Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written one of these theme posts. Normally I’d start off by talking about September’s posts, but… nothing has been posted yet. Go us! So instead I’ll just take a moment to revel in just how long we’ve kept this whole project up – 17 months!

Our first official post was May 6, 2014. This time last year, we were posting poems for our theme on Charity, when we were still plodding our way through all Seven Deadly Sins and Seven Virtues. Looking back, that was quite a slog, but I’m glad we stuck to it and finished out that series. We’ve already eclipsed 2014’s stats in every possible category, and have had contributions from four other writers. Time flies. If nothing else, I hope we have provided you with a light distraction for a few minutes. Thank you for sticking with us to this point.

And Around We Go!

We’ve had a lot of specific themes recently, especially dealing with potentiality of life — or its impact. So we’re going in a different direction… by returning to GALUMPHING! Our favorite!

Theme: eye of a hurricane, festival or fair, sailor

Structure: Cinquain Triplet

Yes, I live on the east coast, and yes, hurricane season is something that grabs my attention. Not because of the news, but because storms fascinate me; their raw destructive power carries so much symbolism that it’s cliche. I also chose these three elements because thinking about them gave me an idea for the mythology of my world-building project. Thus, my submission will actually be featured in some way in my story.

The Cinquain Triplet structure is something I made up… possibly. A Cinquain is not my design; it is a simple five-line stanza, typically using a rhyme scheme such as ababb, abaab, or abccb. I want to use what I am terming a “Cinquain Triplet”; three stanzas using the following rhyme scheme: abccb – bcddc – cdaad.

I have no idea if that rhyme scheme exists in other poetry, and I am not claiming it as my own invention. I enjoy the off-kilter but circular nature of five-line stanzas, such as in a rondeau. The three-stanza structure reminds me of the triplet – a rhythm that feels rounded and more fluid than the typical 4/4 measure. (I always think of poetry as a drum pattern.) I decided to “round out” the rhyme scheme by returning to the “a” sound in the final stanza.

If you happen to know of any poems using such a scheme, please point them out! I can already tell that this structure may become a personal favorite.

Feel free to participate by sending poems to redstringpapercuts@gmail.com And happy writing!

Steve D