By Ashley Lister
I’ll keep this short. Rhyme is denigrated by
snobs. Syllable based poetry becomes complicated by the inconvenience of
diphthongs and triphthongs (as well as the vagaries of pronunciation). And so,
I’ve gone for something short and sweet with my contribution to this week’s
excursion into poetic forms. I’ve elected to tackle the septolet.
Long Days
Days
that stretch
for
endless,
infinite hours
until
we are
together
alone
and naked.
The
septolet has fourteen words. It is broken between two stanzas that make up the
fourteen words. Each stanza can have seven words but that is not an essential requirement.
The division can take place where the poet decides.
Unclothed
Wearing
only
a
smile
you
have enchanted me
and
I offer
you
my heart.
Both
stanzas of the septolet deal with the same thought. Ultimately they create a
picture. Please take a shot at contributing a septolet to the
comments box below.
Cooling Down
Raised patches
across her shoulderblades
relate tales
welts and bruises
a deep sigh
contentment
Trust
the merest brush
against her feet
his lips
legs spread
she closes her eyes
Mind's Eye
leather cuffs
ephemera
of past night's passion
her whip-kissed back
arches again
in memory
…
This assumes of course that you're willing to accept "whip-kissed" as a single word!
Rachel – I knew you'd have fun with this form. It's quite an unusual restriction, isn't it?
Lisabet – I think whip-kissed works as a perfect compound. This is one of those exercises that gets us writers thinking about words in a different way to the usual approach.
Ash
Sorry I am late to the party –
Listening
eyes closed
lightly
listening to her breathing
sensing her effort
straining
against the bindings
Feeling
laying quietly
on the couch
her below
arm dangling
tracing her stomach
muscles flexing
Rachel and David – lovely!
Ash – funny thing about that poem. It was written from the perspective of the dominant (at least that's what I was thinking). After I finished, though, I realized it was perfectly ambiguous, that we could just as well be viewing the world through the mind's eye of the submissive. I do so love poetry!