Anacoluthon verse
Anacoluthon is a literary and rhetorical device in which a sentence or poetic line breaks away from its expected grammatical structure, resulting in an abrupt shift in syntax. This creates a sense of interruption, confusion, or spontaneity, often reflecting intense emotion, thought disruption, or stream-of-consciousness narration. In poetry, an anacoluthon verse is one that deliberately disrupts syntactical flow, leaving the reader with a sense of broken thought, hesitation, or unfinished reasoning. This technique can mimic natural speech patterns, internal conflict, or sudden shifts in perspective. It often creates a fragmented, introspective rhythm and can be achieved by a dash-heavy structure created by abrupt stops, mirroring the narrator’s fading consciousness and thought disintegration.
A Green Flicker
I—was it—no, but surely I would have—
A bird, small, green, a flash against the glass,
too green, too bright—like a leaf that—
no, no leaf moves like that—
It stopped—just there—
the sill caught its shadow, a blink, a breath,
then wings, a tremor—
gone.
And now the sink is running, the cloth still damp,
the room—unchanged, except—
except I saw it. I did.
Didn’t I?

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