This was the inspiration behind the name and idea for the contest. IT IS NOT THE CONTEST THEME. NB I am calling for states of being, not biographies of beings.
On 10th of July in 1856, Nikola Tesla was born at midnight [9-10th] during a lightning storm. The midwife thought the violent storm was bad omen. "This will be a child of darkness,” she declared mindlessly."No,” replied Tesla's mother, "he will be a child of light." ~Author unknown.
What to Submit?
Write a new The Tesla 3–6–9 on the theme of betwixt and between—not merely stark contrasts, but lived ambiguity of liminal states. Use any POV, persona, or genre—wherever your muse leads. Let the light in between the lines; show, don’t tell. And please, leave off AI.
The Design of The Tesla 3-6-9 (updated June 2025)
- A 9-line verse.
- Lines 3, 6 and 9 rhyme.
- The syllable count of lines 3, 6, and 9 correspond to the line number.
- The 9th line is the punchline and includes a tonal slippage.
- Metre, capitalisation and punctuation are optional.
- Poetic devices such as alliteration, enjambment, imagery, juxtaposition, etc, may be used.
NB For contest purposes, I am NOT requiring a Tesla quote to be included (it is part of the original design of “The Tesla 3–6–9”.)
Title: Of your choice but a maximum of 5 words.
GLOSSARY
Tonal slippage: A quiet shift in emotional register that complicates what came before. It doesn’t snap—it slides. It invites ambiguity and layered resonance, often crystallised in the final line.
EXAMPLE POEMS
A Child of Light (poetrysoup.com)
Chiaroscuro (poetrysoup.com)
Optional reading
THE TESLA 3–6–9: Poetic Form since 2017 | PoetrySoup.com
Q & A
Please pose questions relevant to the contest requirements on this blog, and not on my poem(s), please.
Tonal Slippage – The Ins and Outs - Suzette Richards's Blog (poetrysoup.com)
Judging
Please keep on topic—this time, there is no picture prompt. Generic content will receive N/A.
The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the results posted.
Fair warning: Poets who outsource their thinking to AI, run the risk of being blacklisted by me. I’m through talking about the risks of AI-generated poetry on poetry sites, and the harm to the poets themselves.
Prizes
First Prize, Glory
Second Prize, Glory
Third Prize, Glory
7 Honorable Mentions
Preparing Your Entry
Submit one copy of your poem online. Format your poem. Please make your entry easy to read — no illustrations or fancy fonts.
English Language
Poems should be in English. Poems translated from other languages are not eligible, unless you wrote both the original poem and the translation.
A Note to Poetry Contestants
You are welcome to enter this contest, whether or not you won a prize in one of my previous contests.