The sevenling is a poem of seven lines inspired by the form of this much translated short verse by Anna Akhmatova (1889 - 1966).

He loved three things alone:
White peacocks, evensong,
Old maps of America.

He hated children crying,
And raspberry jam with his tea,
And womanish hysteria.

... And he married me.


The rules of the sevenling are thus:
The first three lines should contain an element of three - three connected or contrasting statements, or a list of three details, names or possibilities. This can take up all of the three lines or be contained anywhere within them. Then, lines four to six should similarly contain an element of three, connected directly or indirectly or not at all. The seventh line should act as a narrative summary or punchline or as an unusual juxtaposition. There are no set metrical rules, but being such as short form, some rhythm, metre or rhyme is desirable. To give the form a recognisable shape, it should be set out in two stanzas of three lines, with a solitary seventh, last line. Titles are not required. A sevenling should be titled Sevenling followed by the first few words in parentheses The tone of the sevenling should be mysterious, offbeat or disturbing, giving a feeling that only part of the story is being told. The poem should have a certain ambience which invites guesswork from the reader.


Two Sevenlings by Roddy Lumsden

A filthy West End night, the windows wide.
Now she's been gone a month and missed a week
and ached for all day long. Her sister waits:

she flips the Magic 8 Ball, walks in circles,
spreads mushy peas on cold, unbuttered toast
in the kitchenette. The record stops. She shouts,

put on some songs by four black guys in suits.

******************************
All those buzzsaw years I ran the show,
all those kids who asked me for advice,
The Architect, the Miraclist, The Man.

The starlets kick-line, that was my concoction,
the sailor boys, the peacock feather spotlights;
till one night in a blackout, I let slip

what it is I say to all the girls. [. . .]

Hey Snow.

This looks very neat - I dig the title too (if you are a Star Trek fan like me) - sevenling - sounds like an alien race!

I will definitely give this a go, perhaps tomorrow as my December errands are almost complete and I'll once again have time to read, write and critique - WHIPPEE!

Thanks for posting this new form - will you post yours here in this tile too?
Cheers
~Cleo

Hi Lori -- yes sevenling does sound wierd doesn't it?

Glad to hear you are keeping 'on top' -- hope your cold is better.

Here's my first sevenling

The neighbours gave carnation cuttings;
I tucked them up in beds of lavender --
next year they’ll propagate.

He pulled up weeds all afternoon
‘til zilch remained to spoil the plot.
I gasped to see my crop was missing.

His conception of cuttings is wild.

Snow

Hi All,

I saw one of these somewhere else, and just had to give it a try...hope I have the form right.

:) brenda


Sevenling:Canal

Water flows nourishing furrowed rows. Carefully planted
sugar cane stands guard over unplowed fields.
Linearity and spaciousness pause and join breaths.

White butterflies swarm delicate yellow flowers .
Salt cedar weeps for the fishermen, who catch
poison laden fish to feed hungry families.

Young men toil, old men fish and energy is transfered from the dead to the living

Sounds interesting. Hmmm.


he's a funny looking man with crinkled hair and crinkled eyes
that change from big to small behind his glasses
and funny too in other ways

with kissy faces as we pass and tickles when he sits us on his knee,
and funny slurpy sounds he makes us do
to go with action poems in classes

I think the teacher likes me

These are great. Kathy I especially liked your example ... that final line was quite fitting, like a tie between the two.



A photo of lover's walking in rain,
his baseball cap, gray and fading, worn
on top a post of an unmade bed.

Red scribbles on a calender is tacked
by the refrigerator wall, the key
ring holder is empty. Bills piled up high.

She can't miss him if she is never home.

Great stuff, y'all...

Let me try one!

Sevenling: A A A

Caught in the EZPass lane, then subsequently passing
the exit where I could have paid the missed toll,
but I stopped for gas... finding no credit card.

After dropping everyone off, I picked up my card
and decided to go to a movie to settle down...
locking the van with the engine running... for the whole show.

AAA couldn't resolve my brain-lock.

© MLee Dickens'son 27 July 2007

Eisa!

Fantastic is all I can say. Or shall I say it 7x. :)

Well done.

PP