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Sunday Scribblings #108: So Yoda Speaks: Tremendously beautiful this life is!

May 15, 2022

Yoda speaks wise words indeed!! Like when he says that: “Always more questions than answers, there are.” Simple, but so true.. Or in these beautiful words, “Truly how wonderful the mind of a child is!” Or just “A way there always is,” and “Do or do not, there is no try.” If you haven’t guessed already, today’s poetic form(s) has us versing like Yoda speaks. But fear not, I have tips and tricks to help you verse along!

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Notepad and a pen over it with a cup of coffee next to it. words read Sunday Scribblings, and this is for Sunday Scribblings #102: It is Time to Rhyme Indeed

Poetic Sundays: Yoda Speaks (Or, Yoda Like Speak We Must Some Days)

So it is National Speak Like Yoda Day on the 21st of May…get some practice now, shall we? Write, poems we can, the way Yoda speaks!! Learn more, let us, shall we??

What is a Yoda Poem? or How to Verse Like Yoda Speaks?

Pick and choose from the two options below, you can. Getting away from Yoda speak as I explain the options!

Yoda Poem: Option One

I found this one over here, with other poetic forms, under the heading Edge poetic forms! Sounds apt, actually. The Yoda form made its way here specifically to ensure a poetic form for the letter Y exists:-)

This Yoda poem begins with a title word and a question to a Master poet (Yoda, after all) to predict the future (specific to the question). The poem itself contains the answer using Yoda’s inverted speech pattern. This form has a couple of other rules to follow as you write the poem; one, the lines, written in couplets, use the various conjugations of the verb “to be” under different tenses (past, present, future, etc.); and two, they contain relevant antonyms and synonyms of the title word. There is no specified length or any other requirement for the poem.

The Yoda Poetic Form’s Characteristics (for option one, that is)

So the Yoda’s elements are that at its most basic, it is:

  • of any length (but in couplets – see below)
  • written in Yoda-speak, or inverted speech patterns like Yoda does
  • titled: one word-title, followed by a question related to the word that asks the Master poet to predict the future (all related again)
  • a poem written in couplets, following a similar pattern to the title (one word + answer to the question). The single words in each line are either antonyms or synonyms of the title word; while each answer phrase uses a different conjugation of the verb “to be” and thus covers different tenses across the lines of the poem
  • unrhymed (but nowhere does it state, from what I could find, that it cannot be rhymed – so the poet can do what they wish)
  • oh well, an example will help better!!

h/t: Edge poetic forms (you can check this link for an example of this form, or look at my attempt below too)

My Attempt for this one (Yoda poem: Option one)

While my own kids have not asked me this question, they might have wondered. I know I have been like my aunts (my dad’s sisters), my uncles (my mom’s brothers), my dad, and my mom, and now, I am a bit like each of them, and me. This poem is a little bit about my daughter and a little bit about me. And I tweaked the form a bit about the question being addressed to mom instead of a master poet. You can choose to do so too!

Grown-up: Mom, Will I Be Like You Or …?
Baby, you were, of your grandma you reminded everyone.
Toddler, been more like my brother, you have.
Teenager, a mix of dad and me and grandmoms and granddads, you are, and growing into yourself.
Adult, uniquely and wonderfully you, you will be!
~ vidya tiru @ ladyinreadwrites

Writing this made me realize just how cool and wonderful heredity is; how beautiful life is in itself!

Yoda Poem: Option Two

This is more of a free-style option, the only rule being that: Poems must be written in the style that Yoda talks (inverted speech pattern, of course, and also wise, like Yoda’s quotes are). And short might be better!

h/t: Yoda poetry contest at AllPoetry (check out cool Yoda poems written for this contest for inspiration if you choose this option, and of course, you can read my attempt below too)

My Attempt for this one (Yoda poem: Option two)

I decided to take the easy way out here to show you an example. I picked a poem I wrote earlier (a riddle poem actually, and if you didn’t attempt answering it then, you can do so now. Though, trying to answer it in this inverted speech poem might confound some more!). And in a way, these are words from wisdom spoken by the ‘Who am I’ in the riddle poem below.

Who am I? .
I, caught, can be, but not thrown.

The ones to blame, little creatures are.
So my name, while common might be in,

You dare underestimate my power don’t!
Even the vigorous ones cower, I make!
When you catch me, to take cover it’s better,
Well, yourselves blanket, a nice warm shower take.

Shame laying down low is not.
For, to catch me? – surely a game not!

Caught, I can be, but not thrown.
~ vidya tiru @ ladyinreadwrites

Yoda Poems: Option Three (Bonus option, yay!)

Well, this one is more like writing a poem about Yoda, or even the beloved Baby Yoda from the Mandalorian. Any form of your choice, but the subject: Yoda (or Baby Yoda)

Tips, Tricks, Inspiration, and Further Reading

Pin Me

Has a photo of Yoda on the pin and title is Poetic Sundays: Yoda Speaks (or, Yoda like speak we must some days)

Recently

At Home and On My Blog

We took a day trip to San Luis Obispo to visit our son (been over a month since we last saw him and that seems too long) and then drove back in gale force winds that most likely lengthened our trip by about 1/2 an hour without us realizing it! And then a cloud cover robbed us of our chance to view the lunar eclipse though we managed to get a glimpse of the penumbra in a still not fully-clear sky. And it was so worth it!! Just those few minutes of being able to see it – stunning! Photos cannot capture the beauty we glimpsed in the skies….

Upcoming

On My Blog & Homefront

Hope to get a few overdue (and planned for a while) posts in this week.

Celebrations This Week For Us

Literary Celebrations (close-to-it also!)

  • Literary birthdays this week of May include: HE Bates on May 16th; Gary Paulsen and Grace Lin on May 17th; Bertrand Russell and Lionel Shriver on the 18th; Jodi Picoult, Nora Ephron, Ruskin Bond, & Girish Karnad on May 19th; Mary Pope Osborne, Michèle Roberts, Sigrid Undset, and Walter Isaacson on the 20th; Harold Robbins and Maria Semple on May 21st; Arthur Conan Doyle on the 22nd
  • May 16th is National Biographer’s Day

Foodie Celebrations

Other Celebrations

Wrapped Up: My Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, you have reached the end of this Sunday Scribblings! As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about this post. And do let me know if you plan to celebrate any of these mentioned celebrations this coming week/month?

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon

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