#trimeter

Dear Lord, please don't let me fuck up

scansion:

◡ – ◡ / ◡ – ◡ / ◡ – Dear Lord, please / don't let me / fuck up

"Of wounds and sore defeat I made my battle stay; Winged sandals for my feet I wove of my delay; Of weariness and fear I made my shouting spear; Of loss, and doubt, and dread, And swift oncoming doom I made a helmet for my head And a floating plume. From the shutting mist of death, From the failure of the breath, I made a battle-horn to blow Across the vales of overthrow. O hearken, love, the battle-horn! The triumph clear, the silver scorn! O hearken where the echoes bring, Down the grey disastrous morn, Laughter and rallying."

Scansion:

"Of wounds / and sore / defeat [3] I made / my bat/tle stay; [3] Winged san/dals for / my feet [3] I wove / of my / delay; [3] Of wea/riness / and fear [3] I made / my shou/ting spear; [3] Of loss, / and doubt, / and dread, [3] And swift / oncom/ing doom [3] I made / a hel/met for / my head [4] And / a floa/ting plume. [3 acephalous] From / the shut/ting mist / of death, [4 acephalous] From / the fail/ure of / the breath, [4 acephalous] I made / a bat/tle-horn / to blow [4] Across / the vales / of o/verthrow. [4] O hear/ken, love, / the bat/tle-horn! [4] The tri/umph clear, / the sil/ver scorn! [4] O hear/ken where / the e/choes bring, [4] Down / the grey / disas/trous morn, [4 acephalous] Laughter / and ral/lying." [3]

Metrical form: It starts out in iambic trimeter (with some trochaic inversions) and moves into mostly iambic tetrameter.

Rhyme scheme: ABAB CC DEDE FFGG HHIHI

Notes: The lines I've marked as acephalous are a bit ambiguous; the first syllable in each of them could be either stressed or unstressed depending on how you emphasize the phrase, in my opinion. So "From the shutting mist of death" could be either acephalous tetrameter, – / ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ –, or it could be trimeter, ◡ ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ –.

Scansion:

– ◡ / – ◡ / – ◡ / – Stones will break, and roots will squeeze, – ◡ / – ◡ / – ◡ / – vines will grow and bend all knees; – ◡ / – ◡ / – / – mushrooms hunt and thorns yolk; – – / ◡ ◡ / – ◡ / – weeds strangle and flowers choke. ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – The age of skin is done. ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – The hour of bark is come. Baruuum.

Metrical form: Lines 1-4 are trochaic tetrameter catalectic. Lines 1-2 have no variations from the basic pattern; line 3 omits an unstressed syllable from the last foot and line 4 has anaclasis of the second and third syllables.

Lines 5-6 remove the initial stressed syllable, becoming iambic trimeter.

Through the door of golden pine

Down the creaking stairs,

With pale stone streaking granite gold

Of the pillars in pairs.

On the brick-and-mortar path

Near to sunlit mares

Within the light of the shining sun

‘Round the pillars in pairs.

Over hedges rosy-sweet,

By the grazing hares

Across the golden field of grass,

To the pillars in pairs.

T’wards the silver marble men

Near the statue’s hand,

Before the weeping ravens here,

The pairs of pillars stand.

Scansion:

– / ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – Through / the door / of gol/den pine – / ◡ – / ◡ – Down / the crea/king stairs, ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – With pale / stone strea/king gra/nite gold ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – Of the pil/lars in pairs. – / ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – On / the brick/-and-mor/tar path – / ◡ – / ◡ – Near / to sun/lit mares ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ – Within / the light / of the shi/ning sun ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – ‘Round the pil/lars in pairs. – / ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – O/ver hed/ges ro/sy-sweet, – / ◡ – / ◡ – By / the gra/zing hares ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – Across / the gol/den field / of grass, ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – To the pil/lars in pairs. – / ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – T’wards / the sil/ver mar/ble men – / ◡ – / ◡ – Near / the sta/tue’s hand, ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – Before / the wee/ping ra/vens here, ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – The pairs / of pil/lars stand.

