Tetractys Poetry!!!

[m1thr0s]

I had seen references to this periodically but didn't know for sure what the rules were until now. A Tetractys Poem is something like a Haiku in that there are very specific rules. It can also extend into a Double or Extended Tetractys form:

Rules:
Tetractys (poems) should express a complete thought, profound or comic, witty or wise using 20 syllables. They can be written with more than one verse but each subsequent verse must invert the syllable count. There is no limit to the number of verses. The structure is:

Standard Tetractys:

line 1 - 1 syllable
line 2 - 2 syllables
line 3 - 3 syllables
line 4 - 4 syllables
line 5 - 10 syllables

Double Tetractys:

line 1 - 1 syllable
line 2 - 2 syllables
line 3 - 3 syllables
line 4 - 4 syllables
line 5 - 10 syllables
----------------------
line 6 - 10 syllables
line 7 - 4 syllables
line 8 - 3 syllables
line 9 - 2 syllables
line 10 - 1 syllable

A few examples: (http://members.optushome.com.au/kazoom/poetry/tetractys.html)

try it!

m1thr0s

[m1thr0s]

here's a quickie...

wolves
howling
behind trees
and jagged rocks
remind me that the sun has descended.
remind me that the moon has awakened.
blood hunger strong
shadows dart
listen
run!

m1thr0s

[Sibylle]

Folks
always
yearn to know
the secret of
manifesting their innermost desires.
....................................

Try, try again others seem to advise
without knowing
the other
person's
truth.

[m1thr0s]

catchy form!

m1thr0s

[MythMath]

The
first through
fourth lines were
easy but then
I couldn't think of ten more syllables.

[MythMath]

No wait, I might have just figured it out...
I guess I had
it alright
the first
time.

:p

[m1thr0s]

lol...cool...

more examples & a contest! (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ray_Stebbing/rtetractys.htm)

oops...the contest is long ago expired...

m1thr0s

[Logos]

Hex,
with strange
effects, the
astral nexus
that connects me to your solar plexus
'cause sex makes magic when breath collects us
to vex us to
exhale our
will to
trust.

-Logos

[Radiant Star]

Come,
Closer,
Fingertips
Connecting now
I grab you quickly
It’s a long fall from the cliff face

The tide is out and the rocks laid bare
A bloody ending
Had I not seen
You down there
hanging
on.

[MythMath]

Great stuff...

We could use these on the Forum Calendar... :p

[Anibis]

Time
Opens
Tehuti's
Eightfold wingspan
Ripple little stone on the water's skin
[One moment is (all moments] are here now)
Fortunate, the
Labyrinth
Is for
Us.

-Ibisis

[Aodh]

I
exist.
I consist--
Of more than breath.
And I will ride upon your's forever.
The smoke and vapors will soon dissipate--
Disintegrate.
Melt away like,
we do,
now.

[Radiant Star]

Here
I am,
Reflecting,
Sat in myself
Observing a fight:
The sudden appearance
Of ego clashing with id,
Barricades broken,
A struggle ensues,
Intruding
On my
Truth.

[Ratatosk]

my
best skill
is within
boolean math
filtering ev'rything to true and false
yet true and false are not everything
so I wonder
is it skill
after
all?

[Anibis]

AB
RA HaD
AB RA AB
RA HaD AB RA
AbrahadabrA, AbrahadabrA:
ArbadaharbA, ArbadaharbA:
AR BA DaH AR
BA AR BA
DaH AR
BA

-Ibisis

[imagenerator]

self
reference
increments
gold reflections
on mirrors' attuning matter and mind
unwinding knots to free chords to yoke me
will guides ley lines
drawing craft
in two
one

[Frater Yechidah]

Know
I Am
And Will be
A Mystery
That oft partakes of other Mysteries.

LLLSHJ,
Yechidah.

[Ci Celli Ddu]

The
school
bell is ringing
ringing
ring

[MythMath]

ngzzzzzzz...

Sorry

CCD...

I think what you

heard was actually the buzzer sound...
__________

{Please try again...}

[Aodh]

Once
we left,
together.
That was the proof.
You really cared and really loved me.
But it was once,
together.
Never
more.

[Naomi]

dark
slips in
where no snake
pauses to sleep
in countless chambers of lightning and peace
filling the void in humanoid form - sex
in this machine
cells dying
once more
free

[Naomi]

you
make me
feel silly
it's like i'm 12
I don't know why. Maybe I'm a looney.
"Note that the hands and lips are engaged"
advises wiki
lick the screen
golden
green