An Addition or Subtraction

Life is not a memory

but a forgotten history.

Seven syllables, then eight;

is a rhythm we can create.

Seven plus seven; sonnet

having another stress on it.

Is a stanza incomplete

or do stanzas always compete?

I may like the way it sounds

when it’s based on syllabic grounds.

Something may be missing there;

a syllable hangs in the air.

Does it have an extra stress,

or does it really have one less?

Walt Abbott 3-3-2012