Cascade Poem: Poetic Forms
Learn how to write a cascade poem, an invention of Udit Bhatia. Get the guidelines and check out an example poem of this poetic form here.
Since I was having trouble coming up with a poem today, I thought I'd investigate a new poetic form to help prompt me into action. I've seen the cascade poem mentioned a few times online, but I always assumed it meant the poem was comprised of stanzas with indented lines (creating a kind of cascading effect). But after researching online, I realize this assumption is wrong.
The cascade poem was a form invented by Udit Bhatia (who also apparently created the Alliterisen, which I'll try to deal with in a future post). For the cascade poem, a poet takes each line from the first stanza of a poem and makes those the final lines of each stanza afterward. Beyond that, there are no additional rules for rhyming, meter, etc.
Here's what a cascade poem with a tercet would look like:
A
B
C
a
b
A
c
d
B
e
f
C
A quatrain cascade would look so:
A
B
C
D
a
b
c
A
d
e
f
B
g
h
i
C
j
k
l
D
And, of course, you can make this even more involved if you want.
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Play with poetic forms!
Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs).
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Here's my attempt at a Cascade Poem:
"Conflict"
Tonight is perfect for staying inside,
but I'm busy contorting my organs.
For instance, my heart and brain love to fight.
Sometimes, you can see them twist my body
this way and that when it is raining, though
tonight is perfect for staying inside.
My lungs breathe heavy and my skin itches
to touch you, to let you know I'm all right,
but I'm busy contorting my organs.
It's a put off, I know. Losing control
when I'm around you, unable to say,
for instance, my heart and brain love to fight.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
