Poetry Forms

Terza Rima Sonnet

Terza Rima Sonnet

A Terza Rima Sonnet consists of four tercets (three-lined stanzas) with an interlocking rhyme scheme and a closing couplet (two-lined stanza) which links back to the first stanza (14 total lines). The English form of the Terza Rima Sonnet is written in iambic pentameter, but according to the Poet’s Garret, “any meter or line length may be used, as long as all the lines are of the same length and meter.” According to ShadowPoetry.com, the Terza Rima Sonnet has eleven syllables per line.

The rhyme scheme for the Terza Rima Sonnet is as follows:
aba, bcb, cdc, ded, ee. – lines 1 and 3 rhyme with line 2 of the preceding stanza, and the couplet rhymes with line 2 of the fourth tercet.

www.shadowpoetry.com
http://www.thepoetsgarret.com/sonnet/rima.html

Following is a Terza Rima Sonnet I created; notice that I use eleven syllables per line.


Old Rooms, New Days


Eleven years old, she says she’s big sister
to two toddlers who vie for her attention—
guests who came to us in the dead of winter.

Three single mothers, full of apprehension,
walked timidly through the doors of the old house
that long ago lost the laughter of children.

Plastic bags, faded jeans, worn and tattered blouse,
hungry and cold, homeless, three frazzled women
sought relief, long abandoned by cowing spouse.

Alone and afraid, they carried the burden
of feeding their kids, without a place to stay—
worried of the future and what may happen.

They found safety here on a cold winter’s day
and brought joy to old rooms where children now play.

larryp
1/19/2009





This poem is another of my poems about homeless families. I am a volunteer for a national network called Family Promise which offers temporary assistance to homeless families with children while they get on their feet. Our day center is an old house that was not lived in for many years, but now has the sounds of laughing children. As van driver for Family Promise, I am honored to be able to see our guests each morning and to love their children. To start a Family Promise network in your community, see http://www.familypromise.org/