Invented Poetry Forms – The Kindku

~ Paul Szlosek

In today’s post, we will be discussing the Kindku, a newly invented poetry form inspired by both traditional Japanese forms (like the haiku and tanka) and Found Poetry.  Co-created  by Cendrine Marrouat and David Ellis, here are the rules for writing one taken directly from their website, Auroras & Blossoms @ https://abpositiveart.com :

“The Kindku is a short poem of seven lines. The syllable pattern is 7 / 5 / 7 / 5 / 7 / 5 / 7 or 5 / 7 / 5 / 7 / 5 / 7 / 5.

The Kindku must include seven words that are taken from one specific source — a poem, a book, a newspaper article, etc. In the case of a book or long piece of writing, those words must come from the same page.

Words must be used in the order they were found. Their placement also depends on the line:

  • Line 1 starts with word 1
  • Line 2 ends with word 2
  • Line 3 starts with word 3
  • Line 4 ends with word 4
  • Line 5 starts with word 5
  • Line 6 ends with word 6
  • Line 7 starts or ends with word 7

Kindku poems can have titles and punctuation. No matter the topic covered, they must sport a positive tone.

Kindku poets are encouraged to credit and link to the inspirations behind their pieces.”

I’d also like to add that I was curious if the seven keywords had to be exactly how they appeared in the original source material or could they be in a modified form.  For example, if one of the words was a noun and was plural in the original, could it be singular in your kindku, or if it was a verb in the past tense, are you allowed to use the word in the present tense? I contacted Cendrine, one of the co-inventors of the form, and she told me the words, indeed, have to be exactly as found in the original text (which does make writing a kindku a bit more of a challenge).

Cendrine, also graciously gave me permission to reprint two of the first kindkus ever written (one she wrote, and the other by David, her co-creator) on this blog as examples (I also need to note, if you wish, you can emphasise the seven words taken from the original source material by highlighting them in bold, like Cendrine and David did in the following kindkus, but that is totally optional):

Art Writes Itself

Art writes itself in the heart
before other things;
intent lingers for a while
inviting practice,
lost hope to find a new map.
on this continent
you are the only master.

Kindku inspired by Elizabeth Bishop’s One Art

© 2020 Cendrine Marrouat

True Self Remains

Antique, old, not forgotten
Celebrate passions
Heart wants to be filled, always
True self will appear
Mighty are our selfless deeds
Happiness remains
Fear and doubt we chased away.

Kindku inspired by Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Ozymandias

© 2020 David Ellis

Like in all my posts about poetic forms, I am also including my own humble efforts at writing some for you to use as models. I must confess that I did find the Kindku at first extremely difficult to write. Surprisingly, it wasn’t sticking to the exact syllable counts or word order that gave me problems, but the primary rule about the tone of the poem. I wouldn’t say that my first two attempts (one based on Robert Frost’s “The Witch of Coos” and the other from “The Fish” by Marianne Moore”) were exactly negative in attitude, but I wouldn’t describe them as positive and upbeat either, just rather neutral and detached in tone. According to the Auroras & Blossoms website, one of the main purposes of the kindku is to be “an invitation to promote kindness, positivity and inspiration through poetry” (as you can see, the word “Kind” is even a part of the form’s name), so I must emphasise that in order to write a true kindku, you should try to follow this rule as closely as you possibly can, even though what one considers positive probably varies from person to person. Hopefully, in these later efforts, I was able to achieve that goal, but I will let you, dear reader, be the judge:

Isn’t it Obvious?

Visible things often change
from invisible,
fluctuating in between.
Like a magic charm,
your own sense of perception
detects and opens
surrounding unseen doorways.

Kindku inspired by Marianne Moore’s A Jelly-Fish

All Your Uncertainty (Like the Weather) Will Soon Pass…

Fog creeps across the landscape.
Stealthily, it comes.
Little by little, things fade
(you can’t see your feet).
It seems the world’s dissolving
(so ghostly-looking),
then turns solid once again.

Kindku inspired by Carl Sandburg’s Fog

The Way of the Seasons

Summer simmers like hot soup,
cools into Autumn.
Winter, impatient, waits to
be relieved by Spring,
Sowing snow which will melt to  
feed crops planted and
thriving neath the vernal sun.

Kindku inspired by e. e. cumming’s anyone lived in a pretty how town

There is a technique I discovered while working on the above kindkus that I feel makes them easier to write which may prove helpful to you too. Instead of randomly deciding on which seven words to use beforehand, just go through your source material, and choose a word to begin. As you finish the first line,  scan for a succeeding word that will work in your second as your train of thought develops, and so on and so on, making sure to use the words in the order they appeared in the original work.  You will find this way provides flexibility and flow, and you won’t be forced to stick in a predetermined word that just won’t fit in your poem.

