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On brevity in Iambic Pentameter - and breaking the rules

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Services for Real Estate Pros with ha media group

By way of brief intro, there has been a lot of jabber around my socials on brevity in writing/blogging/et al.  By way of a Friday joke, I made this status update, not expecting any responses.  But since I got some, it now officially constituted a dare.

Click here for the rest of that FB conversation:>>

So here goes, 144 words on the subjects recommended by my FB friends: unicorns, froglickers, 151, manatees and Zillow.

On Brevity in Iambic…

The pundits tell us that we must write short
I tell them that the Unicorns are real
And that redacted thought is not a thought
But a reflection of another’s zeal
For smaller words; and even smaller feelings

Unless the brevity expressed is such
That beauty shimmers off each letter’s edge
And beckons us to wade the very depths
Of unknown streams; where magic is a hunch
That manatees are us, removed at birth

That stories in six words are only told
By those with rare gifts, and rarer still
In spaces where complexities of thought
Are yet to be disdained, as if we shill
For the appeasement of the common sheep

I’ve been accused of licking stranger frogs
Than measuring my syllables or words
I’d rather tilt at windmills that are Zillow
Or down Pirates’ Rum, 151
Than calculate my future readers’ worth

Thank you to Melina, Coleen and Marc for humouring me:-)

Do you follow rules of some kind when writing, and if yes, what are they, and what makes them not arbitrary to you?

Comments(12)

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Li Read
Sea to Sky Premier Properties (Salt Spring) - Salt Spring Island, BC
Caring expertise...knowledge for you!

Love it!   Clearly, you're a writer!

Jun 17, 2012 02:43 AM
Bruce Walter
Keller Williams Realty Lafayette/West Lafayette, Indiana - West Lafayette, IN

Inna, I really enjoyed your verse, and it was long overdue I might add!  ^_~

As far as following rules when I write, I wish I did; for that would mean that my writing was grammatically correct and somewhat coherent.

Great to see you posting (and not about SEO which I am ignorant but slowing learning)!

Jun 17, 2012 02:53 AM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

This is proof that limitation make us more creative much of the time. :)

Jun 17, 2012 03:37 AM
Tim Bradley
Contour Investment Properties - Jackson Hole, WY
Commercial Real Estate Expert in Jackson Hole, WY

Brevity is pure

Unicorns and manatees

Live on in Haiku

Jun 17, 2012 03:57 AM
Malcolm Johnston
Century 21 Lanthorn Real Estate LTD., Trenton, Ontario - Trenton, ON
Trenton Real Estate

I think it must have taken you a while
To write your post in such a groovy style

Jun 17, 2012 07:20 AM
Dick & Sandy Beals
Wilmington Real Estate 4U Wilmington, NC - Wilmington, NC
Welcome back! And you said I was laconic....touche Dick Beals
Jun 17, 2012 11:04 AM
Tim Bradley
Contour Investment Properties - Jackson Hole, WY
Commercial Real Estate Expert in Jackson Hole, WY

Teacher would be proud

Iambic Pentameter

Within my haiku

 

;)

Jun 17, 2012 12:55 PM
C Tann-Starr
Tann Starr & Associates, Inc. - Palm Bay, FL

That's bloody awesome! Makes my litle ODC heart sing (LOL) ;-)

Jun 17, 2012 01:08 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Inna - so cool, loved it.

The true rule of writing is the art of breaking rules

Makes me proud

Jun 28, 2012 03:29 PM
Jon Kolsky
Kolsky Realty & Management - Long Beach, CA
Licensed California Real Estate Broker

Pirates & the site with a "Z", I see how that matches-up...

I think there's a reason the pirate business isn't good...I think there's a reason pirates and the worst national real-estate website are compared, ,,stupid pirates don't last long...

Jul 30, 2012 02:16 AM
Kevin McGourty
Realty ONE Group - Phoenix, AZ

Inna - Pretty darn creative...just as I remember.

Mar 26, 2013 05:10 AM
Nick T Pappas
Assoc. Broker ABR, CRS, SFR, e-Pro, @Homes Realty Group, Broker/Providence Property Mgmnt, LLC Huntsville AL - Huntsville, AL
Madison & Huntsville Alabama Real Estate Resource

Inna, I'm sure it pains you to read some of my posts, but i do the best I can.  No style, no rhyme, no meter, however, with some reason and purpose.

Apr 27, 2013 09:07 AM