Poems With Tercets

Published: July 2017

Collection of poems written with stanzas that have three lines. 3 line stanzas are called Tercets. A stanza in poetry is a group of lines usually separated by a blank line. Stanzas of 3 lines are called Tercets from the Latin word tertius meaning three.

16 Examples Of Poems With Tercets (Three Line Stanzas)

Mad Girl's Love Song
- By Sylvia Plath
Famous Poem

Many of Sylvia Plath's poems have a theme of unrequited love, and this one is no different. She wrote this poem while she was a twenty-year-old student at Smith College. It has that very natural and relatable element of someone that age looking for love. The speaker is addressing a former lover, wishing he would return to her. Plath writes with a lot of emotion, making it clear how it feels to be rejected while still longing for someone to return feelings of love. She uses personification to give the stars and darkness human characteristics. This poem also utilizes the poetic technique of repetition.

in Famous Sad Love Poems

"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:
Exit seraphim and Satan's men:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I fancied you'd return the way you said,
But I grow old and I forget your name.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

I should have loved a thunderbird instead;
At least when spring comes they roar back again.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)"
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Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
- By Dylan Thomas
Famous Poem

This very famous poem, a villanelle, by Dylan Thomas was written as Thomas' father lay on his deathbed. The message that Thomas was conveying to his father was his passionate desire that his father not take death "lying down." He is expressing the feeling that so many have felt as they watched a close friend, parent, or lover slip away. The message to his father is, "Don't Go! Fight! Death is an injustice! Show your passion for life, by not going gentle into that "good" night."

in Famous Death Poems

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
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One Art
- By Elizabeth Bishop
Famous Poem

Possibly her most famous poem, Elizabeth Bishop's,"One Art" is a villanelle, a 6 stanza poem that consists of five tercets (3 line stanzas), and one concluding quatrain (4 line stanza). For more about this challenging poetry form see How To Write a Villanelle.
This poem is about loss and starts off light with a touch of humor, but loss is certainly not a humorous topic and as the stanzas go on the losses mount. Losing our most precious possessions, our friends and loved ones is a most difficult burden. Bishop lost both her parents as a child. Her father died when she was an infant and her mother was committed to an Insane Asylum when she was five. She never saw her mother again and grew up in the homes of various relatives.

in Famous Sad Poems

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
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The Eagle
- By Alfred Tennyson
Famous Poem

In this short poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), he captures the majesty of an eagle hunting from the top of a cliff. This descriptive poem is comprised of tercets (three-line stanzas).

in Famous Nature Poems

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
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This poem touched my heart as no other poem has. I love nature and most poems don't interest me. When I can, I am outside in nature and when I have to go inside, I fall just like the Eagle at...

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In Time
- By Pam J. Pastirik
- Published by Family Friend Poems May 2016 with permission of the Author.
My son died in 2012. I am waiting for time to heal my broken heart, but I know that it will never mend. Many people use the cliché, "Things will get better in time," but that does not hold true for me right now. That is why I wrote this poem, in the hopes that others will relate to the notion of loss and time. Thank you.

Poem About Wanting Time To Heal Wounds

in Son Death Poems

Time cannot erase the sorrow and pain that I feel,
Nor can it make things better
Or force my heart to heal.

Time cannot erase the sorrow and pain that I feel,
Nor can it make things better
Or force my heart to heal.

Time is now a measure of the days since you've been gone,
Of getting by the best I can,
And trying to be strong.

Time should mend a broken heart.
That's what they say,
But time will never change the fact that you've gone away.
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My loving son and best friend left me on October 8, 2022. He had a heart of gold and loved his boxer dogs. My heart is broken beyond repair. My only son was 55 years old. He loved his two...

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Remember
- By Victor C. Kleinschmit
- Published by Family Friend Poems May 2016 with permission of the Author.
I write poetry from the heart. I find my inspiration from photos on the internet. I'll see a picture that inspires me and then I write down those feelings. This particular poem was inspired after reading In Flanders Fields. I also liked the photo. Hope you enjoy!

Poem Remembering Fallen Soldiers

in Memorial Day Poems

Someone's child, left long ago,
A strange land,
Someone's foe.

