This is a form created by Mary Lou Healy, writing on Allpoetry as Mlou.
I had originally named it the Spanner, drawn from the title of the poem below. However she has written several with the general form, including a sonnet version, so I am changing the form name in both cases to “Twin-Rhymer” which in more descriptive and is the creator’s preference.
Her first such poem was “I Span the Sky”
Like the forest in which I stand,
I raise my arms to embrace the sky.
I’m one with tall trees and greening land
with never a need to question why.
Life is what it is! On either hand,
I grasp its truth with a gladsome cry.
I hold it fast by a single strand
and all the whims of chance deny.
The farthest vistas my arms have spanned,
intensely blue as lazuli,
hold secrets I may not understand
but I’ve no need to identify
the mystery of a cloud, wind-fanned
or the wing-tilt of dark hawks who fly.
All is just as creation planned
for the life of such as you and I.
Pasted from http://allpoetry.com/poem/10301105-To-Span-The-Sky-by-Mlou
I named it the Spanner and provided the specifications below, so that we might try it.
The Spanner is:
The poem is a strophe of any even number of lines.
Meter: Tetrameter lines, consisting of primarily of:
Iamb + Amphibrach +2 iambs
Rhyme pattern: alternating rhymes, also called cross-rhyme i.e., ababab
Note: The template I present to the world will be of a
poem that adheres strictly to the quoted meter, although
we know that in practice a line may range from 7 to 10 syllables.
My example
Snoozing with My Muse (Twin-Rhymer)
I sleep so soundly when very tired
as opposed to when I merely doze,
and I get tired when I’m uninspired
that’s very often, I do suppose.
While doing nothing will make me tired
I tire much more wielding rakes and hoes.
I put in all of the years required
in solving corporate cares and woes;
then time arrived and I was retired.
I’ve time to think now, and to compose,
but can’t begin till a theme’s acquired.
So there I sit. You know how that goes!
I drift off thinking of things desired…
I’m working honey, in sweet repose.
© Lawrencealot – October 18, 2014
Visual template
Now renamed Twin-Rhymer
