Today’s form come to us from Andrea Dietrich, who created the HexSonetta, a variation of the sonnet that blends elements of Italian and English traditional sonnet forms. Rather than the familiar iambic pentameter, ten syllable/five foot form, the HexSonetta is a trimeter employing an iambic rhythm using only six syllables/three feet. The “hex” stands for the syllable count of each line…six. Like a sonnet it has 14 lines divided into two stanzas. Additionally, there is a final couplet at the end, intended as a summary. Or you may even use the couplet for a “twist” from the theme.

Here are the rules of a HexSonetta:

Meter: Trimeter
Rhyme Scheme: a/b/b/a/a/b  c/d/d/c/c/d  e/e

Here is my take on the HexSonetta:

Muse

She hovers in the mist
at dawn, to whisper her
sweet nothings in my ear
oh, I cannot resist
our secret morning trysts
her voice is bliss to hear.

And in our reverie
she fills my hollow head
with lovely words she’s read
on waves of tranquil seas,
the leaves of ancient trees
and tears of sorrow shed.

No poet can refuse
to entertain a Muse!

~ kat ~ 18 April 2016