 SHORT
FORMS............
INTRODUCTION &
SELECTIONS
poems by Hortensia
Anderson, US
| The short verse form of 55
syllables, called the Etheree, was invented in the 1980's by an Arkansas poet,
Etheree Taylor Armstrong. An Etheree is titled and has 10 lines of unmetered
and unrhymed verse; the first line has one syllable, then one syllable is added
tp each subsequent line until the 10th and final line. |
Green
Moss
covers
the smooth stones
on the footpath
to the swimming pond.
I hold one in my hand
until, tossing with full strength,
I watch as it flies through the air
and, dropping with the weight of itself,
wait for the sound of water swallowing.
| The following new syllabic form
was created by Betty Ann Whitney, and which also bears its inventor's surname,
is titled and has exactly
seven lines. Syllable Pattern: 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 7. The following is an
example of the Whitney: |
Return
White lilacs
in the summer
bring me back—
the moonless nights
in blackness,
when their sweet scent
crept through my open window.
Surreal Gingko
light rain
clinging to me as i move
wet silk
wet blue
sky splashed
on stones
finding driftwood
drifting
on warm sand...
...a crow flies
through the stillness
the quick
silent silhouette
of a red fox
red maple
the last bird
leaves
falling
from the moon
the snow...
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