Canto XIV Project Dante

It came to me last night how to maintain a structure with the poem. It has to have a structure more solid. I realized that the ideas of threes can back into it so I have a couple of options. I think what I may end up doing is making each canto of 90 lines, multiply that up by 34 cantos and you get just over three thousand lines. Now I could just rewrite a little here and there or I could make a proper 3 lines per stanza kind of thing happen. Hmmmm, the temptation is for the easier path but since both lead round a cliff I may be wrong either way.

In the meantime heres what I wrote on canto XIV, fairly easy process, started friday morning over coffee and cigarettes, went to work and stayed busy until about 3pm, signed off and got down to work, mostly finished (up to line - 76 ) by 10pm last night.

So led was I to Great Divide 1
The burning sands by God devised
And out upon this dreadful plain
I saw a million fires rain 4
Upon those souls that sinned below
That dared attack the golden throne
In seventh maw third circle round
The souls of others foul be found 8
The fires burned like napalm dropped
On driest thatch or parched crops
In darkest gloom the only light
Was from these burning fires bright 12
As sinners blazed and rolled on sand
To douse what can't be doused by damned
So Virgil turns and leads the way
Not out on burning sand we stray 16
Where flames came down like burning rafts
Maintained by Hell's infernal craft
But rather yet we hold the cleft
And skirt the wood we'd recent left 20
I saw a sinner bound to sand
With metal rings on feet and hands
And screamed he of his hate for God
He called a fake, a foul, a fraud 24
The sins of man of which he screamed
Foul blasphemy the curses streamed
And seeing then us walking past
Aspersions on me then were cast 28
'There is no god, you're foolish eyes
Can't see whats best described as lies
These burning sands before you see
The punishment for impiety 32
The forest round it ringed with thorns
For sinners who first life have scorned
The river red of sadness bled
Whereby you simply must have tread 36
And burning graves for heretics
Beyond that flows the River Styx
Upon whose banks the greedy ranks
Must push their penance round then back 40
Beyond again the stinking rain
Where gluttons starving cry in vain
Now up to second circle round
Where lustful souls like starlings found 44
Then through the mist for those who missed
The chance to get the Saviors kiss
Beyond again where cowards quake
By Acheron before the gate 48
Include so do the world beyond
Its in your mind, do not respond
And God is just a foolish dream!'
In rage to me this sinner screamed 52
So turns then Virgil to his right
And leads he round the land of blight
And reach we then a rocky course
Where river red poured through in force 56
And tale he told of Man of Crete
A statue great and most complete
Whose head was poured from purest gold
His arms and chest from silver rolled 60
The rest of him down to his balls
From Iron made if I recall
His legs were bronze, his left foot too
His right is baked from clay mind you 64
Upon the foot of clay he leans
While tears fall down in bloody streams
That forms the rivers we traverse
In buddy movie most adverse 68
For sins of world the statue cries
And all the rivers could run dry
Before they'd dent the blood thats spent
That pour through Hell for no repent 72
And Amazon one billionth piece
Of liquid flowing through this crease
So time had come for us to quit
And out on plain of fire split 76

So thats the first run through. I think I know where and how I can get the 14 lines to make an even 90 if my new structure is to work. Right now I'm moving straight on. I'll do a basic run through which will be as long as it is, and then after that as a revision process I'll start to fill in the gaps and trim/organize/rearrange kind of thing.

The total line count with 34 cantos and 90 lines per canto will be 3060. A nice round number.