a little tear
in that sad eye
I dried

[Larry]

I tried
to find answers
to your pit dilemma
and I found a number of things.
A paper clip, a pastry tip and then
a drinking straw; all tedious
and time consuming too.
So, I’d just let
it ride.