DAY FOUR "Quatrain Poem" for "30 Poems in 30 Days"

So, for Day 4, I figure we should write a poem that has FOUR lines!! Right?

Lots of poems fit that requirement but we will do a “quatrain” today. Obviously, it has four lines. (Tomorrow we will do a cinquain, which has five lines and is one of my all-time favorite poetry forms. Then we will stop messing with trying to match the lines with whatever day it is). 

OKAY, enough chatter. Here’s what you need to know about a “quatrain poem” ~ 

Each quatrain has four lines with a specific rhyming pattern, BUT there are lots of rhyming patterns out there. Basically, depending on which source you check, ANY of 12 patterns can work, but the lines with ending words that rhyme SHOULD have the same number of syllables as each other. The most common are AAAA, AABB and ABAB. 

SO, if lines 1 & 3 rhyme. And lines 2 & 4 rhyme, that would be an ABAB rhyming pattern. Rhyming lines should have the same number of syllables. 

OR, if lines 1 & 2 rhyme. And lines 3 & 4 rhyme, that would be an AABB rhyming pattern. Rhyming lines should have the same number of syllables.

The actual “quatrain” is ONE verse – but you can always string a bunch of them together to create a “quatrain poem” which can have any number of quatrains in it, including just one.  

In fact, you most likely already have a quatrain poem memorized. “Roses are Red” would be a prime example of a quatrain. 

You can also use an AAAA, an AABB, or AABA, or BBCB, or basically whatever – but the ending words should rhyme with each other in one pattern or another and whichever ones rhyme with each other, should have the same number of syllables. 

It may sound like a lot to think about but most Nursery Rhymes are quatrains, as are many hymns – it’s not that hard ~ give it a shot.

If for some reason, you DO want to complicate things – you can check out the NUMEROUS variations found on this website: http://www.thepoetsgarret.com/quatrain.html 

EXAMPLES:

He drew a circle that shut me out--
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in.

--Edwin Markham (American Poet, April 23, 1852 – March 7, 1940) 

Most of Emily Dickinson’s poems were made up of quatrains.
 

Here’s my attempt for Day 4 ~ It has an AABB pattern and lines 1 & 2 are 8 syllables while lines 3 & 4 are 7 syllables:

   
   You wonder where I’ve been all day. 
   I must admit, it’s hard to say. 
   Over here and over there. 
   I guess I’ve been everywhere. 
       © 2014 Stephanie Abney  

OKAY - create away - YOUR TURN!!