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.
Sometimes, it doesn’t matter what form the poem takes: it’s really the content that counts.
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