See, I too read that as largely dactyllic dimeter with a few substitutions. There is a consistent rhythm to it.
O vernight VER y
WHITE ly dis CREET ly
VER y QUI etly
That stanza sounds like two lines of dactylic dimeter, then iambic dimeter with a dactylic substitution at the end.
OurTOES our NOSE s
Take HOLD on the LOAM
A QUI re the AIR
Trochaic dimeter followed by two lines of dactylic dimeter with an initial iambic substitution.
Line-by-line prosody aside, each stanza has six feet, making the entire poem feel distinctly hexametric.
In other words, there's more here than syllables -- there is a clear meter to it. It's not trying to defy rhythm, nor is the rhythm overly subtle.
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