by Ashley Lister
The Triolet
My fingers slip between your thighs
You part your legs and beg for more
Desire burning in your eyes
My fingers slip between your thighs
And as I listen to your sighs
And feel you dripping from your core
My fingers slip between your thighs
You part your legs and beg for more
The triolet is a one stanza, eight line poem with a
distinctive rhyme scheme of ABaAabAB. Usually it’s written in iambic tetrameter
(in other words, it typically includes eight syllables per line). Note here
that the capital A and B refer to refrains: lines that are repeated later in
the poem.
|
My fingers slip between your thighs You part your legs and beg for more Desire burning in your eyes My fingers slip between your thighs And as I listen to your sighs And feel you dripping from your core My fingers slip between your thighs You part your legs and beg for more |
A B a A a b A B |
In the above example we can see that the refrain lines are:
My fingers slip between your thighs
and
You part your legs and beg for more
That the poem keeps returning to these lines gives them a
sense of gravitas and importance. This helps to give the triolet a hypnotic
feel that adds to the appeal of this often overlooked form. Note also that the musicality
of the form can help writers to include par rhymes, as with the example below:
You kiss the riding crop’s flat tip
And promise not to err again
You licked the leather on the whip
You kiss the riding crop’s flat tip
You swear you didn’t mean to slip
And beg me for your punishment
You kiss the riding crop’s flat tip
And promise not to err again
As always, feel free to post your triolets below.
A silken rope across your chest
brings such sweet desires to bear
the nipple hardens on your breast.
A silken rope across your chest
leaves softly reddened skin caressed
and on your lips a silent prayer.
A silken rope across your chest
brings such sweet desires to bear.
As summer's breeze caressed my skin
I languished naked in the field
A hidden witness stirs within.
As summer's breeze caressed my skin
and quiet eyes observe my sin
and watch me come undone and yield
as summer's breeze caressed my skin
I languished naked in the field
Rachel –
I love the way you've brought bondage into this form, as though the refrain lines are binding the poem. It's especially tight binding with the seven syllable lines for your B rhyme – kudos.
Jelly –
Your use of yield and field is a stylish choice for the measured syllable count of the triolet. I don't know if each of those words should be pronounced as two syllables or one. But I do know that they complement each other perfectly.
(today triolets – tomorrow the Limerick!)
Ash