ㅁ heavy snow frozen night icy road crisp winter damp drizzle slushy afternoons absent sun second winter clear day overcast day unrepentant snow desultory spring this alaskan summer lasts a day or two before the rainforest reasserts itself prioritizing precipitation heavy rain hungry potholes brown leaves insistent autumn
– a quennet.
ㅁ confused tableaux disjointed narratives surreal settings strange dreams unlikely transitions random characters old memories strange dreams korean prison alaskan school mexican church strange dreams it's happened there appeared made abstract giraffe came said some things captured me turned yellow past events present anxieties future hopes strange dreams
– a quennet.
ㅁ ХАЙ ЖИВЕ, ВІЛЬНА УКРАЇНА! historical hopes proud hopes possible hopes revanchist expectations diplomatic action logistical action military action geopolitical advancement necessary war justified war holy war pointless invasion send them in let them fight take the land burn houses get captured shoot it all go to hell righteous violence mud-strewn violence bitter violence violent hopes
– a quennet.
ㅁ infinite sky cerulean sky arching sky sky-blue heavens lurking cloud cobalt cloud obscure cloud cloud-gray shrouds forested island green island upthrust island tree-green temples holds up pushes down goes through stretches out lies over connects between universally dancing sea sapphire sea windswept sea sea-blue deeps
– a quennet.
ㅁ antisocial potholes vagrant potholes migratory potholes geologic potholes random potholes unexpected potholes cowardly potholes illusory potholes amoebic potholes epistemic potholes inchoate potholes abyssal potholes the car's tires roll and dodge across, up, through, around, among, between... and fail lurking potholes somnolent potholes narcotic potholes welcoming potholes
– a quennet.
ㅁ spinning leaves yellow leaves vibrant leaves green leaves wind-blown branches wandering branches smooth branches attenuated branches forking branches lazy branches rough branches strong branches the tree's trunk raises the tree's leaves journeys from earth to sky inevitably twisted roots spiraling roots vagrant roots still roots
– a quennet.
ㅁ
small carrots growing radishes expansionist lettuce
bold vegetables
black soil damp sand mildewy stones
fertile earth
buzzing bees hovering gnats stealthy mosquitoes
industrious worms
the greenhouse
shelters
the young plants
and provides
a space
to grow
and flourish
still air hanging sun passing clouds
coming rain
– a quennet.
ㅁ
fictional settings urban landscapes distant mountains
alternate places
ghostly buildings impossible canyons angelic bridges
immaterial places
misplaced forests migratory cities shifting oceans
errant places
The places I draw
that I imagine
take shape
coalesce
make little movements
and progress
and become
curving lines baroque grids linear arabesques
imagined maps
– a quennet.
ㅁ gray skies calm skies brooding skies intermittent drizzle damp ground seeping ground squishy ground drifting mist rocking trees steadfast trees green trees steady rain you watch out the window awaiting something which remains undefined yet urgent focused thoughts observational thoughts random thoughts meteorological meditations
– a quennet
ㅁ
round stones broken stones sharp stones
shaped stones
big stones medium-sized stones small stones
three-dimensional stones
gray stones green stones brown stones
colored stones
i walk
through
i seek
ways
i cannot
understand
reasons
lazy stones calm stones forceful stones
moody stones
– a quennet
worried thoughts bold plans internal doubts
early dusk
optimistic words verbal hesitations pertinent questions
black caterpillars
long pauses happy suggestions convoluted rationalizations
aimless slugs
they might
hope
to change
minds
and nevertheless
we remain
obdurate
looming fog still forest patient spider
irresolute conversation
– a quennet
northbound stairs dawn sun sacrificial soul
wide wings
righthand turning brilliant daylight reflective meditations
cupric sea
downward view peremptory cloud empty thoughts
still trees
the gaze
encompasses
the world but
fails
to understand
anything
at all
slumped posture plain wall cluttered mind
simple window
– a quennet
ㅁ strident birds green ideas forceful sunlight gloomy eagle grave concerns red movement gentle wind rough bark angular branches precipitous descent able creatures spinning insects the day arrives but nothing changes except now it all feels different deep soil dull failure dead spirits ghostly contortions
– a quennet. This poetic form, called a quennet, is one of the many odd and wonderful things to emerge from Oulipo. It is a specification not based on meter or rhyme but rather parts of speech and word counts – you could argue that it is syntactic versification. I think more could be done with inventing such constraints.
