Friday, 6 June 2025

Shadorma Poems by Michael Minassian

 






Shadorma sequences - a Spanish form with a  3/5/3/3/7/5 syllable count


 

From the Balcony Shadormas 

 

Cicadas 

at dusk sing out like  

sopranos, 

arias 

under trees in the backyard 

with their hair on fire. 

 

By instinct 

they sing to attract  

a love mate, 

some change pitch 

to repel birds gathering 

in the high branches. 

 

They all wait  

among the tree tops 

sharp eyes like  

opera  

glasses scan the forest floor 

for another chance. 

 

 

 

 

It’s Only a Myth Shadormas 

 

The centaur’s 

nightmare was waking  

up one day, 

his horse head 

stuck on a pale thin figure 

with only two legs. 

 

 

Medusa’s hair 

didn’t need more snakes 

she had style 

she had flair 

one look could turn men to stone, 

she had her hard stare. 

 

 

Daedalus  

warned Icarus twice 

not to fly  

too high or 

the sun will melt all the wax 

he still fell to earth. 

 

 

 

 

From the Underground Shadormas 

 

Butterfly’s 

delicate wings flap 

like black sails 

filled with wind, 

ghost ship on the horizon, 

flower of the night. 

 

Spring rain storm 

off the rocky coast, 

white cap waves 

in the bay, 

a lone ship on the way home, 

coffins on the deck. 

 

The devil 

went in a pawn shop 

on the strip 

to bargain 

for his pointy bright red tail, 

his wife cut, then sold.











Michael Minassian is a Contributing Editor for Verse-Virtual, an online poetry journal. His poetry collections Time is Not a River, Morning Calm, and A Matter of Timing as well as a chapbook, Jack Pays a Visit, are all available on Amazon.
For more information: https://michaelminassian.com





7 comments:

  1. Congratulations!!!! Inspiring as always!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Do all Shadormas have the word in the title? These are great, very intriguing form.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not necessarily. But not many people are familiar with the form.

      Delete
  3. Wonderful poems. A great new form to try!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! Once you get going, it's hard to stop!

      Delete

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