29 July: Smoke and Ash

AI artwork, a stack of burning papers
AI Midjourney

29.07.23 A Duplex Form

A Duplex Poem: Smoke and Ash

Windows open. Breeze skimming through the house,
a song on the radio, don’t know who’s singing it.

Not knowing isn’t not caring. For instance
music that fills me like this skimming breeze.

Music that fills gaps between my heartbeat,
that throb in my neck and ears. Or a voice

that throbs like June heat. It climbs like ivy,
note on note each one a whispering leaf.

Notes. Notes on notes. It’s a forest, some notes.
Phrases. Dreams. Written. Me, on white paper.

I wake. I write. Notebooks. Scraps. Lines on
white paper. My voice of babbling brooks.

One day, I’ll heap them on a fire; adieu
to poems, adieu on a skimming breeze.


This poem is written for dVerse Poets in Duplex form. Here are the basic components of the Duplex form: 14 Lines, in couplets, 9 to 11 syllables for each line, The second line of each couplet is partially repeated or echoed by the first line of the following couplet. The last line (line 14) echoes the first line. Some artwork is created using Midjourney AI, and is identified as such in the ALT text. Imagery and poems ©Misky 2023.

25 responses to “29 July: Smoke and Ash”

  1. You’re really going for the Duplex Misky, and why not, the repetitions (with variance) are such a great way to drive the poem forward – as here…

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    1. Thank you, Andrew. Enough writing for one day. Time to start prepping for dinner.

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      1. ( not being lazy… sometimes ink dictates silence so that it’s essence can be absorbed…this was one of those inks)

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        1. I’d never presume laziness on your part.

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  2. Beautifully done. I like your punctuation and enjambment in this that changes the rhythm, like starting and stopping writing.

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    1. Thank you so very much. I’m glad that you enjoyed reading it.

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  3. I am always amazed at your talent Misky. The only poetry I was ever good at was the Haiku … and that was because of the love interest of my protagonist at the time. 🙂 https://rolandyeomans.blogspot.com/2023/07/how-can-man-die-better.html

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    1. Thank you for your wonderfully kind words, Roland. I think I’ll play with a cadralor some time today. My brain is doing a slight disconnect today so that should work very well with that poem form.

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  4. Beautiful post please like my post freinds

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  5. “It climbs like ivy,
    note on note each one a whispering leaf.”
    – I really liked these lines.

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  6. I like this, the rather tenuous links between the lines. Much more interesting than a straight repetition.

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    1. Thanks so much, Jane. I enjoyed this form, although I was running out of steam by the 5th stanza.

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      1. It can be a bit of a marathon. 14 lines is often too much and some of them feel like padding.

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  7. “a voice that throbs like June heat”

    I love your line breaks and changes, Misk!

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    1. Thanks so very much, S! ❤️

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  8. Misky, your use of enjambment in this already challenging form is just so impressively done! It never occurred to me to try that, given the rules! Wowzers!

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    1. Thanks so much, David!

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  9. I absolutely love, love this 😍 especially; “Notes. Notes on notes. It’s a forest, some notes. Phrases. Dreams. Written. Me, on white paper.” swoon ❤️❤️❤️

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    1. Thank you ! ❤️

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  10. Especially love the last stanza.

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Your comments are always welcome