Jami Macarty created “The Great Wonderful Forsaken Earth Flower Tyde” from Pattern Poetry, Part I, an anthology of poems arranged by Richard Wilson (1926). Please click here to read.

The poem reflects our invitation to poets, on the occasion of our twelfth volume, to incorporate 12 in some way in their composition process. As Jami Macarty explains:

“The Great Wonderful Forsaken Earth Flower Tyde” is made via erasure of words from pages in Pattern Poetry, Part I. To construct the poem, I used the number 12 in several ways. First, I decided to make a poem of 12 sections, using 12 pages in the book—but not just any pages. Second, I started on page 12 of the book and then for 12 pages I added 12 to determine the next page from which I would perform erasure. So following page 12, pages 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108, 120, 132, and 144 (12 x 12). Third, most sections of the poem contain 12, or its multiples, 24 or 36, syllables. The poem’s last two sections equal 12 syllables together. In some cases, the lines within sections are 12 syllables! The title is 12 syllables! 12!

Also by Jami Macarty at Heron Tree: “Snow Image.”