Resilience ~ Revised 8/20/07, Quatern Options

[Guest_Cathy_*]

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Thank you Maxim, Nina, Merlin and Lori for revision 1!

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Resilience ~ Revision 3

If I were but a willow tree
in graceful gavotte glide of leaf,
with slender bough of give and take,
a tow'ring trunk of strong belief;

my flesh-born roots would stay their ground.
If I were but a willow tree,
my verdant bands would brandish proud,
as one with nature; flying free.

When fierce skies rage, enrapt winds blow,
in winter whites or summer's reign...
if I were but a willow tree,
the twisting curls of faith sustain.

Though limbs might waver in the wind,
emotions sway to some degree;
my storm-blown spirit would not break,
if I were but a willow tree.

Cathy Bollhoefer
copyright Nov 2005





Resilience ~ Revision 2

If I were but a willow tree
in graceful gavotte glide of leaf,
with slender bough of give and take,
a tow'ring trunk of strong belief;

my deep-bound roots would stand their ground.
If I were but a willow tree,
my verdant bands would brandish proud,
as one with nature; soaring free.

When fierce skies rage, enrapt winds blow,
in winter white or sunlight reign;
if I were but a willow tree...
resilience and faith sustain.

Though limbs may waver in the wind,
might bend and sway to some degree;
my storm-blown spirit would not break,
if I were but a willow tree.

Cathy Bollhoefer
copyright Nov2005




Resilience ~ Quatern (1st Revision)

If I were but a willow tree
with graceful gavotte glide of leaf,
slender bough of give and take,
a tow'ring trunk of strong belief;

my deep-bound roots would stand their ground.
If I were but a willow tree,
my verdant bands would brandish proud,
as one with nature; soaring free.

Though fierce skies rage, enrapt winds blow,
through blizzard fall, or sunlight reign;
if I were but a willow tree,
there'd be no reason to complain.

My limbs would waver in the wind,
I'd bend and sway to some degree;
storm-battered branches would not break,
if I were but a willow tree.

Cathy Bollhoefer
copyright Nov2005



Resilience ~ Quatern (Original)

If I could be a willow tree
with graceful swaying flow of leaf,
slender bough of give and take,
and tow'ring trunk of strong belief;

with deep-bound roots I'd stand my ground.
If I could be a willow tree,
my ribbons green would wave so proud,
as one with nature; yet still free.

The storms could rage and winds might blow,
a blizzard fall, or sun sans rain;
if I were but a willow tree,
I'd have no reason to complain.

My limbs would waver in the wind,
I'd bend and sway, it might hurt me;
from broken vow I would not break,
if I were but a willow tree.

Cathy Bollhoefer
copyright Nov2005

[Guest_Cathy_*]

Hi Merlin,

Once again, a top-notch posting, Cathy.  I really like the flow, complete with the minor adjustment of the refrain to keep life interesting.

Thank you Merlin!

I will agree with Maxim's punctuation adjustments - I prefer that version with this exception.  V3 I would punctuate thus:
Though dark skies rage and strong winds blow,
through blizzard fall or sunlight's reign,
if I were but a willow tree
I'd have no reason to complain.

I will be looking at the punctuation.  That was never my strong suit!  lol


I agree with you about the rhyming, not only is it a pleasant read, it is also more challenging to the writer.

Yes I believe so too.  I've written a couple that didn't rhyme but I don't like them quite as well as.  And it is more of a challenge!

Well done.

Thank you!

Cathy