CROSS POST: new form every day... Eintou (day 39 of 365 poems in 365 days) - 2011-02-08 09:04

.


Poems about Blackness in a Black form. Happy Black History Month...


THE N WORD

We be
like wild beasts then
we cattle not human
once princes, kings, and queens be we
then robbed of our true pride
less than others
niggers



HISTORY REMEMBERED

one month
we take the time
to remember ourselves as great again
uplift the goodness and ingenuity of our spirit
know that we were more than
that we were good
let's remember


***************************************************************

From: http://randomwriterlythoughts.blogspot.com/2010/08/eintou.html


Eintou

The Eintou is an African American poetry form consisting seven lines with a total of 32 syllables or words. The term Eintou is West African for "pearl" as in pearls of wisdom, and often the Eintou imparts these pearls in heightened language.

The Eintou developed as a means for African American poetic forms to take their place in the forefront of American poetry. Many African American poetic scholars and critics often attempted to mimic Euro-American forms as a means of demonstrating poetic expertise, or stood by "free-verse" as an African American form. It was rare to see serious examination of African American poetic forms; in fact most critics regarded African American poetry as "formless" or "mimicking."

The 2-4-6-8-6-4-2 structure of the Eintou is crucial in terms of African and African American philosophy. Life is a cycle. Everything returns to that from which it originates. The concept of a pearl, which is a sphere, and the cyclic nature of the Eintou's structure capture this. The life of the Eintou begins with two syllables or words, expands as though growing and then returns to two syllables or words. In this fashion the Eintou never escapes its beginnings or history. It flows from, through, and ultimately returns to that from which it came.

Structure:
Line 1 - 2 words/syllables
Line 2 - 4 words/syllables
Line 3 - 6 words/syllables
Line 4 - 8 words/syllables
Line 5 - 6 words/syllables
Line 6 - 4 words/syllables
Line 7 - 2 words/syllables



NOTE ON THE PROCESS...
The first poem is done in syllables and the second is done with words. Personally I prefer to do words because visually it looks better on page.



.