Very Short Poems by Columbine

When I was a child I was introduced to a completely made-up form of poetry that was, at the time, being mistaken for haiku. Basically, 5-7-5 and anything goes. I don't know if this form was ever given a name, or whether anyone cares, but my enthusiasm for form and the challenge of extreme brevity leads me to like it a lot.

The poisoned nectar
That damns us to rich, full, life
Is not blood, but tears
If my heart could break
Spill sizzling acid lava
Nothing much would change
The choir is of swans
The screaming crowd, of rabbits
Voices found at last
Every candle casts
Its own flame's crescent shadow
Directly overhead
Bread given for show
Rotten with mewling pity
I would rather steal
Please clean up this mess
I've no right to be a mess
What am I asking?

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