Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Sultry Sestina

Hi bloggers, here is a new challenge for poetic minds. The poetry style I am experimenting with is called the Sestina, a poem consisting of 39 lines and revolving around 6 words in a set pattern. I was given the sestina as an exercise in school but I found the style quite challenging. If any of you are interested in writing a sestina, click here for instructions.

It was one of those summers, smoldering and sultry
Brass men playing alive with jazz
Dancers drunk on liquor and love

Inhaling rhythmic jives at a bluesy temple
Faces now tomato red with heat
High stepping to cajoling music


Jumping Jack jiggles when he plays music
Swaying hips is something sultry
Lips moisten in summer heat
Eyes flickering wide with
jazz
Her lavender dress a strange temple

He barely notices the girl humming love

Heels tapping softly with love
Their limbs slowing to music
A kiss to lay against her temple
Saxophone cool and sultry
Lady’s hips move like jazz

He loosens his collar in the heat


Shoes lit like matches in the heat
Atmosphere intoxicated on love
The Duke ushers in bravado and jazz
Satchmo’s horn wakes the saints of music

Billie and Ella sing ethereally sultry
Crowd parts, here comes Ms. Temple


Light dims, darkness a unique temple
Their scent brews like stew in heat
Dancing is seductively sultry
Slow waltz to the melodies of love
Black shadows pause like printed music

When the world pulses alive with jazz


Life whistles to the soul of jazz
Farewells exchanged at the bluesy temple
Unwind to the memories of music
Breathe in the last of heat
Night ends but there is love
Still grooving to something sultry


Young, colorful jazz wafts in summer heat
The soul is a glorious temple, tipsy on
love
Swinging to music, alive and sultry

4 comments:

JStar said...

Briliant!! It may have been challeging, but you pulled it off without a hint...Flows so smoothly! I need to take some classes, thats why I havent published yet...I never took any writing classes of any kind other than English in school...I want to learn different techniques and styles....I just write whatever my heart wants to say and whatever format it comes out in....

septembermom said...

You did a spectacular job! I call feel the heat in these lines. That was a challenge and you handled it perfectly.

Nadege said...

beautiful live-affirming lines in this sestina...
her lavender dress a strange temple...

Vinay Leo R. said...

ohh.. this was like WOW Katina.! :)
beautiful flow. yeah, i was inspired to attempt this form too! i'll post it sometime later.. its for this weeks OSI. i donno if it has come out as good as this.. and its of serious type i think :D

thanks for the inspiration! :)