Creativity Verses Form ~ Quatern

David  of The Skeptic’s Kaddish and I began a fun poetry partnership in April. We celebrated writing together a 100 verse renga, The Hyakuin  And within days, decided we would absolutely love to continue our writing collaboration and what has grown to be a warm friendship with a new poetry project.

We decided to explore poetry forms. A to Z. Each week one of us chooses a poetry form the other responds to. We completed our first series Form verses creativity in June ’22. And we’re now on to the next set of poetry forms A to Z ~ Creativity Verses Form. We added a little twist for version2.0, with a key word starting with the same letter.

For ‘Q’, David selected the ‘Quatern’ form and the keyword ‘Quiet’.

Q: Quatern

David’s Quatern

I require quiet when I write-
That's why I'm oft up late at night;
No headphones when I'm in the groove-
Mind still; only my fingers move;

Unruffled, fantasies find flight-
I require quiet when I write;
When spoken to, I cannot think-
Eyes lose focus; high spirits sink;

The issue's most intractable-
I'm simply not adaptable;
I require quiet when I write-
Else no words come, try as I might;

It slays me, I admit, indeed-
My kryptonite; this gnawing need;
While versing's my greatest delight-
I require quiet when I write.

Sangeetha’s Quatern

Quiet is where my mind roams free
Floating into infinity
A trail of thought in silent spate
Where windswept words contemplate

In the cocoon of poetry
Quiet is where my mind roams free
To explore realms as yet unknown
Till I make that poem my own

Fresh dewdrops of ideas wake
Mulling over which shape to take
Quiet is where my mind roams free
A page where I write as just me

Ink flows to the silver sounds of mist
Hourglass sands serenade my script
Senses sync in serenity 
Quiet is where my mind roams free

---

Quatern?

• Four quatrains (4-line stanzas);
• Syllabic: 8 syllables per line;
• Refrain: The first line of stanza 1 is repeated as a refrain line as the second line of stanza 2, the third line of stanza 3 and the last line of stanza 4;
• There is no set meter or rhyme scheme ~ virtually any rhyme scheme is okay.

Read all the poems in our series ~ Creativity Verses Form where we explore poetry forms

• A ~ Alliterisen Alternatives
• B ~ Bragi Books
• C ~ Cadae Crisis
• D~ Dodoitsu Desire
• E ~ Emmet Elves
• F~ Fold Friend
• G~ Golda Gravity
• H~ Harrisham Hope
• I ~ Inverted Refrain Imagination
• J ~ Jram Jubilee
• K ~ Kōel Kismet
• L ~ Lai Love
• M ~ Monometric Motivation
• N ~ Novo Otto Night
• O ~ Ovillejo Origins
• P ~ Purely Hopeful Poetry
• Q ~ Quatern Quiet

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