Quince
(free verse )
Stark tangle of december
black and bare, sharp and brittle,
hook twigs a shakespearean drama of thorns
spotlighting from darkness the posturing coral bud.
Life in death, wildfired and torched
Life in death, wildfired and torched
over every branch, its ending
smoothed by something born
swelling in promise:
a Paris green blast of
a Paris green blast of
bitter juice.
Quince
(shorter, as a shadorma)
Earth's burlesque,
december's
bare black
theatre,
masque of thorns
flaring color from darkness;
posed bud, bitter juice.
~March 2013
posted for dVerse Poets
Poetics: Short Verse
Fred Rutherford's challenge is to tell a complete story, and to 'maximize effectiveness' through brevity. I wrote the first version of this free verse, then decided to see if I could shorten it by using a favorite form of mine known as the shadorma--a six line poem with the syllable count of 3-5-3-3-7-5. I'm not sure which version is more effective as they turned out rather differently. Thanks for the challenge, Fred.
Poetics: Short Verse
Fred Rutherford's challenge is to tell a complete story, and to 'maximize effectiveness' through brevity. I wrote the first version of this free verse, then decided to see if I could shorten it by using a favorite form of mine known as the shadorma--a six line poem with the syllable count of 3-5-3-3-7-5. I'm not sure which version is more effective as they turned out rather differently. Thanks for the challenge, Fred.
Process notes: Paris green: " is an inorganic compound more precisely known as copper acetoarsenite. It is a highly toxic emerald-green crystalline powder that has been used as a rodenticide and insecticide, and also as a pigment, despite its toxicity..."~wikipedia
Quince, on the other hand, are completely edible and non-toxic, but extremely bitter.
Hover mouse for image credits, or click on picture to go to photographer's page @ flick'r creative commons.
