Tripadi Verse Form

The Tripadi comes to us from the Bangladesh region of India, originating somewhere in the 10th century. It is written in any number of tercets (three line stanzas). Lines one and two have eight syllables and rhyme with each other, and line three has ten syllables. There is also a less common version where lines one and two have six syllables each (but still rhyme) and the third line has eight syllables.

The verse is considered to be one thought broken up into three lines and can sometimes be found expressed as a single line. However, it is more typically written in tercets, giving the last line of each tercet a little more space and emphasis. There is no theme for the Tripadi, but the structure lends itself to both short and lengthy poems

Schematic:

xxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxa
xxxxxxxxxb

xxxxxxxc
xxxxxxxc
xxxxxxxxxd

... and so on.

I did two examples, one in the traditional 8/8/10 format, and one in the 6/6/8 format, and just for fun did the first one in the single line format as well. I kept wanting to make the last line of each verse rhyme, either with the other two in that verse or the end lines of the following verses. But that would have given us a whole different poem. :-D


Aging

We contemplate the road ahead,
some filled with joy, and some with dread,
but eventually we choose our way.

Our winding path may be easy,
maybe it is slow and breezy,
but pressing on we will find our fortune.

And whether rich or whether poor
the life we lead will account for
how others look upon us when we’re gone.

And when we come unto the end,
when comes the time we must ascend,
we can look back to see where we have gone.


Aging

We contemplate the road ahead, some filled with joy, and some with dread, but eventually we choose our way.
Our winding path may be easy, maybe it is slow and breezy, but pressing on we will find our fortune.
And whether rich or whether poor the life we lead will account for how others look upon us when we’re gone.
And when we come unto the end, when comes the time we must ascend, we can look back to see where we have gone.


The Birds

I see the birds in trees
cheering the summer breeze
and feel their joy that summer’s here.

They flutter, fly away
as they did yesterday
but I know they’ll be back again.