Metrical form: Each four-line stanza has the same rhythm, even though each line within the stanza is different: – / ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – (acephalous iambic tetrameter) – / ◡ – / ◡ – (acephalous iambic trimeter) ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – (iambic tetrameter) ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ – OR ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ –

The fourth line of the stanza is underlyingly an iambic trimeter. However, in all but the last stanza, this expected line is replaced with an anapestic dimeter: the same number of syllables, but broken into two feet instead of three.

At yes-ter-year's moon, lay down three rac-coons, at one-oh-one score, in their nest. A fa-ther of two, mo-ther long gone blue, has been found as naught but a pest. To ex-ter-mi-nate, a pup-pet-eer's fate, but that's such an un-re-fined end. The tri-o shall find, the man has no mind… …That his prey, in a fight, shall con-tend.

Full scansion:

◡ – / ◡ ◡ – At yes-ter-year's moon, ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – lay down three rac-coons, ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – at one-oh-one score, in their nest. ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – A fa-ther of two, – ◡ / ◡ ◡ – mo-ther long gone blue, ◡ ◡ / – ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – has been found as naught but a pest. ◡ ◡ / – ◡ – To ex-ter-mi-nate, ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – a pup-pet-eer's fate, ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – but that's such an un-re-fined end. ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – The tri-o shall find, ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – the man has no mind… ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – …That his prey, in a fight, shall con-tend.

Metrical form: Two lines of anapestic dimeter followed by a line of anapestic trimeter; all of the lines are (with the exception of the last line in the poem) acephalous, missing the first unstressed syllable of the anapest. Lines 5, 6, and 8 each reverse the order of a stressed and an unstressed syllable (bolded above) by anaclasis. ◡ – ◡ ◡ – ◡ – ◡ ◡ – (◡) ◡ – ◡ ◡ – ◡ ◡ –

traditional forms of seduction

typically fail to function

when a crane fly you wish to make yours

for a crane fly you see

has no mouth so to eat

so to smile so to kiss so to flirt

but if a crane fly you love

as they alight from above

and bedazzle with dazzling wings

because a crane fly you see

is an elegant thing

with a way of her own to intrigue

so your crane fly young love

must fly like a dove

in her dancing and swirling ways

this big crane fly to-do

is what you must go through

to make that crane fly your mate

so what must you do?

why you just dance too

and the crane fly will give you her heart

for a crane fly you see

is a romantic thing

and she finds her love through her art

scansion:

◡ – ◡ ◡ – ◡ ◡ – ◡ traditional forms of seduction – ◡ ◡ – ◡ – ◡ typically fail to function ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – when a crane fly you wish to make yours ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – for a crane fly you see ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – has no mouth so to eat ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – so to smile so to kiss so to flirt ◡ ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – but if a crane fly you love ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – as they alight from above ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – and bedazzle with dazzling wings ◡ ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – because a crane fly you see ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – is an elegant thing ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – with a way of her own to intrigue ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – so your crane fly young love ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – must fly like a dove ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ – in her dancing and swirling ways ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – this big crane fly to-do ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – is what you must go through ◡ – / ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – to make that crane fly your mate ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – so what must you do? ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – why you just dance too ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – and the crane fly will give you her heart ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – for a crane fly you see ◡ ◡ ◡ / – ◡ – is a romantic thing ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – and she finds her love through her art

metrical form: ◡ ◡ – ◡ ◡ – (1st line is normally anapestic dimeter) ◡ ◡ – ◡ ◡ – (2nd line is normally anapestic dimeter) ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – / ◡ ◡ – (3rd line is anapestic trimeter)

The anapests may be replaced with iambs. A few lines have other types of variations (e.g. the first 2 lines have a somewhat different meter). The trimeter lines are the most regular part of the stanzas.

Hashtag: #spoileralert – After reading poems by Emily Dickinson, and Tweets on Twitter

My future hides before me; The ending pre-ordained. The losses will continue But bright joys may remain.

My feet will grow more tender; My knees and hips more lame. I may remember much; I may forget my name.

The ending could be sudden, Or agonies, – and slow.  The life that waits before me Holds time and love…