Welcome to Day 13! Today's promt is a type of poem: a charm. This is a delightful little poetry form: a short, rhyming poem, often with a sing-song lilt to it, part spell and part recipe, which you recite as a charm for or against a specific thing.
It can be any metre or rhyme, but to keep that nursery-rhyme lilt, some kind of metre or rhyme is good. It can also help to copy a nursery rhyme you know well, so your ear has a familiar rhythm to follow. If it's a long time since you recited any nursery rhymes, you can refresh your memory and pick an old favourite in this Mother Goose selection from the Poetry Foundation. Then just copy the rhythm and rhyme of that.
Here’s one I wrote, as a charm for making choices:
A hazel stick for deep divining,For an idea of what to write about, it’s especially fun to write these for other people, and to ask them what charms they’d like. Some ideas include: a charm for finding lost things, a charm against hayfever, a charm for keeping annoying things away, a charm for bees to find their way back out, a charm for bringing unexpected joys, a charm for creating clarity, a charm for good sleep... When I think of charms, I think of Queenie from Lark Rise to Candleford, and what kinds of things she might make remedies for: simple, domestic, the little changes that have big effects.
A bee’s quick wing for sunward climbing,
Water slipping round the rocks,
The tiny cogs of careful clocks:
Arrange these four when dreams won’t take,
And waking, know what choice to make.
The Meddling with Poetry course explores a host of different poetry forms as well as the musicality of language, poetic imagery, and other aspects of the poetic. It's 8 weeks long, one evening a week, and absolute beginners and experienced writers are equally welcome. You can read more details and book a place here.
