Read "What is a terzanelle?" for a pretty involved explanation of what a terzanelle is.
Terzanelles #14 & #15 are parts ii and iv of "The Lotus Tree": allpoetry.com/
Terzanelle #18 is part II of "The Phantom of Wheeler Camp": allpoetry.com/
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- This is a pretty involved explanation that defines the terzanelle.
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from the silhouettes of oaks madrones and pines
the call of an owl thins out into the dark -
sepia leaves and branches shade
the supple parchment of your years -
A long cold wind blows down the long brown hall.
The lights are dim. The night man gently paces. -
The path may shrink and seem to disappear
through thickets barbed with venom thorns or leech-filled undergrowth -
You spread delusion like disease is spread in times of drought,
Infecting all who heed your words and take to your belief -
His shade is drawn from the earth by the light of his daughter’s love,
From deep in the crushing blackness, where he left his broken body, -
rugged feathers brush against my neck
something perches staunchly on my shoulder -
they made his mind a molding mess
a slow and solemn nest of thought -
Imposters seized the Poet’s name with rough and savage noise,
Demoting prosody to verse with ignorant assumption, -
I sense it all will vanish like the clouds,
Arising fold on fold above these homes. -
Neglected with a broken string, the harp turns toward the wind,
And plays the subtle song of distant desert moods; -
Careful fingers fashioned every nuance, carved in elegance,
Where Cristofori’s vision lies fixed within the frame; -
Vaulted high into moonstone heights, both bark and bough alike
Etch mosaics of subtle hue in countless shapes and shades, -
Slow fades the greater power of the day;
Bright sun forth to horizon makes return;
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