Travel through time
to meet loved ones again
Only valued
When they depart
Look around
Why don’t we start
Normally late
Appreciate
dear darlings
close and away
from today
…
Read more via Wish
What’s in a Name
What’s in a name? It’s just a name,
A few small letters in a row.
Though countless others use the same,
To me it’s special, for I know
That when I speak his name, his ears
Are open to my voice. His smile
Can melt my sorrows, calm my fears.
And though we’re distant for a while,
The miles melt, my hopes enwreathe
Whenever I his name but breathe.
10-line Poem Challenge #30: Sonnetina Tre
This is week 3 in our study of sonnetinas, or “little songs.” Previously we have tried our hands at the Sonnetina Cinque and Sonnetina Quattro. Both of these forms have quite a bit of flexibility within the general framework, and you will find the same to be true for the Sonnetina Tre.
As you might guess from the title, this form is created from three stanzas: 2 quatrains and 1 couplet. It is usually written in iambic tetrameter (8-syllable lines) or pentameter (10-syllable lines). The normal structure concludes with the couplet, making it just one quatrain short of a Shakespearean sonnet. But it is possible to have the couplet in the middle or even at the beginning. Regardless of the order in which the stanzas appear, they are written together, as a 10-line form, with no space in between.
In addition to the placement of the couplet, there is also flexibility in the format of the quatrains. As defined by their rhyme, they can be:
• a series of couplets (aabb)
• alternate line rhyme (abab)
• envelope rhyme (abba)
• partial rhyme (xaxa)
• free verse (no rhyme)
The couplet itself is also flexible. In other words, it may rhyme or not. According to my sources, it can also rhyme with the adjoining quatrain (though to me that contradicts the definition of the stanza). The key is that the couplet contains the theme of the poem. In prose terms, the couplet is like the topic sentence in a paragraph.
If you want to know more about couplets, go to my article on the Sonnetina Cinque.
You may have noticed that the Sonnetina Tre is very similar to the Miniature, another form we have studied. It too is made from two quatrains followed by a rhyming couplet. The difference is that the Miniature has varying line lengths, as specified in the form, whereas all the lines of the Sonnetina Tre are of a uniform length (isosyllabic). The line length is up to you, the writer, but once established, you must use the same meter / syllabic count for every line.
In summary, the Sonnetina Tre is:
- A decastich (10-line poem) written in three stanzas, two quatrains and a couplet, with no spaces between.
- Usually iambic tetrameter (8 syllables per line) or pentameter (10 syllables per line).
- Rhyme scheme options: abab cdcd ee, abba cc deed, xaxa xbxb ab, etc.
Continue reading “10-line Poem Challenge #30: Sonnetina Tre”
Ladies’ Night Out
Friday had come—pay day,
Ladies’ night out for the three musketeers,
Or so they’re been nick-named by their husbands.
A car with two boisterous women inside pulled up the driveway.
The horn honked raucously.
A younger woman came out of the house and climbed in
While waving goodbye to Mr. Goodbar, the nosy neighbor,
And the three musketeers were off.
Turning onto Fifth Avenue,
They arrived at their favorite shopping mall and piled out.
Wandering store to store, the women relived their teen years once again.
Doris found herself a new dress.
Kit-Kat (Katherine) got lost in mounds of classic movies.
And the youngest of the trio, Baby Ruth,
Was selected to receive a free mani-pedi!
To celebrate, her girlfriends took her to the jewelry store for something special.
Hours later, Mr. Goodbar could hear snickers, giggles, and chuckles
As the car returned to the driveway.
Baby Ruth got out and said good night to her friends,
Then entered the house and called out,
“Oh, Henry! You won’t believe what I found tonight!
Isn’t it lovely!”
The Art of Poetry
Brush of the artist, pen of the scribe—
Tools that she handles with equal finesse.
Able the eye and the ear to impress—
What she has tasted, gives us to imbibe.
Painting a picture using her words—
Paper, the canvas; life is the scene.
And on the easel, color ungirds,
Telling a story with writing unseen.
Poetry springs not from technique;
The artist makes the art unique.
First Day in Braces
For years I’ve longed to have a perfect smile;
At last the long-awaited day has come.
I didn’t know they’d be so worrisome—
Will my mouth be this tender all the while?
They say there is no profit without pain;
I only hope it will not be in vain.
My daughter never did so carry on;
She chuckles now to see her mom complain.
From further loud laments I shall refrain,
Envisioning my smile when these are gone.
Loving Deeply
It is impossible to love deeply without sacrifice.
—Elisabeth Elliot
Blue v. Gray
The morning sky looked like a battlefield,
As blue and gray arose and fought each other—
A replay of the war against the brother.
By and by the gray began to yield.
Blue won the day, but gray returns tomorrow;
Umbrellas up, for the sky will cry its sorrow.
If You Could Know My Mother
I hope someday you’ll come to know
The mother whom I treasure so.
You’d love her just the way I do,
And I’m quite sure she’d love you too.
Read more via If You Could Know My Mother — The Abundant Heart
I know this is an American holiday, but I would like to wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, wherever you may live.
Little Treasures
I read the book you gave to me;
It made me feel so close to you.
The words on every page I see,
You read them first, when you went through.
When turning to page ninety-three,
Some special tokens came in view.
For pressed between the pages there
Were petals from a once-red rose
And a ribbon ‘round a lock of hair—
Their meaning no one but us knows….
