Following's the third of Liz Bassett's poems shortlisted in the _Guardian's_
Poetry Workshop series in 2005. This was Carol Rumen's workshop on
triolets. Rumen's comment follows the poem:
*Field Maple Triolet by Liz Bassett*
Thinking of you, I see a tree,
and open sky and birds and sun
inside my head.
My heart blows free
thinking of you.
I see a tree
and you are there, a rolling sea
of light-filled leaves; of love begun.
Thinking of you, I see a tree,
and open sky, and birds, and sun.
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A gently exploded triolet, this one is full of space and lightness. The
'stepped' lines work beautifully: they break the hold of the refrain and
make us stop, a little out of breath, and share the speaker's sense of
excitement and strangeness. This is a triolet that refreshes the form and
opens up its refrain-rich density. The title adds a specific, valuable
detail. Lovely!
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