The Crossroads (A Sestina)

[rantingpete]

The Crossroads (A Sestina)

There comes a time you reach a fork
A crossroads where you make a choice
You must decide on left or right
And be prepared to take that path
Don’t look back nor curse your route
Then walk that line until you die

Years will pass before you die
And you may reach another fork
It’s here you’ll take a different route
Again, this road will be your choice
Don’t walk alone along this path
Make sure you think, make sure it’s right

It is your world, it is your right
To live your life before you die
As you meander down your path
Behind you lies the deadly fork
A stark reminder of your choice
The day you opted for this route

Some may take another route
You’ll go left and they’ll go right
Let them go, it is their choice
You may not meet before you die
They too will find another fork
And may return upon your path

Tiny dirt-tracks line your path
With peaks and troughs along your route
That’s the virtue of the fork
Selection must be sure and right
Deciding if you live or die
The pearls of wisdom hold your choice

So tell me, have you made your choice?
And walked along your chosen path
It’s here, one day that you will die
Take care on your selected route
You may be wrong, I hope you’re right
It cuts like a knife if you fail at the fork

The day you die won’t be your choice
The fork you make decides your path
Be sure the route you walk is right

[Meesha]

A sestina (also, sextina, sestine, or sextain) is a highly structured poem consisting of six six-line stanzas followed by a tercet (called its envoy or tornada), for a total of thirty-nine lines. The same set of six words ends the lines of each of the six-line stanzas, but in a different order each time; if we number the first stanza's lines 123456, then the words ending the second stanza's lines appear in the order 615243, then 364125, then 532614, then 451362, and finally 246531. This organization is referred to as retrogradatio cruciata ("retrograde cross"). These six words then appear in the tercet as well, with the tercet's first line usually containing 6 and 2, its second 1 and 4, and its third 5 and 3 (but other versions exist).


There comes a time you reach a fork(1)
A crossroads where you make a choice (2)
You must decide on left or right(3)
And be prepared to take that path (4)
Don’t look back nor curse your route (5)
Then walk that line until you die (6)

Years will pass before you die (6)
And you may reach another fork (1)
It’s here you’ll take a different route (5)
Again, this road will be your choice (2)
Don’t walk alone along this path (4)
Make sure you think, make sure it’s right (3)

It is your world, it is your right
To live your life before you die
As you meander down your path
Behind you lies the deadly fork
A stark reminder of your choice
The day you opted for this route...(364125)

Some may take another route
You’ll go left and they’ll go right
Let them go, it is their choice
You may not meet before you die
They too will find another fork
And may return upon your path...(532614)

Tiny dirt-tracks line your path
With peaks and troughs along your route
That’s the virtue of the fork
Selection must be sure and right
Deciding if you live or die
The pearls of wisdom hold your choice...(451362)

So tell me, have you made your choice?
And walked along your chosen path
It’s here, one day that you will die
Take care on your selected route
You may be wrong, I hope you’re right
It cuts like a knife if you fail at the fork...(246531)

The day you die won’t be your choice... (62)
The fork you make decides your path...(14)
Be sure the route you walk is right... (53)


Haven't read one of these for years, RP. How'd you resist perfecting the meter and accent btw lol

Difficult write, good job.

M

[clarabow]

This is a very difficult structure to work with; and you are to be commended for the effort, but the poem is full of well worn words, phrases and cliches that the technical side of the poem is lost and all one takes away is the aforementioned. As an exercise you have achieved much, the challenge now is to write this form but with original words and lines and I take my hat off to you for the effort and look forward to the next one.

[Nash]

Hello Pete,

I'll echo Clara Bow here, you should definitely be applauded for the attempt. As a poem it's not quite working for me either though, I think that each stanza goes over old ground and the poem ends up repeating itself.

Definitely a good attempt though, much better than my attempts at the form which have always ended up in the bin.

[rantingpete]

Thanks guys for taking the time to comment.

It is such a difficult exercise (as are many of the French formats). And even more difficult not to repeat yourself because that is the nature of this format. I doubt I'll revisit this poem, I think I only attempted it as an exercise to see if I could complete it. It felt like I'd gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson after I'd finished it and my head was at the point of explosion!

Thanks again one and all.

Pete