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The Quatern


Tinker

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French Verse

The Quatern (Latin = 4 each) is a French verse form, possibly from the Middle Ages since it is so close to the Retourne and Kyrielle which also came from that period. The Quatern like so many other French forms employs a refrain. The defining feature is the movement of the refrain within the quatrain from stanza to stanza.

The elements of the Quatern are:

  1. a verse form, written in 4 quatrains.
  2. syllabic, usually written in lines of 8 syllables.
  3. rhymed at the poet's discretion. Possible rhyme schemes are Axax xAxa axAx xaxA x being unrhymed and the cap A being the refrain. Or Aabb aAcc ddAa eeaA or any combination the poet chooses as long as the refrain is in the proper position.
  4. composed with a kind of rolling refrain that is repeated as

    L1 of the first stanza  
    L2 of the second stanza
    L3 of the third stanza
    L4 of the fourth stanza

    A a b b
    a A c c
    d d A a
    e e a A
    or
    A x a x
    x A x a
    a x A x
    x a x A . . x being unrhymed                                                                   

     

     

     

     

    The Pen Whispers by Judi Van Gorder

    My pen hesitates on the page
    when I sit to write this letter,
    unsure just how I can assuage
    your reaction to my ramblings.

    We have talked about this before.
    The pen hesitates on this page
    and whispers how much I love you,
    better I shout it from a stage.

    Instead I hide inside a cage
    fearing you will never hear me.
    The pen hesitates on the page
    hoping these words won't go ignored.

    We have travelled long together
    yet grow no closer as we age.
    My romantic dreams unfinished
    this pen hesitates on the page.

Quatern Sonnet is simply replacing the 4th quatrain of the Quatern with a Heroic Couplet, suggested by Australian poet Bruce Henderson.  The elements would be the same as the Quatern above except the final  couplet would carry the "a" rhyme and the last line is a repeat of L1 of the poem.

~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~

For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com

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  • 3 years later...
Illusive

I count, I breathe, I pray for sleep,
the blessed, healing, cleansing, boost
for renewed clarity and to strip
my tired brain of worry and care.

I slide into cool, fragrant sheets,
I count, I breathe, I pray for sleep,
my thoughts recreate past events,
rewrite scripts, climb mountains too steep.

Fear of unknowns can make me weep,
trying not to dwell on past pain.
I count, I breathe, I pray for sleep.
No drink or pills will lead the way.

The past is passed, no changing now.
Live in the moment, this I'll keep.
Tonight I try over, one more time.
I count, I breathe, I pray for sleep.
                             ~Judi Van Gorder

~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~

For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com

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