COWS on the MOOVE

Cows on the Moove is a collection of comic narratives,
poetic editorials, alternative testimonials and tall tales -
with some rhetorical prose thrown in for good measure.

Cows on the Moove explores the power of the Paradelle;
which is a new form of poetry, originally created as a joke.
But no sooner did it learn to laugh than it took itself seriously.

A Paradelle is essentially a prepositional call and response
poetic performance. The 1st and 3rd lines of each verse are
the prepositional call; the 5th and 6th lines are the response.

But they also carry the story forwards into the following verse.
And so it is for the first 3 verses. The 4th verse wraps it all up
and ties each of the previous verses into a coherent narrative.

Lines 1 and 3 make a provocative statement or proposition.
Lines 2 and 4 repeat lines 1 and 3 exactly. Lines five and six
dismantle these lines and reuse these words and their images
in a way that expands, reflects and reveals what a word can say.

Verse 4 can only use the words of the other 3; it's the summation
of everything that has previously been stated, intimated or implied.
It's where, despite uneven odds, the poem coheres itself as a story.

The Paradelles in Cows on the Moove represent my progression
in discovering their potential as a vehicle for creative expression.
The limitations imposed by the form offer unending poetic possibilities.

As you begin to explore what a Paradelle has the power to say,
and the territory of a Paradelle Universe becomes more familiar;
I invite you to write down your feelings and reactions in the book.
And perhaps to find in these same words ... what you want to say.