Perpetrators wrangle ethical conundrums, spin dire loopholes
Wrangle strategic entrapment, unfold labyrinthine tactics, create
Ethical entrapment, its Machiavellian predicaments confound morality
Conundrums unfold Machiavellian stratagems as games parlay
Spin labyrinthine predicaments as citizens countermine these
Dire tactics, confound games, countermine society’s prevailing
Loopholes create morality, parlay these prevailing disasters
This is a 7X7 Matrix poem (minus rhyme, maybe next time ;)) linked to Samuel Peralta’s mathmatical Form for All Square Poems prompt: http://dversepoets.com/2012/06/28/form-for-all-square-poems/
Chromapoetica 
well, that’s pretty much what the news and politics are about today…good job. lots of words there. this was not easy.
zealous wives
That’s true. I’ll have to try it again sometime when I’ve got less puppy pouncing in my schedule :).
Wow, 7! Great job with the prompt – very timely message, poetically (and mathematically) executed.
Haha, I started with 10X10 and slowly came to my senses :). In my defense I’m a bit sleep deprived.
As usual, this poem is filled with words and concepts that expand my consciousness and knowledge. It’s interesting to see how your method works in a form like this.
Yes, I find this form and sestinas challenge my logophilic tendencies with all the repetition, something I’d normally avoid at all costs. I wanted it to loop and spiral like the subject; I am too close to it now to judge. I’ll likely need to try the form more than once to strike a good balance between style and substance.
7×7! Wow, I am impressed!
As you know, now that you’ve tried it, it isn’t very easy – especially when you want each line to mean something, and the whole poem to make sense. But you know, this form suits your style – you make of it a logophilic tour-de-force, and it just works.
Thank you. I’m happy to know you think so. The form reminds me of some of the short experimental pieces (about 80 words) I do, without the repetition. Maintaining syntax and layers of meaning was my goal for the first try. Maybe one day I’ll manage that 10X10 :).
Tap me on the shoulder when you do the 10×10… that, I’d like to see!
I actually completed one today that met the waste bin. I’ll let you know when I do one worthy of your attention :). Thanks again for the encouragement!
I tapped you on the shoulder at dVerse, a new 10X10 here: http://chromapoesy.com/2012/06/29/the-collector/ 🙂
Neat the way the repetitions weave the actions so that ultimately it is the loopholes that are confounded and morality may have a chance!
Thanks for noticing my Jedi mind trick :).
i am breaking my pens….you make this look so frickin easy anna…you slay me…still able to use your big words and pull this off…i humbly bow…dang…form meets meaning in your words as well…
Goodness, after all my attempted poetic pyrotechnics over the last year I can’t believe this is the piece that slays you 😀 haha. I felt the same way about yours (not only did you make it look easy but so cool) and was wishing I’d taken more liberties with the form, had more fun. Thank you, as ever, for your kind words. dVerse really is my home away from home and it’s wonderful to feel welcome no matter what words I choose.
Just WOW , very intense !! Well Done !!
Thanks, how kind of you to say.
Well this form confounded me but I see that your poem shines with such a tight form ~
Well you can also write another one, more fun and play ~
I look forward to it :). Thank you!
Outstanding! Not only did you nail the form exactly, this poem speaks to me strongly. Very well done!
Thanks Steve, so nice to see you again :)!
A convoluted maze, all elements within interacting with each other drawing the maze, loops and more puzzles in the tangles. It sounds like the makings of a fun game, but not so fun to live it.
Kudos to you on tackling this form and nailing it. Elegant how all your words fit like that, every line with depth and sense. I’m curious about your mentioned attempt on a 10×10. 🙂
Thank you – the waste bin piece was same subject, more words, some of which I was really attached to :): artifice, captious, ensnared, pitfalls, ingenious, encroaching, outmaneuver, and hedging. Oh well, another day, another poem perhaps.
Very cool and it has meaning! I like the last line best, I think – wonderful – this parlaying of disasters. (I mean, awful, but so common in political world with all that loopholed morality. k.
So true, thank you k.!
ha..i knew this would be right up your sleeve…and you even went for a 7 x 7 – kudos…
Thanks, I’m still gunning for that 10X10. I think I may have it with this new piece on the art collector, curator, and Mapplethorpe lover, Sam Wagstaff. Only time will tell, I need to sleep on it :).
Both timely and intriguing–
Thank you, nice to meet you.
Just the thought of your 10/10 poem is making my teeth curl. I am so amazed with this one – a word pattern of severity.
Well, I managed it this morning – it’s here if your teeth can take it 🙂 http://chromapoesy.com/2012/06/29/the-collector/. Nice to meet you!
OMG – my teeth have dissolved!
Oh dear :)!
Very cool Anna. love the interconnectedness in situations that easily could miss their point of contact. Beautifully combining form and language here. Fantastic read. thanks
Interconnectedness is one of my favorite themes. Thanks so much!
it is frightening.
Very true!
Bigger and better, and as usual stuffed with linguistic goodies, now in all directions.
Ooo, in all directions, yum :)!
Ohhhh maaaann…..this was too good!! A strong message – fair and “square” !!
Thanks Kavita, wonderful to see you again! I’ll be by to read yours soon :).
Excellent work! This is my favorite part:
“its Machiavellian predicaments confound morality”
Thanks! So nice to see you; I’ll be by to read yours soon :).
There have been different approaches in many of the ones I’ve read so far. Yours is unusual in the way it’s shaped and does exactly as you named it by squaring the meaning, the words, and the form giving impetus and emphasis to the entire piece. Very satisfying as well as challenging!
I always appreciate your comments Gay. I’m behind in my reading but I’ll be by this morning :).
I dismissed even trying one of these. Form usually kills all my creativity, but the more of them I read the more intrigued I become… the puzzle of it pulls me I think.
It is puzzling – it was like painting myself into a corner, the number of choices got smaller as I went along. I found thinking a few steps ahead helped, somewhat like a strategy game, haha, hence the subject!
‘spin labyrinthine predicaments’ – wow! – how good is that phrase – fantastic
Thank you Polly; very nice to meet you.