Tag Archives: poem

Over and Over He Stumbles – A Triolet for Eric

Over and over he stumbles,
‘Till he finally comes to a stop.
His unthinking chastising mumbles.
Over and over he stumbles.
Late one night on the stairs they hear rumbles,
As his bod trips right there at the top.
Over and over he stumbles,
‘Till he finally comes to a stop.

Well, the triolet poetry form was a new one to me this morning when I was reading The Daily Create tdc1155, and so I thought it would be fun to try it out. I used a familiar topic, just so that I could focus on the mechanics of the form.

The poem has a pattern of repeating lines as well as rhymes, described by Carol Rumens in this article in The GuardianIt will need eight lines and rhyme ABaAabAB. The capital letters indicate the refrain lines, the lower case letters add the requisite rhyming scheme. You can use any meter.

I found the triolet to be an interesting challenge. Certainly a more substantial effort would be required to get something that fits and yet disguises the form — one challenge is to have the opening refrain communicate a changed or evolving meaning as the poem progresses. I tried to do that with mine, although for most of my Friends, foreknowledge of the back story will cloud the alternative interpretation of the first instance as they jump to the final understanding.

I made this little GIF to perhaps support the triolet a bit. I hope you like it!

"Over and Over He Stumbles" Triolet Animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Over and Over He Stumbles” Triolet Animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina