prompt for the day: the Bop. The invention of poet Afaa Michael Weaver, the Bop is a kind of combination sonnet + song. Like a Shakespearan sonnet, it introduces, discusses, and then solves (or fails to solve) a problem. Like a song, it relies on refrains and repetition. In the basic Bop poem, a six-line stanza introduces the problem, and is followed by a one-line refrain. The next, eight-line stanza discusses and develops the problem, and is again followed by the one-line refrain. Then, another six-line stanza resolves or concludes the problem, and is again followed by the refrain. Here’s an example of a Bop poem written by Weaver, and here’s another by the poet Ravi Shankar.
The Meadows, Alvechurch, 1976
Nothing to do on a
Saturday night
but hang in the village
and drinking some beer
we're all underage and
approaching our prime
But Mike's got a
moustache that looks pretty tight.
Besides, the policemen
are nothing to fear
when the station is
empty and lacking in crime.
Back at the playing
field passing the time.
The stoners are passing
a mary-roll joint
while footballers set
out bottles for posts
the girls are all
dancing 'round handbags and such
crashing the ciggies
and dishing the grime
eyeing the boys while
they lip gloss annoint
amidst catcalls and
muscle bound boys and their boasts.
And sitting alone at
the edge of the clutch
a boy with a book and a
vodka and lime.
Back at the playing
field passing the time.
The stoners lie down
with the midges and grass
Players buy food and a
bottle of coke
The girls share
opinions with mock pantomine
Distant church bells
call the faithful to mass
girls swapping food for
a snog and a joke.
The book boy gives blow
jobs for barely a dime.
Back at the playing
field passing the time.
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