Abstract Poem

A term coined by Edith Sitwell to describe a poem in which the words are chosen for their aural quality rather than specifically for their sense or meaning. An example from “Popular Song” in Sitwell's Façade (1923) follows: The red retriever-haired satyrCan whine and tease her and flatter,But Lily O'Grady,Silly and shady,In the deep shade is a lazy lady;Now Pompey's dead, Homer's