I Came to the Craft Late in Life

I came to the craft late in life
And wonder if the canon of my work
Is measured finite

Sijo Form

Sijo (/ˈʃiːdʒoʊ/; Korean pronunciation: [ɕidʑo]) is a Korean poetic form. Bucolic, metaphysical and cosmological themes are often explored.

The three lines average 14-16 syllables, for a total of 44-46:
theme (3, 4,4,4);
elaboration (3,4,4,4);
counter-theme (3,5) and completion (4,3).

Sijo may be narrative or thematic and introduces
a situation in line 1,
development in line 2,
and twist and conclusion in line 3.

The first half of the final line employs a “twist”: a surprise of meaning, sound, or other device.

Sijo is often more lyrical and personal than other East Asian poetic forms, and the final line can take a profound turn. Yet, “The conclusion of sijo is seldom epigrammatic or witty. A witty close to a sentence would have been foreign to the genius of stylized Korean diction in the great sijo periods. ”

Sijo, unlike some other East Asian poetic forms, frequently employs metaphors, puns, allusions and similar word play. Most poets follow these guidelines very closely although there are longer examples. An exemplar is this poem by Yun Seondo (1587–1671)