The Septanelle, or: Creativity verses form

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 ‘S’, David selected the ‘Septanelle’ form and the keyword ‘Smiles’.

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S: Septanelle

David’s Septanelle

Is a smile true?
Don't trust the mouth to tell.
The wise know it's the eyes that joy comes through.
There's where truth dwells.
Mouths may smile for your sake,
But a twinkling eye-smile can never fake
That shift in hue.

Sangeetha’s Septanelle

It was her smile
Toothless, her first full beam
Straight from her newish soul, her smile beguiled,
Lit up my dreams
Her chuckle reached me first
I couldn't help but smile, our eyes locked in trust
We were a team.

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Septanelle?

• Heptastich: a poem in seven lines;
• Syllabic: 4/6/10/4/6/10/4 syllables per line;
• Rhymed: rhyme scheme ababcca.

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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!