A Selection of Centauran Poetry

 A Selection of Centauran Songs and Poetry

Centauran Sonnets

The Centauran sonnet consists of twelve lines of iambic pentameter, broken into two sections whose last lines rhyme with each other. Each line in the poem counts down according to the Raylis-Levi hierarchy, using either images, colors, or ideas from the system to convey its message. For example, the first line will have a red image, or mention rubies, or be about nobility, courage, or any of the other associations of the ruby. The second line will do the same for topaz, and so on all the way through the twelfth line.

  • Fallen Star, by Daran Katagiri (NCE 6)
  • Invocation, by Thomas Stel (NCE 235)

    Haiku

    The haiku form was popularized on Mars in the High Ashuran language long before the Nettle Uprisings. The reason this happened was clear: among a people that prized literature and poetry even while awash in a fast-paced, media-saturated environment, the concise format of the haiku was perfect for advertising. By the time of the Uprisings, the use of haiku had become so commonplace that the poems figured regularly in public speeches, newsfeed stories, and especially courtship rituals. The popularity of the form faded during the early Centauran years, but never entirely vanished from the culture.

    Click here to read a brief selection of haiku written throughout the first two centuries of the Centauran Empire.