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
…
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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”
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
Irons in the Fire
The day was long and wearisome,
So many irons in the fire.
My spirit, tired, was overcome;
The hammock answered my desire,
And soon I thought I would succumb—
Unfinished chores ignited ire.
You wear yourself too thin, you know.
You’ve done the same thing time again.
Pull out some irons; let them go,
Then plan your work and work your plan.
Acceptance
Once he was mean to me
Hurting me not with hand
But with a bladed tongue
Cutting I could not stand
He was my enemy
He was my enemy
‘Til I accepted him
Offered forgiveness free
Pain now a mem’ry dim
We walk in unity
Apologies to My Followers
Please forgive me for dropping off the face of the earth these past few days. I had planned carefully, or so I thought, in preparation for my art show last weekend. My poems were written and posts scheduled to make sure the blog would continue to carry on while I was busy in the studio and at the show. This past week’s posts were ready to go as well, but were not scheduled. Little did I know that the week after the art show would be busier still than those leading up to it. There was business to attend to, but there were also family affairs that I could not have foreseen.
I was going to simply post my weekly challenge a couple days late and then get back on schedule. However, that would only give you a few days to write your own Sonnetina Cinque. Since this one can potentially be a bit challenging, I decided instead to push all my challenges back a week. So you have a little break, and I’ll see if I can go into the linkup for the Ovillejo and extend the period for submissions to that one.
That said, I look forward to studying the sonnetina form with you over the next five weeks. And I’ll go ahead and let you know that when we have exhausted my knowledge of ten-line poems, we’ll move on to the sonnet (14 lines), and then finish out the year with some quintets (5 lines). Why did I choose the sonnet to follow the decastich? Well, frankly, I wasn’t planning to go that route, but in my preparation to write the Sonnetina Cinque, I decided to look more closely at the sonnet form, and that of course whetted my appetite to write one. I actually found fourteen sonnet forms—a fitting number for a poem with fourteen lines. If the sonnet sounds boring or too difficult, don’t write them all off just yet. You may think the sonnet isn’t for you, but stick around and I’ll show you some interesting variations that I know you will enjoy!
So, are you ready to do this with me? Enjoy your little break, or perhaps you will take this time to write another Ovillejo, then Thursday I’ll share my second sample poem for the Sonnetina Cinque, and Friday I’ll show you how to write one of your own.
Thank you for understanding, and God bless you this week.
Lost in a Book
When I found that book waiting on the shelf,
I found myself.
I was barely through the cover embossed
When I got lost.
I was caught and drawn in on a hook
In a book.
As the day wore on, other things forsook,
For the author seemed to know me well;
In her story I my own could tell—
I found myself when I got lost in a book.
Alone
All
Alone
I lay there
On the hard floor,
Letting the darkness
Swallow me up as the
Setting sun bereaved my room
Of light. Spirit was already
Bereaved of desire for anything
That once brought to me happiness. Hot tears
Cleansed the soul, but not entirely. I prayed
To my Father in heaven. This too
Soothed my soul, but a vacancy
Remained. He said, “I gave You
Friends for times such as these.
Seek them.” And I did.
With dear friends I’m
Not alone
Any
More.
Copyright © 2018 Abigail Gronway – All Rights Reserved
Scansion:
Double Etheree
Two Etheree stanzas, where the second one is reversed.
Syllabic count: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Rhyme not required
Flying Lessons
Mother eagle knows it’s time—
Shows him how to fly;
Pushes him from out the nest—
Will he fall and die?
No. For mother swoops beneath,
And she does not tarry.
When he calms his fears and rests
On her wings, she’ll carry,
Through the wind his form sustain,
Start the lesson once again.
