Trimeric: Poetic Form
Learn how to write the trimeric, a poetic form invented by Charles A. Stone. Learn the guidelines and read an example poem here.
Here's one final poetic form before the November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Trimeric! Check back in December for more poetic forms.
Trimeric Poems
I've really been having fun trying out new (to me) poetic forms recently, but I think the trimeric may be one of my faves. Invented by Charles A. Stone, the rules are pretty simple:
- Trimeric has 4 stanzas
- The first stanza has 4 lines
- The other three stanzas have 3 lines each
- The first line of each stanza is a refrain of the corresponding line in the first stanza (so 2nd stanza starts with the second line, third stanza starts with the third line, etc.)
Note: No other rules on line length, meter, or rhyme.
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Play with poetic forms!
Poetic forms are fun poetic games, and this digital guide collects more than 100 poetic forms, including more established poetic forms (like sestinas and sonnets) and newer invented forms (like golden shovels and fibs).
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Here’s my attempt at a Trimeric:
About Superheroes, by Robert Lee Brewer
The thing about being a superhero is
you never get to be with the person you love
for more than a couple story lines. It's almost
like being a superhero is a cruel curse.
You never get to be with the person you love,
because they're being kidnapped or killed or you find
out they're the bad guy you've been slugging it out with
for more than a couple story lines. It's almost
as if your personal life is a magnet for
drama, though that's what got you here in the first place--
like being a superhero is a cruel curse,
but you continue to show up even when no
one knows you're saving them, because you know you can.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
