Poetic Form 10: Quatern

To Something

We all give our lives to something.

The hunger of chemicals draw

us to the edge of destruction.

So easy to buy a ticket 

for the ride. Making us forget,

we all give our lives to something.

The call of greed fills more than an

empty pocket. Handing over

our time like a purchase. Sorry,

no refunds for any item.

We all give our lives to something.

Loneliness and pain have a price.

But so does love and joy. We write

a contract with our days. Sign it

with each heartbeat and thought we have.

We all give our lives to something.

Poetic Form #10: Quatern

A quatern is a French poetic form that incorporates a refrain that follows the pattern: first line of the poem is the refrain, then the refrain appears in the second line of the second stanza; the third line of the third stanza, and finally the fourth (and final) line in the fourth stanza. The poem has 16 lines split into 4 quatrains. Each line is comprised of eight syllables, but there are no rules for rhyming.