This scribblings post number should have been ‘plus four’ actually; but I got caught up in other things that came up. New opportunities and challenges that were unexpected but still wonderful kept me occupied to the point where my scribblings #80 ended up becoming #76. So, yes it should have been four more than this, but while one part of me feels guilty for having neglected my blog, another feels satisfied at the things I did achieve!

Anyways, let me get started on the actual post now!!

Poetic Sundays: Quadrilew Poem

With the post title stating ‘should be four more,’ I decided that the Quadrilew poem might be a good choice for this delayed Poetic Sunday. Well, the reason is pretty straightforward as you will soon see!!

The Quadrilew Poem

The Quadrilew is one of many quatrain poetic forms. It was created by C. G. V. Lewis and follows a simple enough structure yet has a coolness to it that I love!

So the quadrilew poetic form’s elements are that at its most basic, it is:

• stanzaic: a poem of minimum 16 lines, made up of 4 quatrains; each quatrain is one verse.
• syllabic: Alternate syllabic structure which can either be verses one and three with 6/5/6/5 and verses two and four with 5/6/5/6 syllabic count OR vice-versa (V1&V3-5/6/5/6 and V2&V4-6/5/6/5)
• rhymed: has a rhyme scheme of abab – which alternates across the verses. Poets can choose to repeat the rhyme through the poem or have a new ending rhyme for new lines introduced in each verse. See below for more clarity.
• refrained (of a sort): Lines 2 through 4 of the first verse are used as first lines of the remaining verses. That is, the second line (L2) of the first verse is the first line of the second verse (L5); and following this pattern, L3 is L9, and L4 is L13. This refrain pattern is the reason for the alternating syllabic and rhyme scheme for this poem.

So this is how it looks

VERSE1
L1: xxxxa (5 syllables; OR It can be 6 syllables in which case it changes the syllable structure for the remaining verses)
L2: xxxxxb (6 syllables)
L3: xxxxa (5 syllables)
L4: xxxxxb (6 syllables)

VERSE2
L5: L2 repeated – xxxxxb (6 syllables)
L6: xxxxc (5 syllables)
L7: xxxxxb (6 syllables)
L8: xxxxc (5 syllables)

VERSE3
L9: L3 repeated – xxxxa (5 syllables)
L10: xxxxxd (6 syllables)
L11: xxxxa (5 syllables)
L12: xxxxxd (6 syllables)

VERSE4
L13: L4 repeated – xxxxxb (6 syllables)
L14: xxxxe (5 syllables)
L15: xxxxxb (6 syllables)
L16: xxxxe (5 syllables)

So, in short, if the first line of verse one has 6 syllables then the pattern is
V1, 6565, (abab)
V2, 5656, (bcbc or can reuse the ‘a’ rhyme and be baba)
V3, 6565, (adad or can reuse the ‘b’ rhyme and be abab)
V4 5656, (bebe or can reuse the ‘a’ rhyme and be baba)

and vice-versa on the verse syllable patterns when the first verse has 5 syllables.

My Example

A first draft but keeping in theme with the poem’s topic and this Scribbling’s recurring tone, here it is

Early Or Late Or…
Better late than never
That is what they say.
If ‘late’ takes forever
There’s always today!!

That is what they say –
Early to bed and rise
Today was the day
For early, well, tried twice.

If ‘late’ takes forever
Is it never? Or
Is it just “more later?”
Or a higher bar?!!:)

{{{..jokes aside..and this one is an aside line..}}}

There’s always today
for grand new beginnings
Like they always say
Life is what’s happening!!

~Vidya Tiru @LadyInReadWrites

References and h/t:

• ShadowPoetry (Thanks to ShadowPoetry for the wonderful inspiration and resources)

Recently

On My Blog And the Homefront

Getting ready to head off to college (well, not for me but my first-born!) and we are in packing frenzy mode (or have been in getting things ready mode)

So here are the posts since (and including) my last scribblings….

• 13 Books For International Literacy Day and More
• Stories Sure to Make You Smile
• No Rhyme Nor Reason Days Can Make a Difference
• Tolkien Tells a Truth About Time
• Discovering Local Wonders: A Trip to Awesome Balmy Alley
• Bean Playing With Words & Always Love It
• 10 Characters That Deserve More, Better, A Book Their Own, etc.
• 5 Habits Book Lovers Share (Or Have Become Better At!)
• Simply Sunday #75: The Infinite Possibilities of Life

Upcoming

On My Blog and Home Front

Am featuring (and reviewing) a delightful book on my blog this week as part of the blog tour for the same. The book is the sequel to the equally delightful first book in the series – Skunk and Badger. You will love Egg Marks the Spot (I am loving it!)

This Week’s Celebrations

Literary Birthdays and Celebrations

• Literary birthdays this week include Roald Dahl and Daniel Defoe on the 13th of September; Geraldine Brooks on Sept 14th; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Agatha Christie, and Jesse Andrews on the 15th of September; Cheryl Strayed, Ken Kesey, and Gail Carson Levine on 17th September; Samuel Johnson on September 18th
• And while I missed it earlier, September is National Literacy Month as well as Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month and National Library Card Sign-Up Month

Foodie Celebrations

• Sept 13 is National Peanut Day
• 14th of Sept is certainly sweet as it is National Cream Filled Donut Day
• Sept 15th is National Cheese Toast Day as well as National Linguine Day
• While the 16th celebrates National Cinnamon Raisin Bread Day and National Guacamole Day
• Sept 17th is National Apple Dumpling Day
• and the 19th is National Butterscotch Pudding Day

Other Celebrations

• The 14th of Sept is National Live Creative Day
• Sept 15th is supposedly National Online Learning Day
• The 16th of Sept is Mayflower Day .You can celebrate by reading this book.

Related Books

Book suggestions related to various aspects of today’s blog

• The Mayflower (History Smashers)
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• Any Christie novel, like ‘And Then There Were None’

This post contains Amazon and other affiliate links . If you purchase through an affiliate link, I may get a commission at no extra cost to you. Please see the full disclosure for more information. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Wrapping up my Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, this was it for this post. As always, appreciate and totally welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions on these scribblings on Sunday! And which of these days in this wonderful week do you plan to celebrate? Also, will you be writing the featured poem? If you do, don’t forget to share it with me here!! It is always wonderful to hear that you did, and of course, to read your poems.

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon