Nightmare on My Street

[Todd]

On the stresses, here

Billy, you're focusing too much on the words. Get the meter set in your head first, then recite. Always get into that rhythm before even attempting to write a metric poem -- you will likely have some trouble scanning other people's poems until you've written so many that the meter becomes second nature to you. Trust me, I've been doing this for far too long

Now, once you've got da DUM da DUM stuck there, try reciting the poem again. It definitely fits.

Billy (thank you by the way), on this point Leanne made I didn't think of this at the time but she's so right. Once I had my idea firmly in mind I wanted to get a sense of the rhythm. I wrote a few lines and then I read James Wright's The Seasonless over and over again out loud to get a sense of the rhythm (it helps that it's one of my favoite poems but it fixed a sense of meter in my mind). When I looked at my words it was easier to get into the flow. I hadn't thought of it as a technique but it really worked.

http://pigpenpoetry.com/showthread.php?tid=1555&page=3

It's the third poem down.

Best,

Todd