Someone's child, left long ago,
A strange land,
Someone's foe.

An unmarked grave, fields of green,
Resting quiet,
Just eighteen.

Winds of freedom, wash us now,
Remember him,
This I vow.
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Never Give Up
- By Becky
- Published by Family Friend Poems December 2015 with permission of the Author.
I wrote this poem because I was feeling a little down one day, and sometimes I just need to boost my self-confidence, so I wrote a poem about it, hoping it could help other people as well. I hope you like it, and I hope it gives you a bit of a confidence boost.

in Inspirational Poems by Teens

Never give up,
Never give in.
Move onward and upward with strength from within.

Never give up,
Never give in.
Move onward and upward with strength from within.

Always believe,
Always look forward.
Never be the one who is seen as a coward.

Remember the past,
Look for the future.
Always remember it's often good to be obscure.

You are special,
You are unique.
To go far in life is what you should seek.

You are brilliant,
You prove to be amazing every day,
And there is someone who will love you in every way.
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This poem has given me hope, I am currently doing my B tech of which I was about to deregister it because its all seemed so hard to uphill, but reading this poem gave me strength to face...

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Nature's Law
- By Pistol
- Published by Family Friend Poems May 2015 with permission of the Author.
The only poem I have ever written. I'm scared of what the world is becoming.

Poem About The Earth's Future

in Environment Poems

The waves are rolling toward the shore.

A silent world - an empty core.
Lifeless land with nothing more.

The waves are rolling toward the shore.

A silent world - an empty core.
Lifeless land with nothing more.
The waves are crashing on the shore.

The fabled beast - a mighty roar,
Extinction men choose to ignore,
And the waves are breaking at the shore.

A new beginning, our fathers - fore,
Human nature set to explore.
The waves are lapping at the shore.

Seven seas sailed, in the skies we soar.
Kingdoms conquered, blood they pour.
Crimson waves rest on the shore.

A fractured earth, relations sore.
A greed that breaks our natural core,
And the waves are turning on the shore.

Gluttonous rage,
We lust for more,
And the waves are monsters on the shore.

The tides are turning.
The land is raw.
Time to face our nature's law.

And the waves are rolling toward the shore,
And the waves are rolling toward the shore,
And the waves are rolling toward the shore...
Forever more.
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This expresses my thoughts about the world in a way I could never explain. I loved this!

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Indian Summer
- By Bettina Van Vaerenbergh
- Published by Family Friend Poems October 2022 with permission of the Author.
Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year! I wrote this poem on a bench in the palace gardens of Versailles (France), on a beautiful day in the Fall. I tried to capture the moment, while experimenting a little bit with the form of the poem.

A Fond Memory Of A Beautiful Fall Day

in Fall Poems

The woods are ablaze with golden light,
And the sky seems painted by a child
In the deepest blue, an impossible hue.

The woods are ablaze with golden light,
And the sky seems painted by a child
In the deepest blue, an impossible hue.

It's a festive explosion of colors so warm,
With red-yellow-green-brownish charm -
Of leaves swirling by, a feast for the eye.

People sitting on benches, enjoying the sun.
Children skipping and running, having fun.
It's peaceful, this moment; perfect, blissful.

Myriads of leaves are floating on the pond.
Memories are made, happy and fond
As the cameras click on the selfie stick.

No need for a scarf, or mittens, or a vest;
And winter, that feared, unwelcome guest -
He's nowhere near, still miles from here.
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Lovely poem, Bettina. I have never been to Europe but plan to visit it someday. But I have stayed in the North eastern part of USA for quite a few years, and hands down fall is my favorite...

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She Makes A House A Home
- By Maggie Bernard
- Published by Family Friend Poems May 2016 with permission of the Author.
My name is Maggie Bernard, and this is a poem I wrote for my mom. She means the world to me, so I wanted to write a poem to show her the appreciation that most daughters feel for their mothers.

A Mother Always Loves Poem

in Mother Poems

The lady who has loved you as you've grown
will always love and cherish you for all time.
She has the greatest heart ever known.

The lady who has loved you as you've grown
will always love and cherish you for all time.
She has the greatest heart ever known.

