22. Meter

Perhaps you'll want a challenge and will try to write a poem in METER --- that is, to give each line a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. For beginners, let's try one of these two:

1. Each line has six syllables, alternating an unstressed syllable with a stressed syllable:

da/DAH, da/DAH, da/DAH (The dead began to speak)

2. Each line has eight syllables, also alternating an unstressed syllable with a stressed syllable:

da/DAH, da/DAH, da/DAH, da/DAH (I wandered lonely as a cloud)

If you write in meter, maintain your beat, but a times add a little variation so your verse doesn't become singsong. For instance, you can reverse the beat in the first two syllables in any line without doing serious harm to your pattern.

from da/DAH to DAH/da