The ghazal (pronounced "guzzle,") originated in Iran in the tenth century, growing out of an earlier, lengthier Arabic form of poetry. The brevity of traditional ghazals—usually no more than twelve couplets—and their rich, concentrated imagery eventually made them the most popular style of poetry in Iran. As the Muslim influence spread throughout the Middle East and Asia, ghazals grew in popularity throughout the region, especially in India and Pakistan. In more recent years, European and American poets have experimented with this form, though usually not in keeping with the precise pattern of the original ghazals from Iran.

Spires's poem follows enough of the ghazal style to make its construction recognizable, though it by no means adheres to it strictly. Each couplet of a traditional ghazal is written as a self-sustained unit that expresses a complete thought and could stand alone as a poem if extracted...