The Sepigram, a New Poetry Form That Pays Homage to Fractals and Pi...

Hello everyone!

I am back after a hiatus of several weeks. And I am ecstatic.

The reason is simple. I have gone through a period of incredible creativity, which led to the creation of a brand new poetry form.

Before I continue, I'd like to remind you that you can access all my other forms in the post below.

And now, onto the major news!

A friend and I share the same passion for fractals. We spend countless hours designing them via Apophysis and showing our pieces to each other. Last week, during one of our daily conversations, I came up with the idea of inventing a poetry form inspired by fractals and Pi.

The Piku, a lovely poetry form, already exists. So, it was important to do something different.

The result? The Sepigram!

What Is the Sepigram?

The word is a portmanteau of “seven” + “pi” + “-gram” (‘something written’ or ‘drawing’). The “pi” part refers to the number π (3.14159 rounded up to 3.1416), which is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.

The Sepigram is an unlimited poem that follows a “fractal” (or repetitive) pattern.

What Are the Rules?

Each part of the Sepigram contains 14 lines and must be divided into 2 stanzas + 1 concluding line.

Part 1:

• L1–1 word
• L2–7 words
• L3–8 words
• L4 — repeat word from L1
• L5–7 words
• L6–8 words
• L7 — repeat word from L1 or use a different word

• L8 — repeat word from L1 or use a different word
• L9–7 words
• L10–8 words
• L11 — repeat word from L8
• L12–7 words
• L13–8 words

• L. 14: Use seven words from preceding lines (in any order) to make a sentence.

The poem can end here or continue.

Part 2:

• L15 — repeat word from L8
• L16–7 words
• L17–8 words
• L18 — repeat word from L8
• L19–7 words
• L20–8 words
• L21 — repeat word from L8 or use a different word

• L22 — repeat word from L15 or use a different word
• L23–7 words
• L24–8 words
• L25 — repeat word from L22
• L26–7 words
• L27–8 words

• L. 28: Use seven words from preceding lines (in any order) to make a sentence.

The poem can end here or continue.

Additional requirements:

• As with all my other forms, sepigrams must feature positive / uplifting elements. A reference to nature is encouraged. For example: season, weather, month, time of the day, etc.
• Punctuation and titles are optional.

Example of Simple Sepigram

Night

came to us in a soft whisper

in the dance of rain at five o’clock.

Night

settled among the embers of our fireplace

like an old friend who knows her place

here.

Day

followed quietly when night forgot to look

an unruly child, we could truly say.

Day

settled in our chairs, bed and kitchen,

bringing smiles on our faces, in our hearts.

Night came, day followed, smiles settled quietly.

© 2022 Cendrine Marrouat

And Now, a Gift for You!

As a way to celebrate the launch of my new poetry form, I have created a free booklet that brings together my six forms, with practical examples. You can access it directly from my website.

NB: You don’t have to sign up for anything to download the PDF. Just click the red button and you should be good to go. :-)

That's it for today! Thank you for reading!

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Cendrine Marrouat is a writer, photographer, podcaster, blogger, anthology editor, and the co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms and A Warm Cup of Cozy. She has authored and co-authored more than 40 books, including The Train: A Short Story (2023), In Her Own Words: A Collection of Short Stories & Flashku (2022), After the Fires of Day: Haiku Inspired by Kahlil Gibran & Alphonse de Lamartine (2021), Rhythm Flourishing: A Collection of Kindku and Sixku (2020), Walks: A Collection of Haiku (2019-2020), and In the Silence of Words: A Three-Act Play (2018).

Cendrine's work has appeared in many publications. She is the creator of the Sixku, Flashku, Sepigram, and Reminigram; as well as the co-creator of the Kindku, Pareiku, Vardhaku, and Hemingku.