The literal translation of terza rima from Italian is ‘third rhyme’. Terza rima is a three-line stanza using chain rhyme in the pattern A-B-A, B-C-B, C-D-C, D-E-D. There is no limit to the number of lines, but poems or sections of poems written in terza rima end with either a single line or couplet repeating the rhyme of the middle line of the final tercet. The two possible endings for the example above are d-e-d, e or d-e-d, e-e. There is no set rhythm for terza rima, but in English, iambic pentameter is generally preferred.

To me, the challenge was to make a story out of the poetry, without sacrificing the rhyme scheme. Did I succeed?

Lonesome

It’s overwhelming how lonesome one feels

When left alone for any length of time;

More so without the benefit of wheels.

Some friends are distant, or seem so when I’m

Lonely, in the mood for company; talk

Is hard by long distance, without a dime.

Time can be passed, by going for a walk,

But crowds have a way of creating fear

That one may not survive being a rock.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy being clear,

But more that I want to become less free

And lean on someone I’d like to be near.

If only one could accurately see

How others feel about being alive,

There would be less need of “I” and/or “me”.

It is to this point that I now arrive:

Be gentle, more loving; for this I strive.