EMANCIPATED FROM RHYMES
Here is a great tip for removing writer’s block – try writing a short poem! When writing short poetry, writers often focus on Haikus or Tankas. Another fun writing concept is to write in quatrains. Quatrains, quite simply, are four lines of verse. A quatrain normally has a rhyming scheme. Below is an example of AABB, from one of my poems entitled "Red on the Inside."
Bend like the willow trees
Quiet as the summer breeze
Laugh like a gentle stream
Joyful as a baby’s dream
- Cronin Detzz
A quatrain can also have a rhyming scheme like this familiar verse, where lines 2 and 4 rhyme:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet,
And so are you
A fantastic writing challenge is to write an impactful quatrain that does not rhyme. Fellow poet, Teresa E. Gallion, is masterful in this style:
I stared down a wolf
Claiming the edge of the forest
This is not the first time
Courage has dominated my life
Teresa E. Gallion
From these four lines, we can imagine ourselves encountering a wolf in a forest. A great aspect of this poem is that it can also be looked at in a more metaphorical sense; for instance, staring down “a wolf” could be thought of as staring down a fear. If someone is afraid of heights, the wolf becomes a symbol of that fear.
Short poems can offer a snapshot of emotion. In this next quatrain, consider the abundant feelings when gazing upon a sleeping loved one:
I lay a prayer on your chest
To soothe your burning sleep
It is selfish to hold back
When love flows in my river
Teresa E. Gallion
A quatrain can also provide a chuckle of irony:
A thought of you so powerful
It breaks my wine glass
I cannot afford such thoughts
Crystal is too expensive
Teresa E. Gallion
Now that you have been emancipated from rhyming schemes, try to remove your writer’s block by penning four lines of poetry. You can do this!
A special thanks goes out to Teresa E. Gallion for sharing her beautiful quatrains. Her work can be found at the links below:
Note: Also available at Amazon Kindle store:
Keep writing and keep sharing! - Cronin Detzz