If you are like me, you may even find that writing kindkus will become addictive. As you grow more confident in writing them, here is a variant you might like to try using an entire (or partial) line from one of your favorite works (be it a poem, a song, a short, a quotation, etc.) as the source of your seven words. For an example, one of my favorite lines ever from poetry is the final line of “Refrigerator, 1957” by Thomas Lux – “You do not eat that which rips your heart with joy.” Using its last seven words, I came up with the following (which I found quite pleasing):

What’s That?

That unexpected feeling 
in your stomach (which
rips away complacency,
thoughts of despair), your
heart pounding in pure delight
(each thump pulsing with
love), is known, dear friends, as “Joy“…

Kindku inspired by Thomas Lux’s Refrigerator, 1957

So I hope you enjoyed today’s post on the Kindku, and will try writing some for yourself (it is a wonderful way to pay tribute to some of your favorite poems or other written works). Remember, even if you do find the rules a bit restrictive and intimidating at first, don’t give up. Keep going, and I can almost guarantee you’ll be more than satisfied with your results. And please don’t be shy about sharing them, either with me, or the kind folks at Auroras & Blossoms. I am sure they will be thrilled to see them!

Published by Paul Szlosek

Paul Szlosek was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, but currently resides in the nearby metropolis of Worcester. He was co-founder and host of the long-running Poet’s Parlor poetry reading in Southbridge and Sturbridge, as well as a past recipient of the Jacob Knight Award for Poetry. His poems have appeared in various local publications including the Worcester Review, Worcester Magazine, Sahara, Concrete Wolf, and Diner. He’s probably best known in the Worcester poetry community for his fanatical obsession with obscure poetry forms, and has invented his own including the ziggurat, the streetbeatina, and (most recently) the hodgenelle.

27 thoughts on “Invented Poetry Forms – The Kindku”

  1. Hello Paul! Thank you so much for writing your post on Auroras and Blossoms’s poetry form! David and I appreciate it more than you know.

    You did an excellent job with your kindku. “The Way of the Seasons” is my favorite of the bunch!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Hi Cendrine,

      You are very welcome! It was my complete pleasure., and so happy you approve of both the post and my kindkus. Thank you and David for creating such a wonderfully inspiring form,
      I really enjoyed writing them!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. Thanks for sharing this, Paul! This looks like a challenging but fun venture, I loved your poems, especially your variant, “What’s That?”. I will definitely be giving this form a try and once I have a few under my belt, it will likely find its way into the Whittled Words series. Would you be open to me sharing your poems as reference? (with proper credits, of course)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. Thank you, Cendrine! I am a great fan of form poetry and always on the look out for new and challenging forms. This creation is a wonderful variation. Would you and David be open to my using your poems as reference for my weekly series “Whittled Words”? Nothing would be more exciting than to share the work of the creators of the form. Of course, with all appropriate credit and a link to your web site. I applaud your creativity and wonder what you may introduce us to in the future.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. You are very welcome, Brad. I am so pleased you liked the kindku and the examples I wrote. I do hope you try writing some, and look forward to perhaps seeing the kindku in your Whistled Words series. I would be so honored if you shared my poems as reference.Perhaps you can also consider reaching out to Cendrine and David at Auroras & Blossoms @ https://abpositiveart.com/ to share their kindkus as well?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. Hello again, Brad! We actually have created several artistic forms, if you want to check them out on our website. I’m sure you will enjoy them all. 🙂

        Thank you very much for your support!

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Thank you for the introduction and walk-through of what looks like a very satisfying challenge to write. Will definitely be trying this out and will link it here when I do 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    2. You are very welcome! I definitely hope you take up the challenge of writing Kindkus and would love to see yours if you do, and would be so generous of you to post a link to here. Thank you so much! Perhaps you can also consider also linking to https://abpositiveart.com/kindku-poetry-form/
      at the Auroras & Blossoms site where Cendrine and David first introduced the kindku. I am sure they would really appreciate that.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. Wow, Paul these really are brilliant, you certainly have mastered the form very well, I’m so impressed! 🙂 I can’t wait to see what you come up with regarding our other forms too! 🙂 / David Ellis

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much, David! You are so very kind. It’s been a pleasure to be able to play around with your and Cendrine’s delightful creation, and look forward to working with your other poetic forms as well…

      Paul

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Very interesting. My horse “speaks” about once a month on my blog. He once wrote a “found ” poem so I think he may be able to do this Kindku poem. 😀 He will adhere to the rules laid out here in our post. If you have not read any of the Biasini Speaks posts I van assure you he is a character that is easy to “speak” for.

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