Poetic Form 89: Rispetto

 

Little Blue House

There sits a little blue house at the center

of everywhere. The sidewalk curving around

a cul-de-sac named for someone they never

knew. At night the lights cut squares on the dark ground.

Shadows dash about, laughter echos off walls.

The door opens for friends, on the floor coats fall.

In the morning, the smell of coffee awakes

a little blue house where love mends all mistakes.

Poetic Form #89: Rispetto

The rispetto form is from 14th century Italy. There are two common variations:

Rispetto #1: comprises two quatrains written in iambic tetrameter (8 syllables).

Rispetto #2: composed of 8 hendecasyllabic (11-syllable) lines--

usually one stanza. (Option I wrote my poem in.*)

There are also two common rhyme schemes: ababccdd* 

or abababcc (older scheme).