Trust (Anacreontic Verse)

Confidence revealed
a Judas
among us
tongues wagging
tales to tell
stretch the truth
spread your lies
friendship forgotten
betrayal rampant
no more secrets
heart black and blue
pain won't stop
never again
a reputation
assassinated
30 pieces of silver
was your price
spend it well my friend
for you have committed
the ultimate sin,
Trust broken.

Copyright © 2010 Sylvia All Rights Reserved
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Thanks to Eddie Longo aka Dee for introducing this form, very similar to the Blitz Form. Anacreontic verse is an Ancient Greek lyrical form, consisting of 20- to 30-line poems with three to five syllables per line. Developed by 6th century B.C. poet Anacreon, Anacreontic verse is one of many Ancient Greek forms that emerged during the height of the dramatic, musical, artistic, and poetic culture. The poems revolved around themes of love, infatuation, revelry, festivals, and observations of everyday life.

EXAMPLE
From Prometheus Bound
Aeschylus (c. 535-450 BC)

Spasm! Again

what manias
beat my brain
hot i'm hot
where's the fire?
here's horsefly
His Arrowhead
not fire forged
but sticks: heart
stuck with fear
kicks at my ribs
eye balls whirl
spirally wheeled
by madness, madness
stormblasted I'm
blown off course
my tongue my tiller
it's unhinged, flappy
words words thrash
dashed O! at doom
mud churning up
breaking in waves

EXAMPLE OF MODERN DAY
Spirit Mischief
Robert Yehling (1959- )

Two spirits danced
on mountaintops
adorned with snow,
flower patches
and robes of stars
covering their
naked bodies
while the moonlight
cast her glory,
donning their madness,
dancing slowly
across the sky
releasing scents
of evergreen.
Crag rock, a mouse
spooked by shadow
of a white goat
that hoofed upward
when the spirits
called out his name
and offered food
only dancers,
stars, moonlight and
the cold fever
of the goat's eyes
would recognize.