In an ongoing series, the editors, former contributors, and readers of Eclectica have been invited to write a poem containing four pre-chosen words. The words for this issue are gallery, siren, ribbon, and uniform.

If you would like to participate in the next special poetry assignment, the new words are parallel, tide, knot, and lantern.

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(These are excerpts—click on the title to view the whole poem)
 

Child's Pose
 
The instructors, with uniform grace, reach and balance,
say "once you've found stability on the crown of your head,
gently spin until you achieve weightlessness"
 
Jack Murphy

 

The Compulsion
 
Plucked by an index finger, strings
guide your strokes through a gallery of basalt arches.
 
Chelsey L. Slattum

 

Two Word Poems
 
awkward in the backdrop/
a mute siren dragging the eyes
into a nameless dimension
 
Barbara De Franceschi

 

The Truth in Folklore
 
There is a certain distance across
which many things become
insignificant.
 
Alissa Marmol

 

River's Ribbon
 
After your last breath
my life unwinds like river's ribbon
 
Nancy Jentsch

 

New Self-Portrait
 
Is this how Dorian Gray felt peeking at his portrait?
What happens if I rip my own to ribbons?
 
Sharon Mathews and David Mathews

 

Whitman on the Bank of Lethe
 
Since the warring Ancient Greeks,
        armies are resupplied by their fallen—
                more important than grave digging.
 
David Mathews

 

I Confide in Mrs. Whatsit about My Divorce
 
Mrs. Whatsit is a friend
to the wind, lets it weave ribbons in her hair, wears
its uniform of majesty and terror like a ruffled nightgown.
 
Jennifer Finstrom