An American sentence in 10 words:
Occasionally, I wonder which of my forebears was first exiled.
What’s an ‘American Sentence’?
Allen Ginsberg, inventor of the American Sentence, felt that the haiku didnโt work as well in English. Ginsberg decided to remove the line structure of the haiku, maintaining the requirement of 17 syllables total. He felt that removing the line count freed the American Sentence up for the idiosyncrasies of English phonemes.
The requirements:
- Composed in one line;
- Syllabic, 17 syllables;
- Condensed, written with no unnecessary words or articles;
- Complete sentence or sentences;
- Includes a turn or enlightenment.
#PenYourTen
The above American Sentence was first written for the #PenYourTen Twitter prompt; the prompt word was: ‘First’. This prompt requires a response of exactly 10 words.
Let’s write poetry together!
When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.
–Ben Harper (b. 1969)
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The Skeptic's Kaddish ๐ฎ๐ฑ 
Love it.
Thanks, Brother โค
A very interesting question. I have a very good idea about my mother’s side of the family but my father’s side is shrouded in darkness – WWI and WWII and the holocaust made it difficult, Those from Russia (pre- revolution) are almost impossible to trace and the others that were nomadic Roma likewise are just shadows from the past…
๐ค๐ Muri ๐๐ค
i plant my feet in the soil and call them ! ๐
๐ Cindy ๐
๐ David ๐
try it dear.. xo
Why is that? (K)
I just generally wish I knew more about my ancestors because I feel very connected to them.
Do you have your own sense of exile? I could see where that would form a connection.
Yes… A sense of gratitude that there is a sovereign Jewish state after 2,000 years.
He the first step off holy land, the first exile from Gan Eden.
I was referring to Israel, but the other interpretation works too ๐ฅฐ
Works better with the missing verb (and syllable) – ‘took’ – from my first exile’s first step. ๐
Perhaps your first exile only goes back to the Babylonian thing of BCE 6th century?
regardless, I’d be very curious to know!
“Never lose a holy curiosity.” Albert Einstein
Zedekiah, original name Mattaniah, (flourished 6th century bce), king of Judah (597โ587/586 bce) whose reign ended in the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of most of the Jews to Babylon. -Brittanica
One does wonder about the past…
๐ค Terveen ๐ค
There are times when I wonder which of my forebears first put down roots.
Yes! That’s also fascinating ๐
So oft, i contemplate the same thought.
๐๐ Abi ๐๐
Yes David โค โค
โคโคโค
๐ค๐ Filipa ๐๐ค
I wonder how many prompts you attempt every day, David ๐ง
๐๐ Veera ๐๐