De hosts Quadrille Monday at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets. We are to use the word “quiver” or a form of the word, in the body of a quadrille. Quadrille: a poem of exactly 44 words, sans title. I have done a combination of gogyohka and haiku. A quadrille is a poem, in any form, of exactly 44 words sans title using the given word by the prompter. A gogyohka is a five line Japanese form of poetry; it is five lines long. The only rule is that each line must be a phrase.
The Scarecrow
“We must all make do with the rags of love we find flapping on the scarecrow of humanity.” – Angela Carter, Nights at the Circus
endless rows of dried cornstalks whisper
in the chill autumn wind –
a hunt lost beagle quivers as
I bend down to pet it.
It wags its tail as it follows me home.
a scarecrow almost
shredded – flaps its arms in the wind –
waving goodbye
kanzen sakura 
Oct 21, 2019 @ 15:15:51
I really love the scenery you paint… it sounds like a good thing to bring the little beagle home… maybe it puts an end to the hunting as well
Oct 21, 2019 @ 15:19:53
Love learning new-to-me forms, Toni. Thank you! This is just gorgeous. Such vivid imagery here.
Oct 21, 2019 @ 15:47:05
I love the scene you set here Toni!
Oct 21, 2019 @ 15:49:55
I like the rescue of that beagle.
Oct 21, 2019 @ 15:59:22
So do I!
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Oct 21, 2019 @ 15:55:50
I love all of this, it hangs together so well. Did you know Frank Tassone’s haikai challenge prompt word this week is scarecrow?
Oct 21, 2019 @ 15:59:05
Yes I did. I am considering submitting this to the site.
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Oct 21, 2019 @ 16:03:47
Do. It’s perfect.
Oct 21, 2019 @ 16:02:15
Yes, indeed, love comes in many forms, some tattered, shredded, just shards olf emotion. This tiny love scenario is like taking a spider outside rather than stepping on it.
Oct 21, 2019 @ 16:33:31
Even a big spider outside. I keep two special jars for capturing spiders and putting them outside. They scare the bejabbers off me though.
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Oct 21, 2019 @ 16:06:49
I still haven’t tried a gogyohka yet, and I admire this gogyohka quadrille very much, especially the endless rows of whispering cornstalks, which sets the scene so well. We used to have a lovely beagle living in our village. He was friends with my little Jack Russell cross, Jasper, but both are sadly long gone.
Oct 21, 2019 @ 17:14:27
Alas. We do mis them.
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Oct 21, 2019 @ 16:12:13
“a hunt lost beagle quivers” —- oh, anyone who has owned dogs and/or lived in the country during, for example, pheasant hunting season, can understand this statement so well. The shot guns sounding off, the cool crisp air, and the beagle quivering. Such great description here…and in the haiku as well. Somehow I’ve always found scarecrows as rather sad creatures…the raggedy ending of the harvest and that waving goodbye to the season.
Oct 21, 2019 @ 16:56:37
Toni, I love that beginning quote. Your poem is so tender in all aspects and brings tears to my eyes.
Oct 21, 2019 @ 17:13:08
Oh Lisa, there were always lost hunt dogs showing up, ragged and hungry. We were able to return some dogs and their owners always got a lecture from my mother or father.
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Oct 21, 2019 @ 18:35:56
My stepfather’s dad kept hunting dogs in a small cage in his garage, where “the tools” were brought out to serve a function and then returned to the cage afterwards. This place I’m in now has a cage just like that in the garage. Can’t think of anything more callous, except maybe chaining dogs outside to a house and forgetting about them except for once a day when they were fed. That’s what our dogs were when my mom and stepdad got married. Now that he’s gone, my mom has a shih tzu that is pampered like there is no tomorrow.
Oct 21, 2019 @ 18:39:44
I feel sorry for these animals. I mean, they’re just dogs, right? I ended up stealing a dog from a house, that I had reported several times for them not having water, food, or a shelter for the dog. I watche the dog getting thinner and sicker as the months went by. Finally I had enough. I arranged with a friend out in the country together we stole the dog when the “humans” went away for a few days. The dog lived a long time after that, happy, fed, and loved. I don’t regret it a bit.
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Oct 21, 2019 @ 18:42:52
Toni, bless your heart for nabbing the pooch. There used to a be a lady who worked for the humane society here that would nab dogs like that when she got the calls. The worst torture in the world for a dog is to be forgotten 😦
Oct 21, 2019 @ 19:02:23
I know. I can’t stand people who are cruel to animals and have no pity for them.
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Oct 21, 2019 @ 17:21:28
Such a wonderful scene described!
Oct 21, 2019 @ 18:28:16
Thank you!
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Oct 21, 2019 @ 18:49:46
This has a melancholy Autumn feel.
Oct 21, 2019 @ 19:08:53
I love that rescue of the a hunt lost beagle following you home.
Oct 21, 2019 @ 19:54:57
Reblogged this on Frank J. Tassone and commented:
#Haiku Happenings #9: Toni Spencer’s latest #gogyohka #haiku #quadrille for #dVersePoets #QuadrilleMonday!
Oct 21, 2019 @ 21:17:46
Thank you for the reblog!
Oct 23, 2019 @ 18:02:36
My pleasure, Toni! 🙂
Oct 22, 2019 @ 14:16:40
Beagles aren’t the easiest of dogs, but they love with their whole heart. Such an endearing poem, sense of scenery and a lovely moment in time.
Oct 22, 2019 @ 15:15:21
Thank you Margaret!
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Oct 22, 2019 @ 16:26:32
Great imagery. I love the idea of the scarecrow waving goodbye.
Oct 22, 2019 @ 16:41:58
Thank you
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Oct 23, 2019 @ 06:34:15
Love this piece!