She watched you grow through every milestone
and held you during every bedtime.
She is the lady who has loved you as you've grown.

You happen to be her most precious stone,
and her love is as brilliant as a summer's day.
She has the greatest heart ever known.

And if you ever feel alone,
she is the one to make you feel fine.
She has loved you as you've grown.

She will brag about you to anyone known,
because to her, you are perfectly sublime.
Her heart is the greatest ever known.

I desire to be like her when I am grown
and have a daughter of my own,
because she has taught me how to love as I've grown.

She has the greatest heart ever known.
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A Minute
- By Patricia A. Gordon
- Published by Family Friend Poems July 2007 with permission of the Author.
No matter how special you are, you need someone to listen to you and be your friend.

Poem About Giving Time For A Friend

in Inspirational Friend Poems

Everyone, young or old,
Needs someone to listen
As their stories are told.

Everyone, young or old,
Needs someone to listen
As their stories are told.

The difference is yours to make.
A minute from your busy day
Is all it would take.

Take a minute and lend an ear.
Listen intently
To what you hear.

Take a minute and you will see
Just how powerful
Listening can be.

Take a minute to offer a smile and a touch.
Your sincerity
Means so much.

Take a minute and simply be kind.
A friend for life
May be what you find.
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I Used To Love You
- By Avery Rose
- Published by Family Friend Poems December 2016 with permission of the Author.
This poem is about how love, no matter how strong, will still fade if unrequited.

From Love To Letting Go Poem

in Moving On Poems

I used to love you,
Gently, carefully...
As I was afraid of falling too deep.

I used to love you,
Gently, carefully...
As I was afraid of falling too deep.

I used to love you,
Silently, hopelessly...
Through endless tests of disappointments and jealousy.

I used to love you,
Sincerely, passionately...
With all of my heart and all of my being.

I used to love you,
And I hope one day you'll find someone
Who will love you as much as I used to.
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To The Unforgettable
- By Lily Rae
- Published by Family Friend Poems March 2019 with permission of the Author.
I was deeply in love with a guy I was with, and one day I woke up to him dumping me. It was unexpected and was by far the most painful breakup I've experienced. He didn't give me a genuine reason why and just said it was for the best, so I've been trying to make sense of it all.

Trying To Make Sense Of A Broken Heart

in Breaking Up Poems

I know we'll never be the same.
Behind my love,
I'm filled with shame.

I know we'll never be the same.
Behind my love,
I'm filled with shame.

In my head it's become so loud.
These intruding thoughts
Have begun to crowd.

What did I do wrong?
Just give me a reason.
Don't lead me along.

I try to make sense of it,
But you were my only hope.
Now I have not a bit.

I try to remember our brighter days.
I don't want to associate you
With the sadness that remains.

When I felt as whole as half,
You knew how to turn any cry
Into a laugh.

But now you're not here.
I'm so confused.
Why is this so unclear?

In my dreams we're okay again and you still love me,
But alas those are just dreams
Because I know that will never be.

Missing you hurts enough to kill.
I know you don't care,
And somehow I love you still.
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Age. Family. Work... could play a huge part. Or he might be married. Men can be master deceivers.

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Cow In My Soup
- By Kevin T. Pearson
- Published by Family Friend Poems September 2019 with permission of the Author.
As a child, when we had soup, I would crumble crackers in with it. When they became soggy, sometimes they would take different shapes, and I would let my imagination loose.

A Child's Imagination While Eating

in Funny Poems for Kids

My mom said, "Eat all your soup,
every piece of chicken and every noodle."
But there's a cow in my soup.

My mom said, "Eat all your soup,
every piece of chicken and every noodle."
But there's a cow in my soup.

I need to get him out of there.
I don't know if he can swim.
How he got there, I'm not aware.

My mom says, "Stop slurping your soup,"
every time he starts to moo.
Heck, I'm just hoping he doesn't poop

He keeps splashing me with his tail.
My mom says, "You're making a mess."
She must have gotten this soup on sale.

