Henny Penny Speaks to America (tweaked w/thx Merle), ABAB w/alternating hep/pent lines Options

[Mary Boren]

A tally of predicaments could wrap around the block.
The kids need shoes; the bill collector's calling.
Politisquabbles dominate the news at 6 o'clock.
Relax, the sky is probably not falling.

The pundits paint a bleak scenario. Predictions seem
convincing in their repetitious drumming,
but to the watchers waking from a bad collective dream,
one thing alone is certain: Change is coming.

More likely what we're feeling is a planetary jerk
produced by waves of panic. But, believe it
or not, a proven principle is steadily at work:
The world's as good or bad as you perceive it.

So when you're pecking for a meal on ground that's parched and hard,
and hear the sound of thunderclouds advancing,
take heart. Don't blindly string along with chickens from the yard
to hunker in the coop. Look up! Start dancing!

Perhaps the slurpy spectacle as optimists cavort
in mud could set a brighter course. Thank heaven
our future's not determined by the 6 o'clock report.
"America's Got Talent" airs at seven.

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originally ...
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An index of catastrophes could wrap around the block.
You're jobless, and the bill collector's calling.

[Sekhmet]

Good morning Merle - A brief answer, from my book about writing poetry, ('An Ode Less Travelled' by Stephen Fry)
Heptameter: a line with seven metrical feet.
Pentameter: a metrical line of five feet.
Tetrameter: a metrical line with four feet

I, being a beginner, tend to think of, 'feet' as, 'beats'; but that's just me.
When you clap in time to a piece of music, each clap is dividing the music into what the poets call, 'feet.'

Feet:
When clapping to a simple, tune or verse - you will soon find how many beats, or feet, it has to a line.
One two three o'clock four o'clock rock,
Five, six, seven o'clock eight o'clock rock;
Nine, ten, eleven o'clock twelve o'clock rock;
(We're goina) rock around the clock tonight.

Each line has four strong beats/feet. The poets call a verse with four feet/ beats to a line, a Tetrameter

He bangs/ the drum/ and makes/ a dread/ful noise./ Five feet, or beats. So that's a Pentameter

Take Shelly's, 'If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

If Win/ter comes/ can Spring/ be far/ be/hind?/ Five feet or beats. So this is a Pentameter too.

There are, of course, other metric counts - but that is enough to be going along with.
Hope this helps

Leo