A Sapphic ode to the Sapphic ode
by cricketjeff on December 28, 2007. © Jeff Green, All rights reserved
I don’t use form most of the time
I find I lose the flow I need
And metre takes more time than rhyme
I write at speed
But Sapphic odes I find are fun
The three long lines that start each part
And then the short concluding one
That gives it heart
Author notes
I think the poem explains the form well. But more formally I interpret it as
four metrical feet in each of three lines followed by ta four of five syllable
punchline. I of course tend to rhyme mine but it isn’t necessary. Classically I
think five feet and eleven syllables was the norm for the first three lines.
English