MAKING TEMPLATE POEMS
The late poet Hilary Tham, whom I met in Virginia, in the early
2000s, introduced me to the concept of templates. Taking the words of an
existing poem (usually written by another author), then replacing each word
with another word that is the same part of speech and/or has the same number of
syllables. Sometimes, even the emphasized syllable is matched, meaning if a word’s
2nd syllable is emphasized (i.e.: “protect”) in the template
poem, the word selected to replace it would also have the emphasis on the 2nd
syllable (i.e.: “infect”). You wouldn’t substitute a word like “index”
or “premade”.
The finished product is an original poem, usually on a different topic, that was inspired by the poem used as the template. I recommend
because it is appropriate to cite the author of the poem selected as the template.
For this prompt, I am using one of my own haiku. This one is
from Day 4, and it is the one that has received the most positive response on
social media so far this month (February 2021). Using a poem that was previously well-received doesn’t guarantee the
new poem will be as good, although I think it may provide a solid foundation. It is
possible the finished new poem could be better than the template, but beauty is
in the eye of the beholder, so, at best, this is a great creative exercise.
Here, I have analyzed my first line by identifying the part
of speech for each word and noting the number of syllables for that word:
waves chase gulls shoreward
[Plural noun (1)] [verb (1)] [plural noun (1)] [adverb (2)]
For this example, in honor of today’s Superbowl 55, my topic is the big game. As I write this, I don’t know if the finished haiku will be about the action on the field, the half-time show, the commercials, parties or tailgates, or something else, but I am pointing my thoughts and my word list in that direction.
Before I could analyze the 2nd and 3rd lines, words
and phrases started coming to me, so I skipped their analysis and started
writing new lines from the template. Lines in bold-face match the template
closely.
Inspired by Line 1 (5 syllables):
a.
Fans watch teams gather
b.
Friends grab plates quickly
c.
Teams score points slowly
d.
Dads scold kids briskly
e.
Wings hold sauce loosely
f.
Host shares masks meekly
pale toes sink into
damp sand
Inspired by Line 2 (7 syllables):
a.
large men stand beside green grass
b.
team mates kneel raising fists high
c.
bored fans doze upon soft chairs
d.
stern coach speaks behind play chart
e.
tense coach shouts wielding clipboard
f.
proud moms cheer just for their sons
g.
Baked snacks cool beyond sneeze guard
h.
Grateful guests keep their distance
splashing children squeal
Inspired by Line 3 (5 syllables):
a.
piercing whistle blows
b.
halftime singer starts
c.
players understand
d.
Cheering “That’s my boy!”
e.
Hand sanitizer
f.
inflated balls wait
g.
lifting urgent fists
h.
leaving veggies out
i.
Veggies are ignored
The final step is to piece together haiku using one line from
each of the 3 lists.
Combo #1
Fans watch teams gather
large men stand beside green grass
inflated balls wait
Combo #2
Friends grab plates quickly
Baked snacks cool beyond sneeze guard
Veggies are ignored
Combo #3
Teams score points slowly
tense coach shouts wielding clipboard
players understand
Combo #4
Host shares masks meekly
Grateful guests keep their distance
Hand sanitizer
Combo #5
Players take a knee
Asserting Black Lives Matter
Lifting urgent fists
Combo #6
Dads shush little kids
Proud moms cheer just for their sons
Shouting “That’s my boy!”
Combo #7
big game starts poorly
bored fans doze upon soft chairs
piercing whistle blows
As you can see, template poems can inspire a lot of haiku quickly. I think Combo #7 is the one I am choosing for my #NaHaiWriMo Day 7 #haiku post. I can imagine writing more and more on this topic before the day is over. It is one of my favorite strategies to jump-start my creative process.
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