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Friday, March 8, 2013

Stress Matrix Dectet


This is a form Invented by British Poet Luke Prater,
it comprises ten lines, ten syllables per line, following the rhyme-scheme/structure
 aBa BcBc DcD
where lowercase are iambic pentameter and uppercase are trochaic pentameter – they alternate the whole way, yielding a perfect ‘checkerboard’ of stressed and unstressed syllables, ten lines down x ten syllables across (=100 syllables completely evenly distributed; the rhyme scheme is also  even/symmetrical mathematically).

Ampersandcastles
The Ages, Dark, concede, recede like tides,
leaving shores to Renaissance sand-castles
built big, with shells and mortar; fairground rides
chitter-chatting dusky-distance rascals.
From beach to fair, knots in my hair, and sand,
shaken out, like doubt of change, the mask-all.
Hey, dance – try throwing shapes! An ampersand?
Just like you, to groove to punctuation.
No ampersand; sniff out a woman’s hand,
claiming back some laddish inclination.
Copyright © Luke Prater (2011)

If the syllabic feet (iambs and trochees) are singled out, and only the stressed syllables are highlighted (and stanza-breaks removed), you can more clearly see the ‘checkerboard’ of stresses and unstresses evenly distributed over the 10×10 (100) -

the A | ges DARK | con CEDE | re CEDE | like TIDES
LEA ving | SHORES to | REN ai | SSANCE sand | CA stles
built BIG | with SHELLS | and MOR | tar; FAIR | ground RIDES
CHI tter | CHA tting | DUS ky | DIS tance | RAS cals
from BEACH | to FAIR | knots IN | my HAIR | and SAND
SHA ken | OUT like | DOUBT of | CHANGE the | MASK-all
hey DANCE | try THROW | ing SHAPES | an AMP | er SAND
JUST like | YOU to | GROOVE to | PUNC tu | A tion
no AM | per SAND | sniff OUT | a WO | man’s HAND
CLAI ming | BACK some | LA ddish | IN cli | NA tion.




Example Poem

Here I have expanded the concept to write a
 Stress Maxtrix Dectet with the diminishing  Hexeverse form concept/

The Experiment

'Twas the tempest thrumming through our culture
restraint forgotten, crowding at the till.
Leaders sought to feed- not kill the vulture.
 Ask not how will I serve, but how my will
best be served if pork be granted voters?
Give them from their own cart; they are the thill
made to pull.  We're simply gift promoters.
 If business pledged what cannot be sustained
government will bail out General Motors
because the Union votes have been ordained.

Envy, greed, and yes, annoyance
have marked our liberty's demise.
Harking this took no clairvoyance.
Largess bestowed is no surprise.
 Bondage first then faith -spiritual,
courage, then liberty; which grows
abundance, before residual
complacent apathy then shows.

Soon we are dependent
and after that we're slaves.
History's resplendent
with samples of such waves.
This is how we'll end it.
kowtowing to the raves.

Here we're standing
with troubled brow,
sad soft-landing
but we saw how.


(c) Lawrencealot - December 25, 2012

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