E - Elevenie: The Eye of God

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An Elevenie is a short poem with just eleven words in five lines.  It is also called an Elfchen.  "Elf" is German for eleven, and "chen" is a term of endearment and denotes something small.  Each line in an Elevenie has two specific requirements. 

First, what words are used. 

1 - a thought, object, color, etc. (some instructions list this as just a noun)

2 - what does that word in line one do?

3 - where is that word, or how is it?

4 - what do you mean by that?

5 - What is the result? 

Second, how many words in each line.

1,2,3,4,1

The Eye of God, or  L’Oeil de Dieu, is not the title Salvador Dali gave this print, however it is the dealer title, or marketing name.  He created it for one of the illustrations in The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini.  This is not from the book, it's a later print.  While some think "Oh!  A Dali print!  That's valuable!"  Not really.  Dali would sign multiple blank pages that would later be used for prints.  This is signed in pencil in the margin. It's worth a few hundred, but as my mother used to say, "Not enough to retire on."   I actually got this at a yard sale with a pile of other artwork for $20 total, so less than $1!  My P post is another one from the same sale, and that is actually worth more. 



god

looks down

from on high

he watches mankind’s trials

sobs


©2026 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved  

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