A sijo
Gleaming through the color of night,
A burst pierces dark heavens;
On battlefield Earth, humans war,
Swept away by fears and greeds;
Ruptured, dying, the planet whispers:
I... I know who killed me.
Sijo?
A Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka and comprised of three lines of 14-16 syllables each, for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line contains a pause near the middle, similar to a caesura, though the break need not be metrical. The first half of the line contains six to nine syllables; the second half should contain no fewer than five. Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure. Modern sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.
d’Verse poetics: A Razzie or two!
At d’Verse, writers were encouraged to incorporate at least one of the following movie titles into their poems:
- Shining Through (1982);
- The Lonely Lady (1983);
- Under the Cherry Moon (1986);
- Cocktail (1988);
- Indecent Proposal (1993);
- Color of Night (1994);
- Showgirls (1995);
- The Postman (1997);
- Battlefield Earth (2000);
- Swept Away (2002);
- Catwoman (2004);
- I Know Who Killed Me (2007);
- Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
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!
The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱 
So true, David–unfortunately. Well done!
It’s sad that this is a true story. Well written, Ben
❤ Maria ❤ ~ yes, it's really sad 😦
BTW, please feel free to call me ‘David’ – that is my first name.
The word ‘ben’ in Hebrew simply means ‘son of’, and my father’s name was ‘Alexander’. I created this blog in his memory, you see.
I know ‘Ben’ is also a popular name in English – I’m sorry about the confusion!
Much love,
David
Duly noted ☺️
🤗
Well there you have it….a brilliant use of the movie title, “I Know Who Killed Me”. The pause was a perfect touch.
💞🙏🏻 Mish 🙏🏻💞 ~ thanks!
~David
Oh wow here lies the clue
I should have read through
💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
💘🙏🏻 Abi 🙏🏻💘
So very sad that the earth has to exhale in that way.
It’s a dart through the heart
These words stir up dread for me. I am very concerned about what kind of planet we will be leaving for future generations…
😓🙏🏻 Muri 🙏🏻😓
Ooh, love the twist at the end!
💖🙏🏻 Paula 🙏🏻💖 ~ thank you
This is a great poem. Powerful words.
💗🙏🏻 Arcadia 🙏🏻💗
Casualty of our war. Well penned.
💝🙏🏻 thanks, Brandon 🙏🏻💝
We all know. Even the ones who pretend they don’t…(k)
💓🙏🏻 Kerfe 🙏🏻💓 ~ exactly so
Great job on the sijo David.. A sad state of affairs! 💗
💕🙏🏻 Cindy 🙏🏻💕 ~ I know 😟
So few words….so incredibly powerful! Just an amazing write. THANK you for posting to the prompt. I don’t think you used Shining Through? But please don’t change a thing….this is just an amazing write with a powerful message.
Might you consider answering the survey about OLN LIVE? Sure would love to have you participate! Have so enjoyed reading your work here at dVerse over the years….would love to have you join us at OLN LIVE. 🙂
Lillian,
1) I used ‘shining through’ when I first wrote this, but then I thought ‘gleaming through’ was better, and I changed it, but I forgot to remove the highlighting below ~ thanks for pointing it out!
2) I’ll send you guys an email for the survey. Thank you for your kindness.
~David
Nice sijo David.
Much💛love
🖤🙏🏻 Gillena 🙏🏻🖤