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Poetry form is not always the easiest thing for me, and I have not always appreciated its constrictions—ha—but i can appreciate all that I have learned from our pubtenders and several other poets that have stretched me to learn form poetry. One poet that I have enjoyed for the last several years is Vandana Sharma. It is my pleasure to invite her in to host MeetingTheBar today and teach us a new form. Thanks Vandana.

Hello friends, Vandana Sharma here saying hello from New Delhi, India and I will be your host today. I am so grateful to Mr. Brian Miller for this lovely opportunity. This is my first time as a host for any poetry forum. Feeling nervous and excited!

So, not taking much of your time, let’s come to the point. Today we will be learning a new poetry form called “Pleiades”. As you all must be aware that “Pleiades” is a star cluster in Taurus constellation and is also called as “Seven Sisters”. (Greek Mythology)

Going by its properties the form “Pleiades” was invented in 1999 by Craig Tigerman. It consists of seven lines, each line starting with the same letter as the title. The title is a single word.

Later on Hortensia Anderson restricted the length of each line to six syllables. Hence, this form can be defined as a seven line poem with each line beginning with the same letter as the title and having six syllables in each line. The title must be of one word only.

Here is an example:

 

Treasure
Taken for granted by some
Too many times in the past.
The Gods loaned me you just
To treasure for a short while,
Then when it’s time, feel free to
Take off back to Heaven, or
Tarry with me some time more.

Here’s what we have to do today: write a poem in “Pleiades” form. As an extra challenge add a reference to a celestial body (any planet, star, constellation, meteor etc.) as this form has been inspired from a heavenly object. Looking ahead to read wonderful poetry and roam the celestial space!

If you are new, here is how it works:

  • Write a poem in the Pleiades form and post it to your web page or blog
  • Click on the Mister Linky button below and enter your name and the direct URL or web address to the poem
  • Read others that participate and let them know what you think of how they used the form, or how the poem moved you
  • Stop back in throughout the next 33 hours, as people will continue to join
  • Have fun with it, we are all learning