Marathon Mind

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I’m struggling
To reach the tape
Lungs and legs burn
How did I get
So out of shape?
I’m struggling
Lungs and legs burn
The effects of old age
I can’t escape
Life’s poor choices 
Carry heavy weight
Lungs and legs burn
I’m so out of shape
How did I get
So out of shape?
Life’s poor choices
I’m struggling
But I welcome
Miles to go
Before
I reach the tape

Words worth repeating

Upon writing this poem, I decided I needed repetition to show what my mindset the last time I ran a marathon. Adding repetition did the trick.

Consider adding repetition in your own writing to add emotional depth. Here are three of my favorite poetic forms that repeat lines:

Villanelle: This form features a pattern of repeating lines across nineteen lines divided into five tercets and a final quatrain. The first and third lines of the opening tercet recur throughout and conclude the poem.

Pantoum: In this form, the second and fourth lines of each quatrain are repeated as the first and third lines of the next stanza, creating a seamless, interlocking pattern.

Ghazal: Comprising five or more couplets, each ghazal has a refrain that appears at the end of both lines in the first couplet and at the last line of each subsequent couplet, with each couplet standing alone thematically.

Your turn

Think about a topic that could use some repetition, and try your hand at a Villanelle, a Pantoum or a Ghazal. Share your poem with us by posting the poem or a link to your poem in the comments section here.