SF poetry

On Jade Pagoda, the Doctor Who Books yahoo group, Henry Potts challenged me
some time ago to compose a story in which Triffids attacked mars and fought Ice Warriors (don't ask me how a discussion on trees in SF came to this) but to make it interesting, in two moderately difficult poetic forms. I naturally responded with two CP5Ms. For the interest if any of my blog readers I repeat the Poems here.


(a) hendecasyllabic verse

O earth cast pod of arrogant angry flowers
Triffidea, indomitable powers
Return to space, to mars to war on her
As Catullus would sing or else aver

(b) villinelle

Now Triffids are not fools to shun a fight
With Earth possessed where should they seek to seed?
Oh Mars that world of war and might is right.

So taking ships from t’ blind who’d lost their light
And finding that so easy for their deed
Now Triffids are not fools to shun a fight

Others have struck at Mars and brought to blight
The warriors of ice, whose holy creed
"Oh Mars that world of war and might is right".

In planting, plants need not rely on sight
They turn towards the sun, but do not heed
Now Triffids are not fools to shun a fight

The Ice warriors strike with flashing dight
And where the the Triffids seek to triumph, they weed
Oh Mars that world of war and might is right.

But Triffids fear but fire that plants alight
The fire that martians shun and do not need
Now Triffids are not fools to shun a fight
Oh Mars that world of war and might is right.