Syllabics

An interesting conversation took place today between Whiskey and me, and I thought I'd open it up to my faithful reader(s). Does the word "power" (and similar words i.e. fire, flower, hour, fuel, spoil, etc.) consist of one syllable or two. I contend that it consists of one. I site for my authority the ear of the poets, Shakespeare, et al. It seems the debate hinges upon whether diphthongs (long A, long I, Oy, Ow) should be considered one syllable or two. For those of you who would consult a dictionary, you will find support for both pronunciations, and indeed, in a vacuum, without context, the words may very well be both. However, in use, especially when that use is most important, i.e. in poetry, the scansion of poems that contain these words consistently pronounce them monosyllabically.

Addendum: Schwas are also a bone of contention: does "preposterous" consist of three syllables or four? If you say four, why then is "preposterous" intelligible when pronounced "prepost'rous" while "fallacious" can never be disyllabically pronouced "F'llacious"? (I consider that initial "a" to be a schwa)

Thoughts?

On Form

It has recently been brought to my attention that when God revealed himself to Moses, he said "I am who Iamb." I think this is fairly conclusive proof that God writes poetry in form (and in English!) and if from is good enough for God, it's good enough for me.
I think it's also probable that God favors trimeter...just a hunch...