Followers

May 21, 2010

Quatrains

Sister Sarah, born on Sunday
Harlequin dress stained red
Nine times nine it took to slay
The beast with severed head

British bishop, regal and tall,
Chants Catholic cacophony
Muted nun, exposed in the hall,
Walks on rose petals silently

Overseas there’s a feeling
Which describes all of the times
Standing there with senses reeling
Stumbling over her rhymes

Quick boots never tarry
(A message for the queen)
In leather satchel carry
The way before the mean

The sun has set upon the son
His noble birth forgotten
Fame decried by the dark one
Who burned the field of cotton

Vapors arise like myths of old
To cloud the bonny Brae
Confounding eastward travels bold
Too late to save this day

Five swords in six sheaths deep
The gilded glove goes wanting
On perilous perch a crow doth sleep
The sheep below are counting

Storm clouds darken the skies
Howling hounds make nervous
The horse of the queen who buys
Her subjects’ loyal service

A hundred head of cattle
Comprise a victory feast
For both sides of the battle
(Whose bones will matter least?)

Green and grey these armies clash
With armor bright and polished
On other shores they feel the lash
And see their hopes demolished

Trading summer songs for wine
The minstrel travels far
In his cape and white silks fine
He plays before the Czar

The saddest song of Sarah true
Her royal gown so stained
She fell before her traitors knew
The dragon yet remained

Fire burned the red tree last
And charred the land beneath
Ten years and two since passed
And roses grow in a wreath

A sack of gold, the bounty paid
By statesmen who were hating
To find a thief with treasure weighed
The hangman still is waiting

Twelve cats hidden in a row
Of five by six by seven
Concealed among the mistletoe
That points the way to Heaven

Much attention should be spared
To glean the wheat from chaff
Lest ye be trapped by he who dared
To bake these pies and laugh

31 comments:

  1. Wow, i wish i could do that! you would love Henry Wadsworth Longfelow, or Lord Byron. Their poetry is a bit out of date but masculine and breathtaking.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Actually, I'm in the midst of reading a collection of Longfellow's works, and I've read a few from Lord Byron. Sometimes the style can seem a bit dated - indeed sometimes almost tragically melodramatic - but that's also part of their charm, when compared to more contemporary poets.

    ReplyDelete
  3. hi eric..yes puzzled..i maybe be thinking too hard on this i saw nursery rhymes, Lady Diana references, Rasputin, the battle of Culloden, you have got me...HOWEVER what an enjoyable poem that made me read it more than once to try and work it out..a job well done me thinks..cheers Pete

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amazing the many references all connected through poetic lines that sound very smooth. cheers

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is wuite profaound, yet I might be digging a bit too deep in the symbolism and numbers,,,forgive me if I am. It is a brilliant tale none the last and love the form! The flow and imagery are outstanding!

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow. an intriguing puzzle...the opening is like soloman grundy to me...you obviously have a brilliant mind...nice oneshot!

    ReplyDelete
  7. oooooh, isn't this the stuff that pulled me to poetry in the first place! I loved it and while songs and poems of other poets kept trying to press into your words as I read this poem, I shoved them away because this poem stands on its own and tells its own tale. These lyrics could definitely work with a good rock song. Words for the ages. You definitely ROCK.. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm glad so many people got to read this. I'm still waiting to see if anyone finds the answer.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow...had to read this again...very intriguing but so well executed!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. From a time gone by. Well played, Eric.

    ReplyDelete
  11. These were fascinating. They all seemed to be in secret code – I spent quite a bit of time trying to decipher before I decided to just enjoy them.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Liked how your lines rhymed and kind of felt bad for Sarah and it's true it does sound like a more sophisticated nursery rhyme but liked that it isn't so obvious. Thanks for sharing with one-shot and for stopping by my blog as well.

    Wild Rose~

    ReplyDelete
  13. what an amazing fusion of nursery rhymes and wit and humor and rhythm and poignancy!! Your imagination is CRAZY GOOD (by that, I mean REALLY good!)!!! Phhheewww

    ReplyDelete
  14. Intriguing tale. You told it well using this form. I have no idea why, but after reading it a few times, what came into my head was A Tale of Two Cities meets Alice in Wonderland.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is a wonderful maze of refernces and thoughts. I'm going to have to return to this piece a few times more :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh my !!! this is splendid !!! am speechless beyond this for sure ..

    ReplyDelete
  17. rich words.
    well penned.
    it is indeed weird in the end.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wowzers! Such rich images and tales. I love the crow sleeping on the "perilous perch" and the counting sheep. And the last two stanzas are fantastic! But the entire poem is a rich read, wonderfully wrought. Well done. I am applauding at my screen!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I wouldn't call this anything other than Biblical! Great work.

    ReplyDelete
  20. So Random and yet so fun. I loved the rythym Thanks for Sharing Eric.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Eric,
    I am puzzled. But I know one thing and that is this is fantastic. Wonderful rhyming and rhythm.
    It reads at a wonderful pace, so smoothly.
    Pamela

    ReplyDelete
  22. Yes, I had a lot of fun writing this one, and I've got a thing for quatrains. But don't be too puzzled... the answer to it all lies in the final four lines.

    (Hint: They're pork pies)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Excellent quatrains. I especially liked 'Catholic cacophonies'. Tasty phrase, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Don't have a clue, only know that so many thoughts kept niggling at the edges of my mind, that I had to stop several times and go back and read again. Do know I enjoyed whole and this is a wonderful piece of writing,

    Elizabeth

    ReplyDelete
  25. That is quite a tale; and it fits the Poets United topic well. I love all of the flowing images!

    ReplyDelete
  26. love the rhymes, this really had to be fun to write....lots of twists and turns...bkm

    ReplyDelete
  27. Eric,
    A very amusing and superb piece of writing.
    Lots of weirdness within!

    Eileen

    ReplyDelete
  28. This is very fun and interesting. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Wow, for some reason I think of different wars, for each verse, historic battles.

    It feels like Nostradamus, giving us clues n' insight, but it has already happened.

    ReplyDelete

You may put in your 2¢ worth, but I'll only pay you a penny for your thoughts.