I am taking a poetry class right now and this pair was for our last assignment, a form called Poulter's Measure that is a meter made up of alternate Alexandrines of iambic hexameter, (12 syllables or 6 hard stresses) and Fourteeners consisting of iambic heptameter (14 syllables or 7 hard stresses). Because of the extreme length of the lines, each line of the poulter's measure couplet is usually divided into two near-even parts with a caesura.
The Girl’s Room: Day
The space is replete with color: rainbow curtains and a rug
Smallish beds sport doll collections, tea sets and a rubber bug
Shelves are stacked with plastic toys from Target hardly used
Exotic costumes in a wooden chest worn out and plainly abused
The princesses sit dead center surrounded by castles created
From beads and Lego’s attached with tape, their attentions unabated
Unnoticed I slip past the kingdom, garbage bag in hand
Teasing out broken hairclips, tangled necklaces no mortal can command
For if a disposal regimen is not religiously followed
It won’t be long before your highnesses in detritus will be swallowed
The Girl’s Room: Night
In the darkness keys tap quietly as attempts to sleep are made
A four year old who’s feverish ought to slide into slumber and fade
Alas her body is fidgety and a her mother’s patience is lost
The laptop lights the stillness of empty parental threats that cost
The child tosses the bed sheets and asks for milk in a glass
Mother fetches it while silently thinking “what a pain in the ass”
Frustration mounts in wishing that mother could go to bed
Misfortune sits its weighty bottom on her lap instead
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