Beside Quiet Waters

Beside Quiet Waters

In pastures green, awake I lie,
Bedazzled by the clouds on high -
They move with such astounding grace.
Amazed, I feel my spirit lift,
First swept aloft, then cast adrift
So far above my resting place.
Though earthly form still on the ground,
My spirit flits and flies around
As though to flee from my embrace.

Like torment of a pending storm
May suddenly the air transform,
So does a shadow cross my face.
My spirit races back to me,
It hides from that I cannot see,
Our peace is gone without a trace.
Then ‘cross the field a Shepherd walks,
He smiles at me, but never talks.
His presence does my fear erase.

I barely see through tear filled eyes
My spirit like a phoenix rise
Above the shadow into space.
My heart feels it must break in two
With joyful song ‘tis born anew,
Anointed with His holy grace.
The air about suffused with joy,
No shadow dark could Him destroy,
Transfigured by this holy place.

Won 1st Place in Round 16 of "Invalid Item" .
Won 1st Place in Round 10 of "Invalid Item" .
Won 1st Place in Poetry Category in Round 4 of "Invalid Item" .

Form: Nove Otto

The Nove Otto was created by Scott J. Alcorn and is relatively new to the world of poetry forms, having been created in 2006. It has a basic construction of 9 lines, with 8 syllables per line. The rhyme pattern for the poem is as follows :

         aacbbcddc

For more than one stanza, or to create a ‘chained’ Nove Otto, your stanzas would be structured as follows:

         eecffcggc
         hhciicjjc
         etc...

For more information with an example, please see:
http://www.worldofpoets.org/mformnoveotto.html