The Sheaf of Windfalls

The Sheaf of Windfalls is a poetic riddle concerning a lover, originating in The Diagnostic Grandparent. The form guides poets during improvised performances. The poem is divided into three distinct parts: a line, two quatrains and a sexain. Use of vivid imagery is characteristic of the form. Forms of parallelism are common throughout the poem, in that certain lines are required to maintain phrasing and they reverse grammatical structures. Each line has seven syllables.

• The first part is intended to make an assertion.
• The second part is intended to make a counter-assertion. The fourth line of each quatrain uses the same placement of allusions as the first line. The fourth line of each quatrain must expand the idea of the first line. The rhyme scheme respecting the full poem is AA1B, where numbers indicate a refrain.
• The third part is intended to synthesize previous ideas. The third line of the sexain uses the same placement of allusions as the first line. The third line of the sexain must expand the idea of the second line. The rhyme scheme respecting the full poem is BCCB1C.

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