Poetry – Bop Style

A recent invention, the Bop was created by Afaa Michael Weaver and is a form of poetic argument consisting of three stanzas, each stanza followed by a repeated line, or refrain, and each undertaking a different purpose in the overall argument of the poem.

The first stanza (six lines long) states the problem, and the second stanza (eight lines long) explores or expands upon the problem. If there is a resolution to the problem, the third stanza (six lines long) finds it. If a substantive resolution cannot be made, then this final stanza documents the attempt and failure to succeed.

– See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5773#sthash.snYzZzqF.dpuf 

 

Here is my attempt at the “Bop”. I’ve added a rhyming element as well:

The Duty of Man

I love Sunday Morning in all of its splendor,
When the air is crisp and the sky azure blue.
No schedule to keep. There could be more time to sleep.
So why is this day, Lord, committed to you?
If I start with a prayer and spend time in your word,
Will it not quiet my voice, so yours can be heard?

Be still and know that I am God

The rest of the week is often left standing
With very little time for quiet solitude.
We busy ourselves with worldly “to-do-lists”
That generally have nothing “to-do” with You.
Yet a wise King from Jerusalem, seeking life’s purpose
Proclaims in Ecclesiastes chapter one,
“Meaningless, Meaningless, Utterly Meaningless,
Everything is Meaningless under the sun!”

Be still and know that I am God

The wise King pondered and searched life’s questions.
Questions we still ponder today, regarding the work we do
And the time we spend…and this is what he had to say,
“Fear God and keep His commandments for this is the
Whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into
Judgement, whether it is good or it is bad.”

Be still and know that I am God