Day 3 – How to Write a Triplet Poem for “30 Poems in 30 Days” #NationalPoetryMonth

I’m fond of teaching how to write a “Triplet” on the THIRD of April. Yes, it’s a repeat from years past, but new people join in each year and as I said, I love this form for Day 3 ~ besides, it’s worth reading my info on it so it doesn’t get confused with “tercet.”

And another reason I like sharing this poetry form early on is that I SHARE a COUPLE of GREAT RHYMING TOOLS ~ websites that help you brainstorm rhyming words!! Sweet!! Right?

Now, depending on which EXPERT source you get your directions from, you are bound to get different definitions for various forms of poetry. Odd, I know. But I'm trying to stick with as accurate definitions as I can for this challenge. Some people use the term "tercet" and "triplet" interchangeably when discussing poetry, but that's not what I have found. A "tercet" is a 3-lined poem (which may or may not rhyme and may or may not share the same meter). Therefore, yes, a "triplet" is a "tercet" BUT all "tercets" are not triplets. Go figure.

A "TRIPLET" is a very specific type of tercet and for our purposes we will follow these rules:

How to write a Triplet Poem ~ Triplets are 3 lined poems that rhyme. And some sources say they should have a title.

BUT ~ HERE’S THE IMPORTANT PART ~

EVERY LINE HAS THE SAME NUMBER OF SYLLABLES or BEATS!

Need help with making words rhyme? Try this little “rhyme finder” – pretty cool:

http://www.rhymezone.com/?loc=bar

OR, here’s another one: http://www.rhymer.com/index.html

However, some sources say that having the same meter for each line is at the discretion of the poet. 

So, TRY one that has the ending words rhyme and the same number of syllables, but it that gets too hard – just make sure the last word of each of the 3 lines rhyme! Cheers!!

Fun times ~ it helps to think of a topic first, any topic (nature is usually an easy one to try).

I’ve tweaked one I wrote a few years ago:

Through Laughter and Tears 

We’ve been married forty-five years,

Through laughter, joys, and all the tears.

Now, only you can calm my fears.

     © 2016 by Stephanie Abney 

And here's one that's way silly - which shows you I've been up in the wee hours working on this post. Sigh.... oh well. BUT, each line has 7 syllables/beats:

To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme

Finding words that always rhyme

Really takes a lot of time

Is not rhyming such a crime?

  © 2014 by Stephanie Abney 

Now you give it a try ~ Cheers!! Please feel free to share it in the comments or at least tell us you wrote one and where to find it.

AND PLEASE, obviously, any poetry that is shared in the comments section of this blog is the property of the person who shares it. The poem is their original work and no one may use it in any form without their express permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to it. Just a little reminder. Thanks!! 

And if you choose to post your poems on your own blog – that’s awesome. But please don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem and LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to read the instructions. Thanks for respecting my work. OKAY - GO!!!!