Last week, I smiled when I read Molly’s post, where she shared her efforts writing Wordy 30s, a poetic form shared with her by another Poetry Friday friend, Mary Lee Hahn, who found it, I believe, here.
In short, the form is simple: write a poem with exactly 30 letters.
Wait, that isn’t really simple – to share a complete thought in just 30 letters? And there’s one more rule. Every line must have exactly the same number of letters. So – 6 lines with letters each, or 5 lines with 6 letters each, or even three lines with ten letters each. If you are a Wordle-devotee like me, you will possibly see that this is a bit like wordle-poetry – except instead of guessing the five letter word (or six, or whatever), you need to find a way to make the words say something. And, because it’s poetry, they should be considered, organised and, well, poetic.
It took me a while to get started, but eventually I came up with a 6 x 5 about the thing that has been most on my mind this week: my new furbaby George. And why wouldn’t he be front and centre on my mind, having been with me only since last Friday? Anyway, here’s what I came up with
George
brings
warmth
wisdom
gaiety.
© Sally Murphy 2022)
But, once I’d written a 6 x 5, I knew almost straight away I had to try a 5 x 6. I also (nor surprisingly) spent a great deal of this week thinking about poetry – and, wouldn’t you know, it – poetry has five letters. And poetry makes me feel as happy as this guy, so why wouldn’t I write about it?
Write
poems
share
poems
smile
relax.
( © Sally Murphy 2022)
Okay, job done. Except, just like Wordle, this form is a little addictive and I couldn’t stop. I started wondering whether it would work for a 10 x 3. Could I actually use 10 3 letters words in a row and still make sense? You can decide:
Top
hat
and
bow
tie.
Off
for
tea
and
jam.
( © Sally Murphy 2022)
I dunno – but maybe this is someone setting off for a Poetry Friday tea party?
Not done yet, I figured I’d try a 3 x 10. I knew this one would be hard, but maybe my little bug friend was dancing in my brain my then because this is what I came up with (after scouring a list of 10 letter words, looking for connections:
Quicksteps
Hokeypokey
Joypopping!
(© Sally Murphy 2022)
And then, of course, my mind wandered to the final combination – 2 x 15. Possible? Again, I’m still not sure, because again, all I could do was scour a list of 15 letter words and look for connections. I found one in books:
Journalisations
bibliotherapies.
( © Sally Murphy 2022)
Not sure it’s a poem – but it was good exercise.
Lastly, I knew there was one possible last way of doing this: to find a single 30 letter word, which spoke all by itself. A search found only 1 30 letter word. And it’s a medical term. So, the only way I could try to make it poetic was to add a title, which I guess is cheating, but here goes:
1 Thing I Hope I Have not Inherited
Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
( © Sally Murphy 2022)
And of course, this search led me to consider just how long a word can be. According to Wikipedia – the answer to this question is ‘it depends’. It depends on whether we accept medical and technical words, or nonsense words. If we accept both, the longest word is – wait for it – 189,819 letters long. Which I can’t even fit into this post, let alone ever attempt to use in a poem.
Another thing to watch is all the other amazing posts for Poetry Friday. This week’s roundup is hosted by Matt. Head over to his blog later today to see the full list of Poetry Friday goodness.
Oh, in late-breaking news, George has decided he wants to be part of Poetry Friday too. He’s posted a Georgeku on Instagram. Clever George!
View this post on Instagram
Sally, I finally made it to your blog post. What a surprise to read all your wordy 30 poems. You really fell down the rabbit hole but I enjoyed every minute of your clever poetry with the new format. George is adorable and shares his all-right-with-the-world happiness. Congratulations to George on becoming a Poetry Friday poet.
So ambitious to tackle every possibility! And we, your readers, reap the rewards. 😍 The wordplay, the rearranging, the stacking of short words or long … it’s all quite inviting!
It is addicting! I was falling asleep many times this week counting letters in words and trying to make poetry.
I do think the Wordy30 is as addicting as Wordle! Great job on them – and a kiss on the nose for Georgeku 🙂
I thought Molly was an overachiever with this challenge, but you win the prize! All of them — well played! My favorite is the 3 x 10. Joypopping indeed!
Thank you Mary Lee. Yes, joypopping is a new word to me – but I adore it!
Handsome George is bringing wisdom already? It took my pups a bit longer. Lucy was still dragging everything under the sofa to chew on it at that point.
Thanks for walking us through all the Wordy 30 poem permutations!
Oh yes, we are chewing too. George thinks my walk in robe is a smorgasbord, with so many shoes on offer. But he is actually proving easy to train in most things. And the wisdom he brings is in reminding me to just appreciate the warmth of a puppy, the joy of chasing a ball, and the value of a companion. Actually, I can feel a poem coming on about that 🙂
Oh, what fun–& a worthwhile challenge, I think. You have succeeded brilliantly! Now I might have to try a few Wordy 30s, too. I also enjoyed the Georgeku, which our Rosy would certainly appreciate.
I do hope you try them JoAnn. They really are fun.
It is fun to write within limits, and it is addicting! You did it numerous times with great success. You are the only person I know outside the medical community who has ever mentioned pseudo hypoparathyroidism! What a word! And what can it possibly mean? 🙂
Thanks Janice. Apparently it’s a hereditary autoimmune disease – so not one I want to encounter 🙂
Of course, if it was me, I’d have gone for 30 lines of one word each. 😉
Great job, Sally – I’d not heard of Wordy 30s but they do sound fun. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Matt. Actually 30 one word lines would not be a wordy 30 – too many letters. But I like the idea of a 30 word, one word per line poem. Might have to try it 🙂
Yes, all is right with the world as George says when someone takes a challenge and does “Wordy 30” in all those permutations! All are thoughtful, Sally & I liked your process, too.
Thank you Linda. I love a good challenge!
George! Oh, he is darling. There’s nothing more fun than a new puppy. What a sweetie. I love how you found the Wordy 30 addicting. It is for me too. I think ‘write poems’ might be my favorite. It relaxes me too.
Thanks Linda. Yes, lucky me – puppy and poetry on the same day. My heart is full 🙂