Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

Word of the Day: Triolet

Here:

An eight-line stanza having just two rhymes and repeating the first line as the fourth and seventh lines, and the second line as the eighth. See Sandra McPherson’s “Triolet” or “Triolets in the Argolid” by Rachel Hadas. 

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The taste is strong as ever,
figs and cheese and wine.
I recall each savor;
the taste is strong as ever,
even if it will never
be quite so fresh again.
The taste is strong as ever,
figs and cheese and wine.
……………………
 
I will now try to write a triolet.
 
Hooked
 
The ancient lures entice me still,
Property, pelf, and power.
Even if against my will,
The ancient lures entice me still.
Despite advancing age and wisdom's rise,
Their grip on me is unreleasing.
The ancient lures entice me still,
Property, pelf, and  power.
…………………………
 
But I'm no poet, and I know it, so there's no way I could blow it.

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Bill Vallicella

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4 responses to “Word of the Day: Triolet”

  1. trudy vandermolen Avatar
    trudy vandermolen

    I like it! And you have included some alliteration. Here is my humble offering:
    The August garden wayward sprawls,
    cucumbers, squash, tomatoes.
    My will to weed no longer calls;
    the August garden wayward sprawls
    with crops cascading over walls,
    abandoning their narrow halls.
    The August garden wayward sprawls,
    cucumbers, squash, tomatoes.

    Reply
  2. BV Avatar
    BV

    That’s good, Trudy.
    But you may be violating the “having just two rhymes” rule. You appear to have four rhymes going: sprawls-calls, sprawls-walls, walls-calls, halls-walls.
    But what do I know? I merely dabble in poetry, reading some, and writing less. I know next to nothing about poetics if that is what the subject is called that treats of line and verse, trope and abstraction, meiosis and hyperbole, meter and rhythm.

    Reply
  3. trudy vandermolen Avatar
    trudy vandermolen

    I know. I thought it was ok to have everything rhyme with sprawls. Did the original have several with ever, never, savor? Or is savor not close enough to rhyme?
    It was fun though!

    Reply
  4. BV Avatar
    BV

    >>Or is savor not close enough to rhyme?<< That's what I was thinking. But again, this is not my wheelhouse.

    Reply

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