Kevin Flanagan
Red hound of Mars
Chase the mane of the sun
solar cat hunting
the mice made of stars
The bullfrog of dusk
Sonorous grunting
Croak before the nyx
Low, hoary and brusque
Venusian one
Pale eyes that transfix,
skin banded with bars
Skyline serpent son
Moon is confronting
These avatars
“wild must run”
but intend no affronting
The sky’s politics
Writ in claw and tusk
only just begun
Three quarters past six.
Evocations are constructed from five stanzas, with each stanza constructed of four lines with a
total of 20 syllables (as dictated by the poet). The rhyme scheme for the stanzas is as follows:
ACDA
BDEB
CEAC
DABD
EBCE
It may help to visualize the form when writing. To visualize this form, begin by writing five words
along the points of a star in a circle. It will be easiest to follow if you start at the top, and go
clockwise. You do not have to use these specific words in the creation of an evocation; They are the root for the
rhyme scheme, and you may keep them secret if you wish.
Each stanza is formed of four lines. The first and last lines of each will always rhyme. If you start at A, you
“cross” to C, then “turn” to D, then “return” to A. Repeat this process moving clockwise around the symbol. This creates each of the five stanzas rhyming structures. There is no proscribed meter.