Poetry Place Collected Poems

Guns Elleven Poem

Guns Elleven Poem

Guns
so many
people are dying
Politicians offer useless prayers
Death


The Elevenie, also called Elfchie in German, is an exercise in language distillation. Consisting of five lines with word counts of 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, respectively, it captures a thought in only eleven words, as described and demonstrated in the following links:

https://rolandsragbag.wordpress.com/2020/10/09/elfchen/

Wikipedia defines an Elevenie, or Elfchen, as follows:
“An elevenie (German Elfchen — Elf “eleven” and -chen as diminutive suffix to indicate diminutive size and endearment) is a short poem with a given pattern. It contains eleven words which are arranged in a specified order over five rows. Each row has a requirement that can vary.”

A simple form, similar perhaps to Haiku, Senryu or Tanka, in which the poet attempts to carry an idea within a set format of words and lines which imposes certain strictures of thought and form on the author.
The usual format requires a short verse of eleven words in five lines in the form – 1, 2, 3, 4, 1. An order which I have reversed in my last of the 4 elfchen below . . .