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

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hi Cathy.

I am enjoying your Quaterns and am glad it's the form of the month at PV so we can see your masterpieces here too!

There is a comforting flow to this piece and I admire each image presented.



~Cleo  


If I could be a willow tree
with graceful swaying flow of leaf, (suggest ‘glide’ for alliterative alternative to ‘flow’)
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, (suggest ‘flutter’ as alternative to ‘wave so’)
as one with nature; yet still free. (suggest ‘soaring’ as alternative to ‘yet still’)

The storms could rage and winds might blow, (here you could make this stronger by replacing ‘the’ and ‘and’. Perhaps you could say, ‘stern storms’ or ‘fierce storms’ could rage, ‘rapt’ 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; suggest ‘harm’ as alternative to ‘hurt’)
from broken vow I would not break,
if I were but a willow tree.

One question Cathy – does the Quatern allow for slight variations on the refrain? I’m not certain; however I do like your variations. If the form requires the exact refrain, I fancy ‘If I were but a willow tree’.