Betwixt the marble and the glass,
an office building people pass,
is dwarfed by urban upperclass –
a theater,
a tailgater.
The foremost, art’s grand atrium.
Provides esthetic medium.
The other, football stadium.
Each structure’s purpose speaks “unique”!
Between, one hosts mundane work week,
while art gives way to sports technique –
Shakespeare’s scrawl
Vikings football.
Plain office is fixed betwixt them,
in counterpoint urban theorem,
giving business place asylum.
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Author Notes
Three buildings that are unique are shown here in downtown Minneapolis: a theater, an office building, and a sports stadium. The foremost is the renowned Guthrie Theater. Behind, lurking like the prow of a ship, is the US Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings, American football team. So here you have the arts, work, and sports intermingled. That is my thesis.
Tailgater - a common activity around a sports stadium is to tailgate, that is an outdoor picnic, or barbecue, in your parking spot before and/or after the game. Often quite a party in itself. Typically alcohol is involved.
Atrium - referring to a Roman architectural feature, usually at the center of a building.
Medium - a way of conveying something
Theorem - pronounced in 2 syllables.
Asylum - retreat, refuge
This poem is a format I call Squeezed Octaves.
Squeezes Octaves are my creation. Those who know me know, I often like a format containing 3 consecutive rhymes. So I created this one. It is structured with Octaves (8 line stanzas). It yields 2 short lines squeezed between 2 sets of 3 longer lines. It can have as many Octaves as desired, but a minimum of 2. The form reminds me of a sponge being squeezed. Thus the name - Squeezed Octaves.
Each stanza has a syllable count of:
8-8-8-4-4-8-8-8
The rhyme scheme is: aaabbccc
The meter can be variable or iambic as the poet desires.
This photograph was taken by the author himself on February 20, 2016.
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