Her hair she brushed / one hundred strokes
Until it shone of gold, / having suffered for her beauty.
She tied it with a strand of silk/ Eleanor preened half the night
Creamed her skin with Mother’s milk/ in preparation of her duty.
Her eyes were of the brightest hue/yet a smile false and tight
Not a glimmer of desire /no kindness did it show
As cold as cinder in the fire/as a torch without its amber glow.
Just in case it is new to you : How to read a Cleave. Read it vertically left, or bold in my case, then vertically right, or in italics, finally read the poem horizontally as a whole.
Jane Dougherty posted a poem called a ‘Cleave’ not having heard of a poem which is constructed in two halves but read as three pieces I just had to give it a crack… pardon the pun. Press Here to read Jane’s far superior Cleave and let her know what you think.
“How did I do?”
“Are you familiar with this form?”
Please comment I will respond soonest.
(if any one knows who to credit for this picture please let me know. )
Ellenbest24 
Oh never heard of a Cleave before Ellen. Very interesting, must try. 🙂
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I found it challenging but glad I completed it.
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Very nice. I picture a Masterpiece Theatre program about her. 🙂
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Thank you. A Masterpiece, her pic lends it that way. The Cleave seems to suit this era I think.
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Eleanore is the first cleave I’ve seen (that I remember). I love the duality of it and yet how one side compliments the other and both together bring depth to the meaning.
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I am proud of my Cleaves, but have to say they were tough cookies, as were Fathers in Eleanore’s time. Thanks so much for coming.
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Elegance beautifully matched with the picture
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Thank you for coming, i am tearing my hair out trying to pen a follow up to Eleanore’s plight. Cleves are tricksy fellows. 😇
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Agreed, fantastic cleave! I don’t think I ever read one, or if I did, quite knew what form I was reading. Lovely in every way!
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I was surprised at how many people didn’t know about this form and thrilled to be able to encourage people to have a go. I hope you give it a try and would love to read it if you do. 😇
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You did it so beautifully, Ellen. One day, maybe….
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Fantastic Cleave, Ellen! I have one on my blog from a few years ago. It’s been awhile and I may have to write another after feeling inspired by you. Well done, and thanks for stopping by Oldest Daughter a redheaded Sister. 🙂
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Brilliantly written – you certainly rose to the challenge! I hadn’t heard of this type of poem before.
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Thank you that is a lovely comment. The Cleave I managed here took several hours over two days. Being able to construct one made me excited, to have people comment so positively is a bonus.
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My pleasure! Your hard work paid off. 🙂
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I hope it makes others… try. 😇
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I like this form of poetry. You did really well – it goes good with the illustration.
It’s an idea too to write an alternative to the work of great poets, but add our own as we don’ t like their (often sexist) point of view.
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Thank you for reading , I am proud of my first attempt.
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Nicely done!
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v good; it’s damn tricky, isn’t it?
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Yup! Sure is
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I like this one. It’s like two different views of the same person. I think you ought to write another one about Eleonore, either backstory or sequel as she is an intriguing character.
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But is it? Did I do it justice? Or are you saying… “Almost there.”
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Why ‘almost there’? You’ve got two separate poems that add together to make a third poem that makes a bigger picture of the character. You could mess about with the odd word here and there, but the poem is there and it’s a good one. Makes me want to know about Eleonore. I only know the few cleave poems I’ve read on websites, and as far as I can see yours is as good as any and better than most.
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Phew! Thank you.I really liked giving it a go.
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I’m glad you did. It’s a hard one to get right, or at least I found it hard, but it’s worth it 🙂
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That is excellent. Like it a lot. I’ve never come across this particular form before so it’s great to be so pleasantly surprised.
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Chris thank you for reading, when you try something new you are always afraid until the first comment is in. Please follow the link I put up, Jane has links to the original ‘How to cleave and origins) .
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