April Halprin Wayland - Tender

TENDER
by April Halprin Wayland

He's a slip of a boy, really.

Tender as a slim green shoot

just angling out of earth.

But there are other ways in him.

Tender as a slim green shoot,

he also bristles into cactus,

a dragnet of needles—watch out!

Just angling out of earth,

he can still be caught (wear gloves!)

He can still be taught to breathe gently.

But there are other ways in him

beyond tender, beyond thistly.

Walk into his rooms. Switch on each light.

poem (c)2020 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved

Continuing 30 Poets/30 Days, poet/novelist/picture book author April Halprin Wayland offers us a trimeric!

What's a trimeric, you ask? Well, thanks to April, I know! Trimeric \tri-(meh)-rik\ n: a four stanza poem in which the first stanza has four lines and the last three stanzas have three lines each, with the first line of each repeating the respective line of the first stanza.  The sequence of lines, then, is abcd, b – -, c – -, d – -. 

Now you know trimerics, too, and I join in April's idea that you take a break from what you're doing and give one a try.

Also... why not check out April's More Than Enough (available here via Indiebound) - a wonderful picturebook for Passover!