PAD Challenge Day 20: Dinner by the TV

 Today's prompts from Write Better Poetry and NaPoWriMo: (1) Write a "love/anti-love" poem, and (2) write a "sijo." A sijo is a Korean short poetic form of three lines, but longer than a haiku, with a slightly more complex structure:

·    Sijo are written in three lines, each averaging 14-16 syllables for a total of 44-46 syllables. Each line is written in four groups of syllables that should be clearly differentiated from the other groups, yet still flow together as a single line... 

The first line is usually written in a 3-4-4-4 grouping pattern and states the theme of the poem, where a situation is generally introduced.

The second line is usually written in a 3-4-4-4 pattern (similar to the first) and is an elaboration of the first line's theme or situation (development).

The third line is divided into two sections. The first section, the counter-theme, is grouped as 3-5, while the second part, considered the conclusion of the poem, is written as 4-3. The counter-theme is called the 'twist,' which is usually a surprise in meaning, sound, or other device.

Here is my sijo for today. I guess you can say it subtly fits the first prompt because it's about the love of an older couple in a nightly routine formed after the kids are gone.

Evening News
 
Every night we set up trays and eat dinner by the TV.
I bring in the silverware, you carry plates with our entrees.

Once our news came from the children; now our table is empty.

I wrote a sijo several years ago that was a runner-up in one of Robert Lee Brewer's Poetic Asides Form Challenges for Writers Digest, and it appeared in an issue of the magazine. Here it is:

Solution Unknown

Pencil sharp, I tackle them--crossword puzzles, devilish grids,
squares to fill with many words, intersecting. Yet you remain
an enigma. I write, then erase. No words I know can solve you.