Poetic Forms - Puente

"Puente" means "bridge" in Spanish, and the so-named poetic form is built around one. This intriguing form was invented by poet James Rasmusson and described by ShadowPoetry.com.

Constructed in three stanzas, the first and third are separate thoughts, conditions or elements, but share an equal number of lines and the center "bridge" stanza. This middle stanza is but one line and is enclosed in tildes (~) to distinguish itself as both the last line of the first stanza and the first line of the last stanza.

The meter and rhyming are at the poet's discretion, free verse being perfectly acceptable. The title is has no guidelines; it need not match the bridge stanza like the example below.

Example:

The Dilettante's Garden

The heiress dabbles in chic baroque as if
each artifact was made for her solitary
amusement, while commoners are unaware
of her ardor for her superb private grounds,

~the dilettante's garden~

required an architect's touch, its design
first penciled on a bit of used stationary,
yet rendered a horticulturalist's dream,
now a flawless, serene arboretum.