Image by yabadene belkacem from Pixabay
Publication Date: June 2023
Location: PoetsOnline.org, specifically at the Triversen archive.
Genesis: I run into a lot of synchronicity as a poet! For a while, I’ve been realising what my superpowers are; sometimes through feedback from others, though mostly as a result of many decades of just being me! Then this prompt turned up, which gave me the impetus to explore this topic in poetic form, specifically as a triversen (not a form I’d heard of prior to this prompt).
If you don’t want to click through to the archive, a triversen (dreamt up by William Carlos Williams) has just three rules:
- Each stanza equals one complete sentence, and each sentence/stanza breaks into three lines, each of which is a separate phrase in the sentence.
- Williams wanted each line to have a variable foot of 2-4 beats per line.
- In its pure form, he wanted the poem to be 6 stanzas (18 lines).
I haven’t quite followed these to the letter, but it’s there or thereabouts. I hope you enjoy it.
Super powers Don’t just belong To caped heroes. Knowing that I know nothing Is one of them. Not worrying How others see Me, another. Taking one Hundred percent Responsibility. How about ‘Know Thyself’, from the Delphic Oracle? Owning your Super powers Sets you free.