It's Still Life

The Architecture of a Moment

Notes: Rooted in the oldest English tradition, Anglo-Saxon accentual verse follows the rhythm of breath and heartbeat rather than syllable or rhyme, where meaning is carried by cadence, image, and pause.

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The Architecture of Persuasion (Free Verse)

“The tree’s too big,” he said.
“It blocks the sun,
it cracks the stones,
and every autumn — this.”
He pointed at the leaves.

“And every autumn — this,” I said,
“the gold, the red, the season’s breath,
held …and then let go.”

“It’s just a mess. An endless chore.”

“It’s not a chore to gather time
that’s fully lived.”

He eyed the trunk. “It’s in the way.”

“It is the way,” I said.
“You’d trade a world of whispering shade
for one less chore?”

He paused. “I’d trade the work.”

“You’d trade the music,” I replied,
“for the silence
after the song is gone.”

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The Architecture of Persuasion (Accentual Verse Variant)

“The tree’s too big,” he said.
“It blocks the sun,
it cracks the stones,
and every autumn — this.”

“This gold, this red —
the season’s breath
held, then let go?”
“These leaves?” I said.

“It’s just a mess.
An endless chore.”

“It’s not a chore
to gather time
that’s fully lived.”

“It’s in the way,”
he muttered low.

“It is the way,”
I answered back.
“You’d trade the shade
for one less chore?”

“I’d trade the work.”

“You’d trade the music
for the silence
after song is gone.”

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Written for Writers’ Digest Poem-a-Day Challenge. Write a dialogue poem. Poems/prose and some images are ©Misky 2006-2025.