Poetry form: Ninette

The Ninette, as the name pretty much implies, is a nine line poetry form. The syllable count for each line is:

one, two, three, four, five, four, three, two, one

The first and last word of a Ninette poem can be either exactly the same, synonyms, or antonyms.

This form can be centered on the page, which makes a kind of “lantern” shape. Though not “traditional” my thought is that five Ninettes could be strung together to form a “crown” poem.

(Exact Word on both ends)

God

Jesus

The Spirit

Different but

All three are equal

God the Spirit

Got the Son

Father

God.

(Antonyms at each end)

Start

Running

Try your best

To win the race

Sure to pace yourself

Pass the others

You’ll make it

To the

End.

(Synonyms on each end)

Love

Is an

Overused

Word in these days

But, the truest sense

Of the word “love”

Will always

Be this:

God.

Finally, though again, not “traditional”, here is a “crown Ninette” of three:

Person

Not really

Anyone that

Would be considered special

But then one day

I met You;

You changed

Me.

You

Lifted

Up out of

The darkness and

Brought me into light

When no one else

Could do so–

Only

You.

Them,

The world;

They may mock

And they may scorn;

If only they knew

And would accept

That Your death

Was for

Them.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to do the “crown” (which is “traditionally” five stanzas, but I figured that three was a divisible of nine, so…) Ninette–to make each stanza with each different type of beginning and end, but the way it turned out, each stanza has an “Exact word at both ends” ending. A “crown Ninette” with each stanza having a different type of beginning/ending will be a challenge for another time, I suppose.

Thank you, Sky Pippers, for dropping by and checking out my post about the Ninette! I hope that you poets out there will give this poetry form a try !