On a Starless Night

On a Starless Night

The stars hid their light that chilly night,
a lone snap of a twig broke the silence
and her lithe body froze prepared for flight.
She'd hid him in the brush beside the fence,
obedient he lay in shrouded allusion
waiting her return to end his seclusion

A lone snap of a twig broke the silence
a soft stirring in the grass across the field
warned of a stalker's malignant pretense.
A bobcat crouched using the dark as a shield,
the fur on his back bristled with intent
he lifted a searching nose to catch the scent.

Her lithe body froze prepared for flight
to lead the danger away from the nest
but if the need arose she'd stay and fight,
a mother's heart beat inside her breast.
Earlier she'd left to hide the older twin
within the forest deep with discipline.

She left the younger in brush beside the fence.
too weak at birth, he could not travel far.
Into the twilight he was closeted for defense
in the frigid cold of the night without a star.
The bleating of the fawn betrayed his fear
response from Mama said "I'm near"

Obedient he lay in shrouded allusion,
the doe deftly lunged at the lone threat.
With a snarl the cat snapped back in confusion.
Relentless thrashing razor hooves he met
and finally turned and ran to avoid the fury
through the meadow bloodied and weary.

Waiting her return to end his seclusion
the fawn awkwardly claimed his legs and stood
then took stronger steps to conclusion
She looked him over as a mother would,
a few more steps and she led the way
to from where she came, dawning of the day.
                              ~~ Judi Van Gorder

Notes ▼

36 Lines

Trenta Sei  

The elements of theTrenta-sei are:
         1. narrative verse, it tells a story.
         2. usually written as accentual verse (the rhythm of today's speech) with 5 stressed syllables per line
         3. stanzaic, composed of 6 sixains, 36 lines total.
         4. rhymed, with the rhyme scheme of a heroic sestet, aB¹A¹B²C¹C² / B¹dbdee / A¹fafgg / B²hbhii / C¹jcjkk / C²lclmm
         5. composed with each line (with the exception of L1) of the first stanza taking its turn as the first line of the following stanzas..