I hear their warnings, sharp and shrill
as southbound geese fly overhead,
"It's time to flee from winter's chill."
I feel an overwhelming dread
I won't, like them, escape the cold
as southbound geese fly overhead.
A vise-like frost has taken hold
from which I cannot break the grip --
I won't, like them, escape the cold.
As winter cracks its cruel whip,
I'm held in place by frozen hands
from which I cannot break the grip.
Birds flee to warm, embracing lands,
but that is not my destiny.
I'm held in place by frozen hands.
As southbound geese fly over me,
I hear their warnings, sharp and shrill,
but it is not my destiny
to share their flight from winter's chill.
|
Author Notes
The terzanelle is a 19 line poem composed of five tercets and a quatrain. The rhyme scheme is aba bcb cdc ded efe fafa.
The middle line of the first tercet is the final line of the second tercet. The middle line of the second tercet is the same as the final line of the third, etc. The concluding quatrain uses the first and third lines of the opening tercet along with the middle line of the final tercet. Lines can be of any length, but they should all be of the same length. And if that doesn't have you confused, you're simply amazing! :-) Oh, and to be more confusing, I modified the final line. LOL
|
|