Written for dVerse Poets Pub–MTB:
Compounding the Stem. Our host,
Laura, challenges us to write a
poem using compound words
while following a specific
rhyme & syllable format
(see my notes below).

The wick ignites, a fragile spark,
and pushes back the waiting dark ….
Candlelight.
She spends the daytime at her post,
then works the night shift, coast to coast ….
Moonlighting.
A joke slips out, the room breaks free,
and laughter spreads like wildfire glee ….
Lighthearted.
The wine goes straight up to my brain,
the room begins to spin again ….
Lightheaded.
The architect draws windows wide,
to let the morning sun inside ….
Daylighting.
NAR©2026
Nancy’s Notes: The challenge is to write a compound word poem with 5 stanzas, each with 3 lines for a total of 15 lines. The rhyme scheme is a/a/b/ and the syllable meter is 8/8/3. The last line of each stanza includes a compound word using the same stem, e.g. commonly, commonplace, commonwealth, etc. The poem’s title includes the stem word.
This is “Blinded By The Light” by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
Everything on the elephant trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicate, and may not be used without permission. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.
Nancy, I like the liveliness in your poem.
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Thanks very much, Lisa 🕯️
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You’re very welcome.
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This lit up my dark evening
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What a lovely comment, Bjorn. Thank you. 😊
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These are lovely and I especially like “Lighthearted.” Great song choice!
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Thank you, Lisa. This was a fun new poetry form and you’re right about the song; it’s a classic. 🥰
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excellent
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Thanks very much, Dylan.
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this poem lit up even more on second read
“and pushes back the waiting dark” – gorgeous line!
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Thanks for your very gracious comments, Laura. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in this challenge. 😊
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so glad you did – thank you
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…and there was light. Delightful Nancy, no pun intended.
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😀 Thanks so much, my friend. 🕯️
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I could listen to Leonard the rest of my life ~ and read your poetry as a great accompaniment while he croons in the background. A lovely write!
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Thanks so much, Helen. We can thank our friend Ivor for including the Leonard Cohen track which was a lovely touch to my post.
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Very well done!
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Thank you, dear D!
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Perfect response to prompt!
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Thanks much. Ron. This was enlightening!
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Back to the drawing board for me, another new and interesting format to have a go at (maybe!!) and handled the format superbly, along with a great old song Manfred Mann’s Earth Band my friend
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Thanks so much, my dear friend, for your gracious comments and another fabulous song by Mr Cohen! I hope you do have a go at it and enjoy it as much as I did. 🎶📝💙
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