Poem-A-Day for the Month of April - Day 27: Lantern
Line 2: describe the noun (two syllables)
Line 3: describe the noun (three syllables)
Line 4: describe the noun (four syllables)
Line 5: synonym for noun in line one (one syllable)
The noun in line one could be a thing, a feeling or even an abstract idea.
The lantern poem is said to take the form of a hanging lantern, going from short to wider as the poem goes on, and then becoming short again in the final line.
The purpose of the lantern poem is to illuminate the subject and re-imagine or personalize it for the reader, not just to simply arrange its visual appearance.
When the lines are all centered, however, the shape of a lantern seems to take on a more three-dimensional look.
Here are my two Lantern poems for the day, one aligned left and the other centered...
|
An Author I, Old but Young in heart, Write more about Me. |
or |
A Little Old Lady I, Aging, Wrinkled skin, Smiling, laughing, Me. |
Personally, I prefer the second one with the lines centered, even though it seems to resemble a Christmas tree more than a lantern that way. But, as I said above, the main goal is to illuminate the subject.
On a side note, had my subject matter for one of these been about a man named Jack Osmond, it would have been a Jack O. Lantern poem.
Anna Arnett
