“Music Lovers” – Framed Couplets
Music Lovers
Fingers at her side begin their tap;
linger at upper thighs then start to map,
by octaves, the flesh of hip, waist, breast,
sidestepped scale that breaks for a short rest.
Three beats perhaps. His touch in 3/4 time,
she feels a waltz unwind upon her spine.
Shivers–laughs, then turns to face the man
living the music carried in his hand.
He nods, he smiles, eyes half-closed in song;
she kisses, then plays silently along,
portrays an oddly labile harpsichord,
that sways against his fellow sounding board.
Laughing both now–they feel so full of schmaltz,
tapping out their own skin-skaters’ waltz.
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The above poem, my 19th in these first 19 days of National Poetry Month (!), is posted for dVerse Poets Pub “Form For All” challenge hosted by Gay Reiser Cannon. This week’s challenge is to write a poem in “framed couplets”, a form developed by Gay’s friend, Hector Gutierrez. The form has rhymes at the beginning and end of each line–I have not completely kept to it–but close.
Yes, the poem is a bit silly. If you like silliness, then check out my comic novel Nose Dive, a foray into phone sex and self-improvement. (Disclaimer–not very much phone sex, but a great deal of self-improvement.)
Explore posts in the same categories: poetryTags: framed couplets, lovers tapping out the notes, manicddaily, Music Lovers, Nose Dive by Karin Gustafson, skin skater's waltz
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ManicDDaily 
April 19, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Haha, and I love the elephant, it looks supremely happy. Great write to and subject for the form.
April 19, 2012 at 9:45 pm
Such joy. I read this and it made me smile. 🙂 Thanks.
April 19, 2012 at 10:30 pm
hi! this piece sings and plays. i love your use of framed couplets.
April 19, 2012 at 10:39 pm
Thanks, Jane.
April 19, 2012 at 10:59 pm
This just makes me happy. I’m growing mighty fond of those elephants, Karin. When I get back to Reno, I’ve got to look up their totem significane. Hmmmm.
April 19, 2012 at 11:13 pm
Thanks, Victoria. When you find out tell me! K.
April 19, 2012 at 11:02 pm
she feels a waltz unwind upon her spine.
haha love that line…and love the heat in this as well…playful as it should be you know..smiles…really fun bend on this k
April 19, 2012 at 11:13 pm
Thanks, Brian. Loved the mid-spring nightmare! K.
April 20, 2012 at 12:32 am
Great fun and lovely use of the framed couplet form.
April 20, 2012 at 4:47 am
really really nice- great form, but stylistically original and almost ‘disguising’ the rhymes. Love music…love how it infects you…and reading this made me feel the beat creeping from my fingers to my toes…great poem
April 20, 2012 at 9:13 am
Thanks, Stu. I really enjoyed the Bacon!
April 20, 2012 at 5:25 am
Sensuously framed!
April 20, 2012 at 6:50 am
So lovely and tender, where the music fills the form and content. A waltz to the end of time might sound so sweet!
April 20, 2012 at 9:10 am
Thanks so much, Charles, to you for the lovely comment and to everyone. K.
April 20, 2012 at 10:21 am
Well you certainly made this form sit up and holler, K. This is one of my instant faves of yours. I love every construction in it, and am amazed you were able to get so many choice lines when you had to make them all rhyme twice. The rhyme here actually makes it *better.* I’m seriously impressed. ;_)
April 20, 2012 at 10:35 am
Ha! Thanks so much, Hedge. It was quite funny because earlier in the day when I was crossing the West Side Highway I was thinking about writing a poem from the perspective of Georges Sand. I still may do that at some point, though honestly, I don’t know enough about the particulars of either her life or Chopin’s–only that it would be pretty amazing to have been in the vicinity of his brain and fingers! So then when the prompt came up, I just turned thoughts that way, though I really couldn’t manage to keep to any particular couple–so just went silly–k.
April 20, 2012 at 10:27 am
I love this so much. I think I set it to music in my head.
Well I’m pretty sure you know where you strayed from rhyme and meter. Not a lot – just here and there, creating your own beat and syncopation and only on that one line’s rhyme (making it rhyme with the second word – doesn’t quite work as it’s only SYLLABLES not words at the first that rhyme). But overall this is full of joy, full of the music of love and I believe it would make any reader happier, more joyous, more hopeful. Great work, and thanks for participating!
April 20, 2012 at 10:37 am
Yes, I know–I have very mixed views over meter as of course, it’s so important, but I hate for things to get too symmetrical at times – and I found the Trochee part a bit hard at the beginning of lines. It tends to make them all a bit imperative! Anyway, thanks much, Gay–for your kind comment, and for the cool exercise. Great form. k.
April 20, 2012 at 10:39 am
PS – I realize in my explanation I called the form “rhymed couplets”! Ha. It was late last night. Fixed now! Thanks again, Gay. K.
April 20, 2012 at 12:01 pm
This is so fun! Well done!
April 20, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Thanks, MZ.
April 20, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Very fun. I like the word silly, just adds another dimension to what and how one finds humor. Great job. The form worked extremely well for you too. Thanks
April 21, 2012 at 11:52 am
Well, what can I say. Perhaps I should stick to the wonderful way you worked the framed couplet structure, rather than the way your theme and metaphor are starting to make my heart beat faster, and me get nervous beads of sweat. Yes.
April 21, 2012 at 12:40 pm
Ha. Thanks so much, Sam.
April 25, 2012 at 12:33 am
Very cute rhymes as it is an excellent combination of words and thoughts