Expectation Lost

Expectation Lost is a poem I wrote about how expectation in a relationship can be lost. It has a layout based on the old poem by Robert Dwyer Joyce named "The Wind That Shakes The Barley" and follows the emphasis as expressed by Lisa Gerard singing that poem acapella. So, following my penchant for rhyme and meter, and inspired by the original poem, and how it was sung, I wrote my own take on ‘loss’. Though Lisa sings only 4 stanzas I did follow the 5 stanza format of the original poem. It is kind of a trap that this poem is ‘inspired’ by those two (singer and poet), because in some respects, it is a better poem if you have recently heard her sing his poem - but, this one can stand on its own, and does (even though I tampered slightly with the original concept and presented a grain of hope at the end). 


   This poem is 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. Odd lines have 8 syllables while even have 7, with a rhyme scheme of ABABCDCE. The last word of each stanza is 'burning'.  


   The structure of this poem provides for 5 chapters. Each stanza has had its lines split-apart in order to preserve the intent (the pacing) of each line, and thus each line may be given its own page; there may be instances, however, where managing the evolution of the poem in your mind, some lines have been split into multiple pages, or, multiple lines of a stanza remain on the same page (making it so a page is not necessarily equal to the count of lines of a stanza).