The house was overwhelmed by old photos of her family, now 
all dead 
beach photos at Coney, Long Island backyards, young, pretty, 
faded 
some of the people were strangers to her, but with everyone’s 
arms linked 
as if closeness could conceal turmoil—these black and whites, 
peaceful 
yet haunting in their deception since it was unlikely they were 
at rest. 

Poet’s Note

Word play is a magical thing. During a workshop I was in long ago, the instructor told us we would be writing an abecedarian. A challenge I promptly declined. Which then haunted me, so I of course, did one. A poem I still need to revisit. Then I discovered Jericho Brown’s duplex, a great form that I come back to when I can. Terrance Hayes introduced the Golden Shovel. Which he does so incredibly well. I recently was shown the WaltMarie form. Created by Candace Kubinec (another PA poet), it is reminiscent of Golden Shovel without giving a nod to anyone else. And a whole lot more fun. Feel free to take poetic license with this form: 10 lines, with the even-numbered lines restricted to two syllables. The odd lines have no restrictions. Here’s the trick: those two-syllable lines have to form a poem of their own. I think the two poems should connect, but that is not a requirement. Enjoy the challenge.

Publisher’s Notes:

1. Candace Kubinec is a Pennsylvania-based poet, a member of the Poetic Asides community, and the inventor of the Waltmarie poetic form. In February 2021, poet and Senior Editor of Writer’s Digest Robert Lee Brewer wrote, for Poetic Form Fridays:

“I’m introducing Candace Kubinec’s form, the Waltmarie (which is itself a nod to PA members and Poetic Bloomings hosts, Marie Elena Good and Walter J. Wojtanik).”

2. See also “New/Invented Poetic Forms”—and for even more fun, Robert Lee Brewer’s List of 168 Poetic Forms for Poets (updated 12 March 2021):
https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/list-of-50-poetic-forms-for-poets

Julie Standig

A lifetime New Yorker, Julie Standig now writes with two amazing poetry groups, Marie Kane’s KT and the Stalwart Poets. She has been published in Alehouse Press, Sadie Girl Press, After Happy Hour Review, Schuylkill Journal Review, US1 Poets/Del Val, and Gyroscope Review, as well as online journals. Her first chapbook, Memsahib Memoir, was released by Plan B Press in 2017, and Kelsay Books released her collection The Forsaken Little Black Book in October 2022. She lives in Bucks County, PA with her husband and their springer spaniel.

Author’s website: julie.standig.com