Hello, friends. This month, our assignment was to write an etheree on the theme of foresight or summer or both. Did you write along with us? If so, share on social media with the #poetrypals hashtag!
Meanwhile, for those of you new to this form, it’s a ten-line poem with each line being one syllable longer than the last. It was invented by Etheree Taylor Armstrong in the middle of the last century and if I had a name that pretty, I’d want an eponymous form, too.
I LOVE etherees. I don’t know what it is about them — the building block simplicity, the shape on the page, the increasingly weighty and meaningful lines — but I find them rather addictive. That said, I wrote just one this month as I’m feeling, in general, a need for less. (And isn’t it sort of weird and eerie that we decided to keep coming back to the idea of foresight this year — this particular year when looking ahead becomes sometimes overwhelming, sometimes almost meaningless?)
Annnnyway….
Here goes…
Each
open
calendar
square, ravenous
and lying in wait –
gaping, hungry, quiet –
a long dark alley of days.
Don’t be afraid, I say aloud
(my words echoing like a kicked can).
Waiting at the other end is just space.
For more etherees, visit:
Laura Purdie Salas
Tanita Davis
Tricia Stohr-Hunt
And Poetry Friday is at Reading To The Core!
Oh, the hollowness of that kicked can. Brilliant and devastating, Liz…
Wow! I am thoroughly enjoying all of the etherees floating around Poetry Friday this week. Thank you for sharing your haunting day planner.
“a long dark alley of days”
That’s exactly how the calendar feels this year.
I love the tension in this one. Well done.
Oh. The imagery of the can reminds me of playing telephone as a kid… the echo is real. The emptiness, also real. But unlike when we played as kids, the connection to others isn’t quite so imaginary – and I’m thankful that I have y’all to remind me of that. ♥
Liz, I have to thank you for your video on the etheree format. I mentioned it in my PF blog post today and tried out the etheree for the first time. These words from your etheree are well-spoken: ravenous
and lying in wait –
My calendar is eating up my days in ways that I could not have conceived months ago since we are trying to virtually build our new home in Virginia (I live in Long Island, NY).
There is a nice surprise in the turn of this poem…that kicked can into space. You taken etheree from simple building blocks into more. Wowsa!
Wow! That “long alley of dark days” really hits home this week. Thank you for making me feel less alone. I’ve never written an etheree, but after reading everyone’s contribution this week, I’m inspired to try my had at them.
I find the etheree addictive too, they take you in and beg for more… You’ve drawn an eerie image of what lies ahead, and your “echoing” echos our times. Hope we all find some light in your “just space” waiting out there, thanks Liz.
I find the etheree addictive too, they take you in and beg for more… You’ve drawn an eerie image of what lies ahead, and your “echoing” echos our times. Hope we all find some light in your “just space” waiting out there, thanks Liz.