March #SOL22 Day 3 – A 4×4 Poem “Ukrainians”

Day 3 of March #SOL22

I went to bed last night having recently read Glenda’s Tuesday post about war. Subsequently, I woke up a lot during the night praying for and thinking of the Ukrainians who are fighting for their homeland.

Ukrainians

Ukrainians
Resilient, proud
fighting for peace
freedom is sweet

Blooms for Russians?
Ukrainians
send Molotov
cocktails instead

Brave president
Averts world war
Ukrainians
battle alone

Chaos and dying
as world watches
on Instagram
Ukrainians

This poetry form is a 4×4, inspired by the Tricube, with a variation on the Quatern form.

4 x 4 Poem

Slice of Life on TwoWritingTeachers.org 11 May 2021

I’ve been having fun writing poems in April and now into May. My #MayPoems are very different from our April #Verselove experience.

Each day in May I watch for an opportunity or inspiration to write a new poem, and then I post it on my blog. Today, I decided to experiment with making a new poetry form. It’s a cross between two forms that I’ve seen lately. The 4×4 form is a slight variation on the Quatern, influenced by the Tricube that Matt Forrest has been sharing and writing lately.

Here are the four by four “rules” I followed:

  • 4 syllables in each line
  • 4 lines in each stanza
  • 4 stanzas
  • 4 times repeating a refrain line–line 1 in the first stanza, line 2 in the second stanza, line 3 in the third stanza, and line 4 in the fourth stanza.
  • Bonus: 4 syllables in the title
  • No restrictions on subject, rhyme, or meter.

Voting Questions

Ask the questions:
Is voting a
right? Or is it
only for those

we agree with?
Ask the questions:
MAGA members?
Progressives? All?

Do citizens
all get to vote?
Ask the questions:
Or just those who

preserve ballot
box “purity”?
Jim Crow reborn?
Ask the questions.

About this poem: I’ve been thinking about voting rights a lot lately, as have many of the state legislatures in the U.S. Voter suppression is as old as the nation, which was founded with boatloads of voter restrictions. Today states that in 2020 ran fair and honest elections with record turnouts are still making new laws so that fewer votes will be cast next time. Some of those state legislatures even had their “favored” candidates win, yet they are still passing laws. Insurance, I guess.

Do you want to try a 4×4 poem? Please do share!

May 28, 2021 follow-up. Here are some 4×4 posts with beautiful examples from the Poetry Friday community: