The Kerf

The Kerf is an invented form, and the only information I could find regarding its history is that it’s attributed to Marie Adams. A Google search for Marie Adams came up with: Marie Adams, psychotherapist and writer; Marie Adams (on Goodreads), author of 77 books (a lot of them appear to be cookbooks); and Marie Adams (on Wikipedia), who was a gospel and R & B singer, noted for her work with Johnny Otis. Sadly, I’m pretty sure none of these ladies invented the Kerf.

This poetical form is written in four tercets, or three line verses, giving it twelve lines in total. It has a syllable count of 6-7-10 per verse, with a rhyme scheme a-b-c, a-b-c, d-e-c, d-e-c. I think a schematic would be helpful.

Schematic

xxxxxa
xxxxxxb
xxxxxxxxxc

xxxxxa
xxxxxxb
xxxxxxxxxc

xxxxxd
xxxxxxe
xxxxxxxxxc

xxxxxd
xxxxxxe
xxxxxxxxxc

You can apparently use any subject matter for your Kerf, but here’s an interesting tidbit of information. The term kerf also refers to the amount of wood removed by a saw blade and turned into sawdust. The amount of kerf depends on the thickness of the blade, and if you don’t account for the kerf, your cut will not be accurate.

I have to say, this poem was definitely harder than the ones I’ve been doing lately. But here’s a tip if you’d like to try it yourself. Choose the end word for the third line carefully, because that rhyme is carried throughout the entire poem and you don’t want to limit your choices.


nights growing cold and short
the winding down of the year
has begun, always before we would like

cool wind makes leaves cavort
around the forest menhir
the ancient sentinel almost ghostlike

in pagan times it would
be a time to celebrate
before the winter makes another strike

but folk lore of childhood
no longer has any weight
we just turn up the heat to counterstrike