Waiting In the Shadows (Monotetra)

I stood in these shadows so long
Waiting to sing a telling song
of hopes and dreams gone way past wrong
I must stay strong, I must stay strong

I wonder how it feels to cry
The apple of my father’s eye
My mother warned me don’t you lie
I want to die, I want to die

It started with a simple dance
But then I tried fast to advance
Torrid affairs, hotel romance
I took a chance, I took a chance

Their treatment of me was unjust
To think of it brings back disgust
The world just used me for its lust
I’ll never trust, I’ll never trust

Things seem to be so grand at first
But never could I quench my thirst
Selling my soul to them was worst
Now I am cursed, now I am cursed

Here now I must reveal my shame
To save another with my name
So that she will keep from the flame
They call me fame, they call me fame


© 2006 Erika G.

The monotetra is a new poetic form developed by Michael Walker. Each stanza contains four lines 
in monorhyme. Each line is in tetrameter (four metrical feet) for a total of eight syllables. What makes 
the monotetra so powerful as a poetic form, is that the last line contains two metrical feet, repeated. 
It can have as few as one or two stanzas, or as many as desired.
Stanza Structure:
Line 1: 8 syllables; A1
Line 2: 8 syllables; A2
Line 3: 8 syllables; A3
Line 4: 4 syllables, repeated; A4, A4

In His Spell (Rannaicheaacht Ghairid)

In his spell,
I had decided to tell
that I been sexing this man,
held her hand, soaked in his smell.

Did repent,
explaining how I had spent
my weekends with this stranger,
her anger at my consent.

I withstand,
repeating that first night stand
will it ruin what we share
did I care? Its out my hand.

© 2006 Erika G.

Rannaicheacht Ghairid (ron-a'yach cha'r-rid) is a quatrain stanza with uneven lines. The first line has three syllables, the other three have seven. The stanza rhymes a a b a, with a cross-rhyme between three and four.
x x a
x x x x x x a
x x x x x x b
x x b x x x A

I Should of Remained a Child (Rondeau)

I should of remained a child
living an existence meticulously styled
tossing all my present anxieties away
sleeping peacefully throughout the day
never having to encounter this defiled
bed of torture, his contemptuous smile
leaving me alone until he’s become riled
than slapping me, whipping me when i disobey
i should of remained a child
understanding later how i was beguiled
foolishly captivated, lead to the wild
angry domain in which i now stay
shivering, depressed from this dismay,
disdain, hatred for myself, life compiled
i should of remained a child

© 2006 Erika G.

A Rondeau is a French form, 15 lines long, consisting of three stanzas: a quintet, a quatrain, and a  sestet with a rhyme scheme as follows: aabba aabR aabbaR. Lines 9 and 15 are short - a  refrain (R) consisting of a phrase taken from line one. The other lines are longer (but all of the  same metrical length).

Sunlight (etheree)

sun

light brings

hope that one

day I will move

swiftly through the fields

dancing alone by the

river my spirit soaring

among the clouds savoring my

freedom moment now for tomorrow

I may not recognize the sun once more

© 2006 Erika G.

An etheree consists of 10 lines of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 syllables. An etheree can also be reversed and written 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.