The 7/5 Trochee
The 7/5 Trochee, created by Andrea Dietrich, of 2 or more quatrain stanzas with the following
set rules:
Meter: 7/5/7/5
Rhyme Scheme: a/b/c/b or a/b/a/b
The meter is trochee, which means alternating stressed and unstressed beats in each line, with each
line beginning and ending in a stressed syllable. This is a simple lyrical type little poem, so rhymes will
be basic, nothing fancy. The poem itself should give a description of something of interest to the poet.
There is not a set number of these quatrain type stanzas, but a typical 7/5 Trochee would consist of
two quatrains, with the second stanza serving to tie up the idea presented in the first stanza.
Example #1:
Honey Bun
(The 7/5 Trochee with Rhyme Scheme a/b/a/b)
How I love my honey bun,
soft and buttery,
warm and swirled with cinnamon,
frosted heavily. . .
You can bake one up for me.
You could bake a ton!
Then I’d call you happily
my sweet honey bun!
Copyright © 2009 Andrea Dietrich
Example #2:
A Painter’s Daydream
(The 7/5 Trochee with Rhyme Scheme a/b/a/b)
Palette paint arranged in reds
wait there to become
cardinals in flower beds
painted with my thumb.
Adding just a bit of blue
they take off in flight!
How I wish to join them, too...
but they’re out of sight!
Copyright © 2009 Jan Turner
Example #3:
Honeymoon
(The 7/5 Trochee with Rhyme Scheme a/b/c/b)
Magic stardust showers down
from romantic skies;
dreams are twinkling all about,
lost in lover's sighs.
Nighttime bliss, a kiss for two
underneath the stars;
moonlight shared by us alone
under mystic Mars.
Copyright © 2009 Jan Turner
One variation of this form is to employ internal rhyme in lines 1 and 3 so that the middle of each
of those lines matches the rhyme at the end of each one, respectively, as illustrated by this final
example poem.
Example #4:
A Springtime Song
(The 7/5 Trochee with Rhyme Scheme a/b/c/b plus Internal Rhyme)
Showers fall and robins call.
Buds grow on the trees.
Meadows green; long grasses lean
warmed by April’s breeze.
Flowers beam and streamlets gleam
on each mountain slope.
Colors sing and everything
blossoms love and hope.
Copyright © 2009 Andrea Dietrich