I give up; it's no use.
My mom says, "For dessert,
We're having chocolate mousse."
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Summer
- By Ramin R. Alam
- Published by Family Friend Poems June 2016 with permission of the Author.
What this poem means to me is the freedom of finally being out of school and being able to do anything. Going out whenever, not having to wake up early, hanging out with friends. These are all things I think of when summer comes to mind. The reason I chose to write this poem is because summer is my favorite season and it's where my most memorable moments happen.

Poem About School Being Out For Summer

in Summer Poems

The sun is out.
The children scream and shout
All about.

The sun is out.
The children scream and shout
All about.

There is no more school.
Everyone in the pool!
No more looking like a fool.

They run outside,
Find places to hide
And bikes to ride.

Everyone is having fun
No rush, no places to run.
Relax and play with anyone.

No one is stressed,
No more weight on their chests.
This is why summer is the best.
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He Is Your Child First
- By Sharon Southern
- Published by Family Friend Poems January 2017 with permission of the Author.
When my son was fifteen, he was diagnosed with a rare cancer. Cancer is one of those things that happens to other people, so I thought. This poem was therapeutic to create, a must to my recovery. It helped me to finally move on.

Son Diagnosed With Cancer

in Prayer Poems

She is unsure about her situation,
Her many trials and tribulations,
But she is trusting in His word.

She is unsure about her situation,
Her many trials and tribulations,
But she is trusting in His word.

The doctor calls; her son has cancer.
She throws her hands up; what is the answer?
She hits her knees and begins to pray.

She is scared and so full of sorrow,
Afraid of what her son will see tomorrow.
His mercy is all she needs.

He is innocent and has just begun his life,
Way too young to experience this strife.
A miracle is what he deserves.

Why must he so endure such pain?
For her sins he is not to blame.
Please God, pardon my son.

He is your child first, she cries; it can't be over.
She holds him tight; he leans on her shoulder.
God, bestow your blessings once again.

Her son comforts her and he is peaceful.
He worries not, for he is graceful,
For God has touched his heart.

The hardest time for her to have faith
Is in the journey she must wait.
Lord, give her a sign.

As time goes on, the treatment gets tougher.
She cannot bear to see him suffer.
Please Jesus, take away the pain.

Her son's cancer continues to diminish.
She is weak, tired, and ready to be finished.
Thank you for this precious gift.

Her son is cured of his cancer.
She knew in Him she would find the answer.
She hits her knees and begins to pray.

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1 - 16 of 16

Poems With Tercets

16 Examples Of Poems With Tercets (Three Line Stanzas)

In this short poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), he captures the majesty of an eagle hunting from the top of a cliff. This descriptive poem is comprised of tercets (three-line stanzas).

I write poetry from the heart. I find my inspiration from photos on the internet. I'll see a picture that inspires me and then I write down those feelings. This particular poem was inspired after reading In Flanders Fields. I also liked the photo. Hope you enjoy!

I wrote this poem because I was feeling a little down one day, and sometimes I just need to boost my self-confidence, so I wrote a poem about it, hoping it could help other people as well. I hope you like it, and I hope it gives you a bit of a confidence boost.

The only poem I have ever written. I'm scared of what the world is becoming.

Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year! I wrote this poem on a bench in the palace gardens of Versailles (France), on a beautiful day in the Fall. I tried to capture the moment, while experimenting a little bit with the form of the poem.

My name is Maggie Bernard, and this is a poem I wrote for my mom. She means the world to me, so I wanted to write a poem to show her the appreciation that most daughters feel for their mothers.

No matter how special you are, you need someone to listen to you and be your friend.

This poem is about how love, no matter how strong, will still fade if unrequited.

I was deeply in love with a guy I was with, and one day I woke up to him dumping me. It was unexpected and was by far the most painful breakup I've experienced. He didn't give me a genuine reason why and just said it was for the best, so I've been trying to make sense of it all.

As a child, when we had soup, I would crumble crackers in with it. When they became soggy, sometimes they would take different shapes, and I would let my imagination loose.

When my son was fifteen, he was diagnosed with a rare cancer. Cancer is one of those things that happens to other people, so I thought. This poem was therapeutic to create, a must to my recovery. It helped me to finally move on.