#!perl -w

my @a = qw/one two three four five/;
$~ = "TEST";

write;

format TEST =
---+++---
a: @* @* @* ~~
   (shift @a||'',shift @a ||'',shift @a||'')
---------
.

##</code><code>##

---+++---
a: one two three
a: four five
---------