Challenge
Fun with Forms #4: The Quatern (level 2)
A QUATERN is a sixteen line French form composed of four quatrains. It is similar to the kyrielle and the retourne poetic forms, in that it has a refrain (repeated line). The refrain line is in a different place in each quatrain. The first line of stanza one is also the second line of stanza two, the third line of stanza three, and the fourth line of stanza four. A classic quatern has eight syllables per line, and it does not have to have any set meter or rhyme scheme. You can however adapt either of these, as long as the refrain cascades down through the four quatrains (stanzas). — Example here: https://theprose.com/post/739999/not-quite-sleeping — (Please tag me in the comments of your entry)
21 reads
the Fall
The air was cleared. It was the fall
When someone had informed us all.
We ran to see, hearts on our sleeves,
Effused were we with sense of pall.
The planes came down from all around,
The air was cleared. It was the fall.
This wasn’t mere coincidence.
These acts were sure intentional.
Ay, wat’ry graves were adequate
To lay these ruffians to rest.
The air was cleared. It was the fall.
No eye had seen such sight before.
Each year, we turn our thoughts to this
And honor what ensued after.
Pearl Harbor harbored more than pearls.
The air was cleared. It was the fall.