Incremental Poetry ~ 71 Lines

So Long

So long
I have waited
trying to be strong
wanting more than this pittance
trying hard to belong
I have waited
so long

I thirst
for love’s liquor
we had at first
perfection as in a dream
now we are cursed
for love’s liquor
I thirst

you smile
when I enter
and for a while
I can forget the pain
send it into exile
when I enter
you smile

the night
dark and drear
I cannot see light
no sense opening my eyes
I’m losing my sight
dark and drear
the night

and still
all is silent
you leave at will
and come again when ready
then linger there until
all is silent
and still

how revolting
the cold kiss
I feel like bolting
turn and wipe it off
pretend I am molting
the cold kiss
how revolting

all alone
I sit here
bowing at the throne
asking God to give grace
to face the unknown
I sit here
all alone

I do
my dear one
love and cherish you
while we two have breath
promise to be true
my dear one
I do

at last
we are together
trouble’s in the past
maybe in the future too
such memories we amassed
we are together
at last

so long
still I say
you know the song
we’ll get it right someday
perhaps I was wrong
still I say
so long
so long

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Copyright © 2021 Abigail Gronway – All Rights Reserved

Welcome to my series, Incremental Poetry, where each week the featured poem will be one line longer than the one I share the week before. I have no idea how long I’ll keep this up, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Thank you for stopping by.

Scansion:
Atarlis Fileata

the name is Gaelic for “repeating poetic,” but this seems to be a newly invented form, as it does not conform to traditional Irish poetic rules
Stanzaic: any number of 7-line stanzas, though each should be independent, able to stand alone
Lexical structure: 2-3-4-5-4-3-2 words per line
Rhyme scheme: ABaxaBA
Double refrain: L1=L7 and L2=L6

Note: I needed a 71-line poem, so I wrote 10 stanzas and added an additional refrain line at the end.