It is a sort of short sonnet with a ternary structure, formed by three strophes of three verses each.
It is a relatively new meter compared to those from traditional poetry, probably born around the middle of the 19th century, and the poet who has indissolubly linked his name to this type of composition is Si Mohand.
The asefru is usually read or recited but can also be sung, and numerous examples of isefra sung are present in the repertoire of different Kabyle singers, such as Taos Amrouche (for example Vaste est la prison, Vast is the prison), Slimane Azem (Effɤ ay ajrad tamurt-iw, Grasshopper, leave my country) or Malika Domrane (Nnehta, Sighing).
Ggulleɣ seg Tizi-wuzzu armi d Akfadu ur ḥkimen dg' akken llan
Lɣwerba tura deg uqerru welleh ard a nenfu wala leεquba ɣer yilfan I swear, from Tizi Ouzou up the Akfadou's pass none of those shall command me