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About this poem

This ten-line, two-stanza Etheree/Tanka poem is composed to honor and celebrate the poetic life and memory of the legendary Etheree Taylor Armstrong (1918-1994), of Hot Spring County, Arkansas, for years a member of several poetry societies, and the poetic creator of the Etheree Poetry Style. The fourth line of the first stanza of the poem employs the word Ouroboros,which refers to the mythical alchemical snake turning in and around itself to grasp at its own tail, thus portraying the poetic imagery of circulation, of contemplation, completion and meta cognition. Similarly, the last line of the poem plays on the name of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, the city where Etheree Taylor Armstrong was born. This reference serves as a poetic allusion to the Greek legendary ancient sacred precinct, seat of Pythia, the major oracle of the classical world, consulted by Socrates and others about important decisions. more »