A sestina is a poetic form that has been around since the 12th century. It is beautiful and filled with some neat maths, if you like such things. I found that it is also quite an exercise to write in sestina because I tend to write more free form verse. I chose the end words: dark, pond, waves, sink, light and face. These words are reordered in a certain way (see graph) for each stanza. The poem is capped off with a tercet containing all the end words in the order 6, 2, 1, 4, 5, 3. I have numbered the words to make it easier to follow the structure.
Wikimedia Commons- A visual representation of the structure of a sestina. Note also the the retrogradatio cruciata that builds the sestina. |
The
shore was dread and drear and dark 1
along
the rim of the faded pond. 2
It
chopped itself up and broke into tiny waves 3
that
caused incautious insects to sink. 4
We
were unaware of the rowdy light, 5
that
we were soon to face. 6
The
night had dropped and I lost your face, 6
hovering
on the edge of deepest dark. 1
I
forgot to bring a light, 5
and
us with cigarettes unlit beside the pond 2
throwing
bits of our hearts never to see them sink 4
blamelessly
into the waves. 3
To
hell with the forgetful, dragging waves, 3
I
had never had the gall to face! 6
But
instead of swimming, I did sink, 4
down
to grab our bits of heart in the dark, 1
beneath
the frightful, gripping pond, 2
still
without the aid of light. 5
At
last, a blaze of ochred light 5
shone
upon the jewelled waves 3
in
time for you to see me fade into the pond. 2
As
I drifted down, I saw your face 6
filling
up the wasting dark. 1
I
ceased to sink. 4
But
how I wanted to sink 4
away
from listless, paltry light 5
to be in sweet, forgiving dark. 1
Please, let me have the waves. 3
There
are some things we are not meant to face. 6
You
schlepped me from the pond. 2
Coughing
water from my lungs, I inched towards the pond, 2
still
hoping you would let me sink. 4
The
broken heart you swallowed up had settled on your face, 6
that
I could see by campfire light, 5
Glittering
on the waves, 3
surrounded
by close fitting dark. 1
I'll
never forget your face 6 as you hunched beside the pond. 2
Your
eyes were as dark 1 as a basement sink, 4
as
you turned away from the light 5 and towards the lapping waves. 3
Tomorrow I will be experimenting with another form. I don't know which one yet, so stay tuned!
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