Sangeetha & David’s new poetry project
Once upon a time, two poets who’d never met in person began writing verses back and forth over the Internet. Their first project took them some nine months: a 100 verse Hyakuin.
Once they’d completed their first oeuvre, they decided to continue their journey together; and Sangeetha came up with a fun idea. Beginning in January ’22, they took turns selecting poetic forms beginning with the letters of the alphabet (A through Z) and wrote poems to one another using those forms.
Upon completing that second project, Sangeetha suggested that they go through the alphabet once more, this time with an addition twist… In their new series, for every letter of the alphabet (A through Z), the two would select not only a poetic form but also – a keyword for each poem.
For ‘C’, David selected the ‘Cadae’ form and the keyword ‘Crisis’.
C: Cadae
David’s Cadae
Skeptical
or
apathetic
or
lacking perspective,
as a youth, I was unconcerned by
crises
both far and near to home
Now I'm terrified
Everything
seems to be getting
worse; global pandemic; wanton war;
unabashed corruption at the top...
Could I please have childhood back?
Sangeetha’s Cadae
Planet Earth
at
precarious
point!
Plunderers pocket
precious moments of tomorrow's child
The air
is frail, the waters weak
Pandemonium
in jungles
as species die out
Oceans roar in pain, glaciers melt
Depleted, defeated, Earth cries out
Life needs to be saved! Please Help!
Cadae?
- Strophic: 5 strophes, each containing the number of lines in sync with the first 5 digits of Pi. S1=3 line, S2=1 line, S3=4 lines, S4=1 line, S5=5 lines. 14 lines altogether;
- Syllabic: 3-1-4-1-5-9-2-6-5-3-5-8-9-7 syllables per line;
- Unrhymed;
- Variable: For a Cadae on steroids, the poet could take this a step further and in addition to the strophe, line and syllable count, the number of letters in the words of the poem could also follow the sequential numbers of Pi.
Sangeetha & David’s ‘Creativity verses form’
- The Alliterisen (#alternatives)
- The Bragi (#books) [1st attempt]
- The Bragi (#books) [correct]
- The Cadae (#crisis)
- The Dodoitsu (#desire)
- The Emmett (#elves)
- The Fold (#friend)
- The Golda (#gravity)
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)
Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!
I would never have thought of creating a poetic form based on pi. I love what you both did with it.
๐ Stephanie ๐
Such a great synchronization and conversation in Cadae. Both poems were powerfully written, words chosen carefully( as they must be in this form) Kudos to both!!
๐ค๐๐ป Karima ๐๐ป๐ค
Oh my! Both poems are strong and project the tension and urgency of crisis! I am not surprised that he son of a mathematician chose the Cadae!! Even with my math phobia I enjoyed and appreciated this form.
โค๏ธ Muri โค๏ธ
Brilliant and quite powerful. Bravo to both of you!
๐ป Dolly ๐ป
I think this is your best pairing yet. Excellent reflections back and forth. (K)
๐ Kerfe ๐
May those happy and simpler times have your focus more often than not!
๐ Annette ๐
I liked yesterdays!!! nice playing off each other always David and Sangeetha๐๐น
๐ Cindy ๐ ~ much love to you too!
Your poetry is very powerful and moving. Thank you for sharing, David. ๐
๐ค Amber ๐ค ~ thank you!