A Plea to Poseidon

I ignore big ships silently trudging
the horizon,
scan the weathered citadel of seabirds,
guano island,
bleached and weather-worn, sharp as the eye teeth
of a siren,
the stench hovering like halitosis.
Oh Poseidon!
Send us rain to percolate the rockscape,
moon and stars to embellish the seascape.

Kim M. Russell, 11th August 2018

Image result for Paintings and artwork of Poseidon with guano covered rocks
Image found on Pinterest

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Fussy Little Forms: Cavatina

Marian is playing with short forms and asks us to try the cavatina, which she says is an older Italian form, a bit like a sonnet variation, which features rhyme and syllable counting that together create a nice rhythm, and a couplet at the end.

It must have:

  • a ten-syllable non-rhyming line,
  • alternating with a four-syllable rhyming line,
  • repeated at least three times,
  • and ending with a ten-syllable couplet.

Marian has given us an example by Ryter Roethicle and a link to an article with more examples. A tricky form!

21 thoughts on “A Plea to Poseidon”

    1. I couldn’t find an image of Poseidon on a guano covered rock! Or with seabirds. But I really like this mosaic and it does have Poseidon in it. 😊

      Like

      Reply

  6. Haha! Well, here in New England we certainly have received the gift of rain. Washed the guano right off my car. 🙂 You did so well with this form, which has such a sing-song quality to it. Yay!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. 12, 2018 at 4:13 am

    I love it, Kim, have lived it!! On our winter before last we took a cruise from Los Angeles down and back up to Rio de Genaro. At the Falkland Islands we drove through the marshes to a Penguin Preserve where we saw oodles of Penguins. We were warned beforehand by friends to buy some plastic shoe protectors like painters wear and were really glad we did. We were the only ones on our ship wearing them and the only ones not scrubbing the stench off their shoes when back at the ship. I blogged about that trip on my other blog, search Falkland (Island). Or Penguins (or singular).
    ..

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I can’t begin to imagine such a unique experience, Jim! You’re so well-travelled and full of exciting experiences. Thank you for telling me about this one.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.