Margaret posed us a doozy of an Inkling challenge this month. She shared a new poetry form, called a Pythagorean Poem, created by Shari Green. Here’s the description she shared,

“Pythagoras’ theorem is a2 + b2 = c2. One possible “triple” is 3, 4, 5.
3×3 + 4×4 = 5×5
9  +   16  =  25

Using the triple, the poetic form works like this:
1st stanza: 3 lines of 3 words each
2nd stanza: 4 lines of 4 words each
3rd stanza: 5 lines of 5 words each, and this third stanza must be composed of all the words found in stanzas one and two (in any order; variations okay). The third stanza should be a progression of sorts, a product of the first two in thought or theme or meaning.”

Easy-peasy, right? Eep!

Writing this poem felt like a construction process, and one in which I finally ended up deciding to live with the result at a certain stage, even if it didn’t quite match the vision in my mind. In the final somewhat desperate construction stages (deadline approaching!), I turned to the computer to color code words to keep track. It ended up looking like this:

Early Morning Trip to the Marsh

Alarm rings and
dreams fade away
scattered like floss

Mirror, later, reflects fatigue
I splash water, refresh,
feel the day’s energy
seep into my veins

Later, like a mirror, water
reflects scattered floss and I
feel fatigue seep away. My
veins dream. The day’s energy splashes,
refreshes. Alarm fading into rings…

©Molly Hogan, draft

Here are my final thoughts on writing this poem:

Pythagorus

This polymath known through the ages
was surely the wisest of sages.
His hypoteneuses
still guide building crews as
they construct skyscrapers in stages.

But when building a poem, I must say
his ideas lead from stable to sway.
Though I build a strong base
with each word in its place
true coherence keeps slipping away.

©Molly Hogan

Thanks, Margaret, for the challenge!

If you want to see what the other Inklings did with it, please check on these links:

Mary Lee Hahn @ A(nother) Year of Reading
Catherine Flynn @ Reading to the Core
Heidi Mordhorst @ My Juicy Little Universe
Linda Mitchell @ A Word Edgewise
Margaret Simon @ Reflections on the Teche

Then, head over to Poetry Friday! The wonderful Tabatha Yeatts is hosting this week at her blog, The Opposite of Indifference.