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This week’s W3 Weave Written Weekly #196 is devised by our Poet of the Week, Svenja, who challenges us to write a Double Tetractys — a what? Yes, a Double Tetractys is what she wants. Thank you, Svenja!

The form was invented in 1999 by Harlow poet Ray Stebbing. To quote Mr Stebbing:

“It seems that Euclid, the mathematician of classical times, considered the number series 1, 2, 3, 4 to have mystical significance because its sum is 10.”

The Double Tetractys is a syllabic form consisting of five lines with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 10 syllables — then mirrored in reverse. To read the full prompt guidelines, click below.

Svenja’s Double Tetractys Guidelines

This week, write a Double Tetractys — a 10-line poem with a fixed syllable pattern.
Theme: something spicy or a little naughty. Keep it suggestive rather than explicit. Let tension, humor, and implication do the work.
What is a Double Tetractys?
A Double Tetractys is made of two Tetractys poems joined together:
The first five lines build up
The next five lines mirror them in reverse
Syllable pattern (per line):
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 10 / 10 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
That’s it. Ten lines. Exact syllable counts.

I hope you enjoy my Double Tetractys, The Flirt!

The Flirt

Oh!
he winked
did he wink?
I’m sure he did
I lower my eyes and blush bright pink
Is he still looking?—I think he is
I sneak a glance
my eyes meet
his… and
Oh!



—Lesley Scoble, January 2026

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THANK YOU
My thanks to Svenja for her inspirational prompt.
My thanks to David, as always, for his amazing encouragement, for which I am so grateful.
And my thanks to you, dear reader, for spending time with my poem.

W3 Prompt #196: Wea’ve Written Weekly