Some artistic people don’t like boundaries in their creative process. They think it’s too strict, too limiting, too extinguishing of creativity.
I…am not one of those people. I’ve found that guidelines help channel the explosion of rainbow sparkles that is my creativity into a productive way, which is always a good thing.
Especially with poetry.
So that’s why when I discovered ABC poems – poems where each line begins with a letter in the alphabet, starting from A and moving in order to Z – I had to give it a try.
Sure, the third to last line was rather challenging, but with the help of the dictionary, I finally found a word that begins with X that worked for my purposes: xilinous, of or pertaining to cotton.
(On a side note, I would highly recommend this list of words that begin with X. From xanthippe (an ill-tempered woman) to xenodocheionology (love of hotels) you’ll find a lot of delightfully random definitions.)
I hope you enjoy this poem as much as I did writing it!
A thirst so strong it must
Be quenched
Compels you to go on a quest for the
Desire of your heart.
Embarking with determination you
Find the road outside
Going ever out and ever forward.
How far you cannot know but still
Into this unknown you go.
Jungles greet you, mighty
Kingdoms full of
Life and energy which grows as you
Make your way through,
Never once looking back.
Oceans roar a mighty song alongside
Pastures so lush and green that you
Quiver with delight.
Rivers cross under your feet
Streams trickle past
Twilight fades into night and still,
Under mountains and over
Valleys you persistently
Wander, watching the
Xilinous clouds swirl as
You reach for the
Zenith of happiness.
The Voyaging Storyteller 
I’ve never heard of an ABC poem but may give it a try!
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Yes, do try it! It’s lots of fun. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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You did a WONDERFUL job. I don’t think I could have ever accomplished that feat!!! 😉 I really enjoyed reading. ❤ Have a wonderful day!
~Esther
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Thank you so much!! I bet you could do it. It’s not as hard as it may look, and it’s super fun. 😉 I’m glad you enjoyed!
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🙂 ❤
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Great poem! You did a great job! I have never written a poem like this before. I hope you have a great day!
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Thank you!! You should totally try it. 😉 Have a wonderful day as well!
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Woah so many interesting words that start with “x”
Who knew??
Great poem! 😄
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I know right? 😂
Thank you!!
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Wow, this is so neat! I love how each line flows into the next without seeming forced. The structure is there without slapping you in the face- like if you had used a word like ‘xylophone’ because it was the only x word you could think of. 😉
Boundaries can definitely help cultivate our creativity. Rather than thinking of them as restrictions I like to think of them as tools. Each parameter we put around ourselves is just a way of channeling our creative process, like how a faucet channels water or a pen channels ink. If the water or the ink went everywhere, we would have a flooded kitchen, and we wouldn’t be able to form words on our paper. We would just have a mess. The boundaries give us form, and form gives us expression.
Splendid post!
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Thank you so much, dear Sponge! Haha, xylophone was indeed the only x word I could think of for a while until I found that handy-dandy list. 😂
Yes, exactly! That was such a wonderful, beautiful way of wording those thoughts. I suppose that makes analogies also one of those tools. 😉
Thanks for reading!
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Hi, Elisha! I hope you’ve been doing well lately. I nominated you for the Outstanding Blogger Award! You can find it here. https://esthersnook.wordpress.com/2020/05/12/the-outstanding-blogger-award/
If you don’t want to do it, there’s absolutely no pressure. 🙂
Have a wonderful day!
~Esther
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Lovely!
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Thank you! 😀
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Whoa, I love this. *heart eyes*
I think it’s extra cool because of the structure, and because it flows so well within the structure! Not like it was crammed into it or anything. I LOVE writing with challenging boundaries. It’s good for me as a writer AND the product is often extra cool.
And I think that line about xilinous clouds is my favorite! I can’t believe you made a line starting with X feel so natural, haha! But xilinous is a great word for what it means and it just fits in there. I love it.
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Thank you so much, Sarah! 😀 It’s so easy to make this type of poem sound clunky, so I’m very glad you thought it flowed naturally. Challenging boundaries are truly amazing and I’m always happy when I find new ones. I should’ve made this poem “Search for New Challenging Boundaries” instead, lol. 😂
I’m so glad you like it! Haha, I was extremely apprehensive about finding a good X word and you will not believe how overjoyed I was to find xilinous. xD
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