Ercil Verse Form

Over the last few weeks the verse forms I’ve shared have been pretty easy. Today’s form is a bit tougher.

The Ercil form was created by James Gray to honor Ercil Brown, who was the interim poet laureate of Arkansas from 1970 to 1971. For those of you who care about meter labels, the structure is as follows: the verse is a decastich; lines 1 and 5 are dimeter, lines 2, 6, 9, and 10 are trimeter, lines 3 and 7 are tetrameter, and lines 4 and 8 are pentameter.

In English, this means the verse is 10 lines. Lines 1 and 5 are four syllables, lines 2, 6, 9, and 10 are six syllables, lines 3 and 7 are eight syllables, and lines 4 and 8 are ten syllables. The rhyme scheme is a-b-a-b-c-d-c-d-e-e

Still confused? Maybe a schematic will help.

Schematic:

xxxa
xxxxxb
xxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxxxb
xxxc
xxxxxd
xxxxxxxc
xxxxxxxxxd
xxxxxe
xxxxxe

Okay, maybe not. That only leaves an example for clarity. I’m not quite sure I caught the spirit of the meters, but at least I got my syllable counts and rhymes right. I’m not entirely happy with either of my examples, and I don’t think this is a form I’ll be using on a regular basis.


Lost in the dark
a troubled soul calls out.
Their plea is meant to light a spark
to change the world, when kindness is shut out.
Who’s left to hear?
World so short on pity
imbued instead with rage and fear
intolerance and animosity.
The soul cries out in rage
but cannot leave its cage.


The rain will fall,
the sun will shine after,
the flowers begin to grow tall,
and the summer will follow hereafter.
Enjoy the sun
while it’s high in the sky
before the heat and light is done
and we are forced to bid summer goodbye.
For the seasons will turn,
but they always return.