Climbing the alphabet ladder

Climbing the alphabet ladder, with

an aimless appetite and an action
besieging, bringing down bulwark to burn and
conquer to cozen the crowds to
defraud, delighting dozens of dozens,
extinguishing every piece of empathy left.

Finally finding my friction, my
goal of a gravity gone, left
helpless, having no habits, no home
intentless and icy, I idle
a jackal, a jailbird of joy, and
keenly kissing the keys to
lavishness, laughter, the laborless
market of marriage and mind.

Now nothing is near, no
obvious offer, no obedient ocean to
pass; let me pause to persist, and
quench the quadrillions; be quiet and
rest, recover, then race to
starvation, find structure in silence.

Tradition has taught, tenacity wins,
understanding the unison unveiling the
wonder of writing with water and lacking
xerosis, reaching the xyst we’re
yielding to yawns, left
zestless, with zealousness gone

I fall from the ladder, but recover in time to
again begin climbing delighted embracing …

Jacob’s Ladder
William Blake

Today it is open linke at dVerse hosted by me. Join us with any poem you want or use the optional mini-prompt of green, at 9 PM CET.

If you can you may also join the live session on Saturday at 4 PM CET.

April 11, 2024

52 responses to “Climbing the alphabet ladder

  1. LOVE the last couplet, the image and everything about this alphabet poem! WOW! Although this line, I thought was sad: “extinguishing every piece of empathy left.” Will have to try one of these alphabetic ladders some day 🙂

  2. Wonderful and a very free abecedarian, I will take some lessons from here to include the additional words instead of following the letters to a tee; I think its what really makes the poem flow more seamlessly, but still structured.

  3. I enjoyed the climb up the alphabet ladder with you, Björn; it’s a clever example of alliteration and abecedarian poetry. These lines stand out for me:

    ‘Finally finding my friction, my
    goal of a gravity gone, left
    helpless, having no habits, no home’.

  4. Love your premise here Björn, and what a wonderful job of execution.

    …here’s a rhyme for you my friend:

    while practicing to recite my ABC’s

    I tripped on the alphabet and broke my knees

    it hurt like hell, but I say alas

    better than tripping and breaking my ass

  5. This was a really fun read and the lines flowed so effortlessly, with motion through time and space. “Rest, recover, then race to starvation” really stood out for me.

  6. That is a really cool form. I don’t think I’ve ever come across it. You did a wonderful job and was fun to read. I need to try this sometime.

  7. Bravo Björn. I enjoyed your abecedarian. I have not seen that firm in a long while

    much♡love

  8. A fun read, Bjorn thank you for hosting. I was following your progress fairly well. Seems perhaps gravity has returned and was causing the subject to fall. Minor.

    ..

  9. Brilliant. It took me to the B line to get what was going down… or what was up!

  10. Suddenly the ABCs became far more complex than the nursery rhyme we sang … stellar writing, Bjorn!

  11. Oh bravo, Björn! You have reached abecedarian heights and mounted the eternal ladder of spiraling verse with gay aplomb. 😀

  12. It was great to hear you read this on Saturday. Very cleverly done with the form, so that you got in all the letters while still making a “real” poem.

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