Infinite Gloss

PoetryBase calls this the ugliest form to create and implement. There’s a lot of math involved and I’m sort of math challenged so we’ll see how this works. The poems gloss each other. PoetryBase explains it like this, “six lines, three a rhymes and three b rhymes, and you want to create an infinite gloss in envelop tercets.”

Huh?

Tercets are three lines, usually a complete poem. In this case, the tercets envelope, or lock together. Up to 36 tercets can be put together, based on a rhyme scheme and the original six lines. Each tercet line links to a glossing tercet. There’s at least 108 connection possibilities and the reader has to be able to recognize the link.

The combinations are endless, one of the strengths of this form, but it’s also big and hard to implement. I couldn’t find much information on the infinite gloss outside of PoetryBase, so exploit their entry further if you want to attempt this form. I probably won’t be, but don’t let my fear stop you. :)