I’ve been playing inside Khara’s House’s jungle (Our Lost Jungle) kind of feeling like a two-toed sloth moving to the beat of sludge neglecting everything but the necessary
because of a bout with Salmonella. Anyway, her ninth and final challenge is to create our own poetry form based on the previous eight challenges which can be found at her blog. I present to you: The TriVail.
The TriVail is loosely based on the Monostich.
Here are the rules:
- The TriVail contains six couplets with a seventh tercet. The first line in each couplet contains 3 syllables. The second line contains 7 syllables with the final tercet containing 3, 3, and 3 syllables in each line. So, it looks like this:
1: 3,7,
2: 3,7,
3: 3,7,
4: 3,7,
5: 3,7,
6: 3,7,
7: 3,3,3
- Rhyme Rule: Your choice: All the sevens may rhyme. All the threes may rhyme, or each couplet may rhyme.
- Theme: Relationship. With anything. It can’t just be seven random lines. The lines must relate, the poem must be about relationship. With a dog, with a career, with chocolate, with a book.
- This is based on the monostitch—each couplet must be one complete thought. No running into the next couplet. The couplets gives us an observation—could be something perplexing or something that strikes you as awesome, or expression of a desire. Each couplet must relate to the previous one and drive the thought until the ending.
- You may have one complete thought with eleven syllables in the couplet or ending tercet or break it up into two separate monostichs of three syllables and another monostich of seven syllables.
- Choose one word from first line, repeat it somewhere in poem and in seventh tercet.
“One”
One clear sky
can’t contain night’s lullaby.
One soft kiss
can’t express love’s dual bliss.
A babe’s cry
under wing softens to sighs.
Here we sing
in love while raindrops ring.
Take my fire;
my faith in our shared desire.
Take my heart;
sculpt it into passion’s art.
One long gaze.
One long touch.
One long love.
If you choose to give it a try, let me know so I can read it and please link back to me. I would also appreciate that you also credit J.lynn Sheridan as the creator of this form as I have named it in honor of my mom who is struggling with dementia and for my dad who is struggling with caring for her. Thank you.
Writing On The Sun 