Along
a cold, swift stream,
tall birches, white boughs bent,
twist sinuous in warped ascent,
not statuesque as stately redwoods rise,
but undulating toward the skies,
as by the water's edge
I wend my way
along.
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Author Notes
The rictameter consists of 9 lines with a syllable count of 2/4/6/8/10/8/6/4/2. The first and last words must be the same two syllable word.
For four years while attending college I lived in Northampton and Amherst, Massachusetts where white birches and cold streams abound. Robert Frost spent part of his life in Amherst, and was enchanted enough by these trees to write one of his most famous poems, "Birches." My husband was a photographer and spent much of his free time photographing the natural beauty of Western Massachusetts, particularly the birches. This poem is my nod to a most famous poet and a not-so-famous photographer who both shared my love for the beauty that abounds in this part of New England.
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