Jasper’s Stone

He still has it in his car, the stone Jasper chased
across the tide-flattened sand, his dog-tongue lolling,
tail wagging and ears flapping, splashing in the waves;
it keeps him alive for us, a little longer.

Kim M. Russell, 13th July 2023

Laura is our host at dVerse Poets Pub this Thursday, where we are meeting the bar and rocking the Imayo.

Yes, today is International Rock Day and we are writing poems about rocks – and not just any poems; Laura says to, complement the theme, we are writing one of the Japanese forms of poetry, the Imayo, which has 4 lines (although 8 lines are permissible);  12 syllables per line, divided as 7/5, with a pause space between the 7 and 5 syllables, and a comma, caesura or kireji (cutting word) as the pause. The Imayo does not rhyme, it has no meter, and no end of line pauses – the whole should flow together as though one long sentence.

Laura has given us examples of poems with rocks as the subject, by Kathleen Raine, Herbert Morris and ‘Tai Lake Rocks’ by Bai Juyi.

Our subject must be the noun ‘rock/rocks’ (can be inter-changed with stone) and it is the geological mineral not the music! She also reminds us that it is a literal poem, so no symbolism, allegory, etc.

39 thoughts on “Jasper’s Stone”

      3. Yes. Her belongings like the rug she slept on, the silver vessel she used to eat in, other than pictures. I have two Shih-Tzu pups now, but haven’t given them these items. They need to grow up, love the way she did to deserve that.

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  16. That must be fun having your dog chase and retrieve a skipping rock. If one of my dogs had done that i would keep it too, add it to my collection.
    ..

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