Fussy Little Forms: Tetractys

Hello, dear friends! Let’s try a simple and elegant form this weekend that may allow us to focus on balance. I could use some more balance in my life, how about you? Our form today is the TETRACTYS. 

The tetractys is a five-line poem with 20 total syllables, in a lovely and balanced arrangement, like this: 1--2--3--4--10 

So the first four lines together have ten syllables and the last line has ten syllables. Nice! 

If you like longer poems, you can extend the tetractys: 
1--2--3--4--10--10--4--3--2--1 (double) 
1--2--3--4--10--10--4--3--2--1--1--2--3--4--10 (triple) 
...and so on, as you wish. 

The tetractys was invented by Ray Stebbings, who says this about the form: “Euclid, the mathematician of classical times, considered the number series 1,2,3,4 to have mystical significance because its sum is 10, so he dignified it with a name of its own--Tetractys. The tetractys could be Britain’s answer to the haiku. Its challenge is to express a complete thought, profound or comic, witty or wise, within the narrow compass of twenty syllables.” 

Here is a lovely example, “With Pen” by Heather Burns: 

Pen
in hand 
I place nib 
upon your face 
looking at blank paper, I write my poem. 
         © Heather Burns 

If this form seems familiar, Kerry introduced tetractys in the Garden back in 2012: TETRACTYS 

So, let’s go! 1--2--3--4--10!