This is all quoted/ saved from Eric S. Raymond's Home Page. The site fails to load but then if you leave it, does load on the second try. I've linked to the web page the riddle poems are on at the bottom of this post. The entire post has much more information, ideas, even challenges and history.

We know of many cultures that have riddle-poem traditions. The best-documented, and the one we'll be taking our model from, is the riddle-poem tradition of the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings, and the Teutons. These peoples of the Dark Ages played the riddle-game around their hearth-fires for more than five hundred years. Some of their riddles have come down to us.

Basic Riddle-Poem Construction

Here's an example of a riddle-poem in modern English in very traditional style and subject:

Riddle: A hoard of rings am I, but no fit gift for a bride; I await a sword's kiss.

Answer: A suit of chain-mail.

Note that it doesn't rhyme. Rhyme is nice in a riddle-poem, but strong rhythm (what poets call good scansion) is better. Actually, traditional riddle-poems hardly employed rhyme for structure at all; they used an elaborate set of stress rules and a technique called alliteration which we'll describe later on.

Rhythm _{speech rhythm} is all-important. In composing riddle-poems that sound good, a bit of role-playing helps. When you're working on one, try to imagine yourself chanting it to a hall-full of drunken Vikings. Do they pound the tables and roar? Do they laugh? Or do they just plain not get it?

How to Make a Riddle-Poem

Work backwards. First, pick your answer. Then, imagine it speaking to you; describing itself, telling you what it does. Then make that into a little poem.

As I was thinking about the last paragraph, my eyes lit on the telephone beside my keyboard. I decided to make a riddle-poem for which telephone is the answer.

So I imagine the phone speaking to me. It says I carry the voices of people over many miles. That's a good start, but it's not specific enough; it could apply to a radio as well.

What distinguishes a phone from a radio? Wires. But if I mention wires directly, the riddle will be too obvious. So I think instead about what a phone looks like, analogizing it to a body. And I have it:

Riddle: One ear, one mouth, no legs, But I will carry your voice a thousand miles.

This is pretty nice. But the scansion in the second line is not quite right.

_  /  _    /  _   _    /   _   /  _    /

But I will carry your voice a thousand miles.

This is close to iambic pentameter. It could be improved by a one-syllable verb replacement for carry. There are lots of possibilities; take, waft, send, bear. I like bear for its archaic sound. And so we have it:

/   /       /    /        /   /

One ear, || one mouth, || no legs, _ / _ / _ / _ / _ / But I || will bear || your voice || a thou- || sand miles.

This is an easy riddle, but the construction worked well. In general, these are the steps you'll usually go through:

1. Pick a subject.
2. Imagine the subject speaking to you.
3. If that doesn't work, analogize the subject to a body or creature.
4. Adjust the description to the level of difficulty you want.
5. For best poetic effect, fix the scansion in the result.

Source: Riddle-Poems, and How to Make Them

I've written some flash fiction, usually under 1000 words (or less). It's fun. Finding sites posting about writing flash non-fiction was interesting. I think we have all written flash fiction at some time. A note, a few thoughts about this or that. Is flash fiction really more than a short personal journal entry? Maybe, if you're thinking about writing it for others to read. That would make a difference.

From When you Write - Flash Non-Fiction

Key Takeaways

• Flash Nonfiction requires concise and engaging writing that balances storytelling and factual accuracy.
• Choosing a topic that writers are passionate about and researching sources is important in creating successful flash nonfiction.
• Cutting unnecessary details, using specific language, and avoiding repetition are key components of tightening prose in flash nonfiction.
• Sharing work with others and receiving constructive criticism is essential in developing skills and improving as a writer in flash nonfiction.

Do you know the old song, The Cat Came Back? Written by Harry S. Miller, Christmas 1893.

I remember it as an old recording sung by a man with a deep voice and it was very haunting. People who went up in balloons never to be seen again. People exploding in mines in thousands of pieces, but the cat came back. It was one of those scary things you just seem to want more of, maybe to find out more, maybe to hear about survivors.

Turns out there are a lot of versions of the song. A lot of differences in the words. It’s a song anyone can add more verses to, because that’s how it has grown. I have found a good selection, some I remember from long ago and some new to me. You could (should) write more. Add to the legend of the cat that kept coming back.

Here are some of those I found, to inspire you:

The First Verse (Two Versions)

Now, old Mr. Johnson had troubles of his own. He had a yellow cat that wouldn’t leave his home! A special plan with deception as the key. One little cat—how hard could it be?

Old Mr. Johnson had trouble all his own He had a yellow cat that wouldn’t leave his home He tried in every way to keep that cat away Took him up to Canada and told him for to stay.

The Chorus

But the cat came back the very next day, The cat came back, we thought he was a goner, The cat came back, he just wouldn’t stay away.

Verses

Now the man around the corner swore he’d kill the cat on sight He loaded up his shotgun with nails and dynamites He waited and he waited for the cat to come around Ninety-seven pieces of the man is all they found.

Now the cat had company out in the back yard Somebody threw a boot and they threw it awful hard Hit the cat behind the ear ever so slight And down came a brick and drove him out of sight but

Gave it to man going up in a balloon Told him for to take it to the man on the Moon The balloon came down about 90 miles away Where he is now, I dare not say.

They gave it to a man going way out west Told him for to take it to the one he loved the best First, the train hit the curve, then it jumped the rail Not a soul was left behind to tell the gruesome tale.

Away across the ocean he did send the cat at last Vessel out alone today taking water fast People all began to pray the boat began to toss A great big gust of wind came by and every soul was lost.

On a telephone wire birds were sitting in a bunch Saw them up there & said he’d have ’em for his lunch Climbed softly up the pole until he reached the top Put his foot upon the wire & it gave him quite a shock.

At last they found a way this cat to really fix They put him in an orange crate on highway 66 Come a ten ton truck with a twenty ton load Scattered pieces of that orange crate miles down the road.

So I put him in a box and I tied it up quite well. I had some fellows help me and I paid them not to tell. We put it in a boxcar, the west-bound 7:10 The train pulled away and was never seen again.

So I took him to the harbour and I put in on a ship. I bid him bon voyage! for that oceanic trip! The captain was obligin’ and glad to help us out Tied him to the anchor so that there could be no doubt!

Some have an ending verse, like this. In some the cat lives and in others it doesn’t.

So Old Mr. Johnson’s story unfolds, A tale about a cat and the story is old. The reason why the cat just couldn’t stay away There were seven little kittens meowing in the hay, so.

My Verses (not as haunting as I’d like, something to work on)

Tied the cat to a brick thought that would do the trick Threw it down an old dry well The story he did not tell.

Sealed the cat in a specimen jar left it in the trunk of an old car The car went through the wreckers but he found him playing checkers