Journeying Out of the Dark Wood
Journeying Out of the Dark Wood
Let's Write Our Own Tercets as We Move Through a Difficult Time
Happy Saturday fellow Bluestockings. I would like to welcome and thank my newest paid supporter Dr. Charles Andrew Crummer. Support like yours helps me develop and grown my bi-weekly newsletter and salon. Glad to have you with us.
As Jim Morrison wrote and sang, “No one here gets out alive.” As we journey through our lives, we will face obstacles, grief, and difficulties along with joy, happiness, and success. My saving grace has always been my writing and art.
Last week I was so overwhelmed with my health and its costs. The outpouring of support and encouragement from many of you is something I am so grateful for.
in particular has not only inspired me on Substack, but he was one of the first people to offer me his wisdom.Like me, Diamond-Michael is a writer, and an exquisite and beautiful one I will add. Check out and support his Substacks Great Books + Great Minds, Black Books + Black Minds, and The Chocolate Taoist.
How ironic is it that the books I chose for my English 102 class this summer would mirror my own dark wood and challenges these past few months. I know many of my subscribers are writers and artists like myself. I hope you have fun with the following poetic exercise. I feel a special connection to Dante because in addition to being Irish, I am also Italian. His Divine Commedia and La Vita Nuova also use his autobiography and “confessions” to form his creative and non-fiction writing.
Using tercets like Dante did, let’s write our own poems centering on our own depressions, anxieties, or difficulties with situations in either our personal life, deling with world events, or even just trying to open a jar of pickles.
A tercet is a poem made up of three lines that form a stanza or a complete poem that can rhyme or not rhyme. Some tercets include:
Sicilian Tercet: A tercet written in iambic pentameter
A Haiku: A non-rhyming tercet made up of three lines. Line one contains five syllables. Line two contains seven syllables. Line three contains five syllables.
Terza Rizma: A tercet written in iambic pentameter with a pattern of rhymes.
Have fun with this. If you feel comfortable, please share your tercet or poem written in tercets in the comments. Remember we are all friends in our salon. Offer constructive and encouraging feedback.