Structured Poem

For my Introductory Poetry Workshop on campus, my teacher, who I'll have to describe another time because he'll simply take up a whole blog of his own, has started the class off with a structured poem. It has very strict guidelines, which you would think would make the poem even harder to write. I found that it was much easier to write given the formula.

Here are the requirements (so you can see what I had to work with, and so you can make one of your own):

Write an 11 line poem.
Line 1: A narrative action that includes an image or two.
Line 2: Ask a question without using 'I'.
Line 3: Make a statement without using 'I'.
Line 4: Now say 'I' in another statement.
Line 5: Use a fragment.
Line 6: Narrative action again with one of the same images from line 1.
Line 7: Ask a question using 'I'.
Line 8: Use a fragment.
Line 9: Now say I and include one of the same images from line 1 or line 6.
Line 10: Answer your first question (question from line 2) but with fragment.
Line 11: Answer your second question (question from line 7) with a statement but don't reiterate the language of the question.

With these requirements, I wrote this poem in about thirty minutes. I'm sorry if the formatting on blogger makes it look like there are more lines. Punctuation actually ends the lines.

The heart beats tremulously, as if breaking under reality.
Is desire the driving force behind the past's decisions at present?
Carefully chosen pretexts mask the pounding mallet;
I hold that mallet and attempt softening the blows
                    timid strokes, even with unending love --
But reality can be hidden, even from the heart for comfort's sake.
Am I so broken that moratorium fractures a strong personality?
             fantasy like rose thorns, tarnished blood; fear --
Honest thoughts tremble my heart and I cannot yet speak:
Only the forgotten desires;
Only decisions for the self can cause such standstills, and can release them.


In a way having such a strict structure to follow made it infinitely easier to write the poem. Is that strange? I dunno... You all should try to write a poem given these guidelines and share it with the world. And then let me know how you felt about the focused writing!