Quatrains are poems in which each stanza has four lines. The rhyming scheme (always aabb, abab, or aaaa) and the metre (unlimited) always follow a standard pattern. This pattern can vary from stanza to stanza. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" is a perfect example of a quatrain.
The Flag
The scrap of dirty, torn up cloth
Fluttered in the dying breeze,
As pathetic as a tiny moth,
Or a tadpole in the open seas.
Shots rang out all around,
And yells tore through the open air;
The broken and defeated sounds
Of young lives lost and dreams laid bare.
The smell of blood and pungent rot,
Of metal, and mud, of smoke and sweat,
A tale they all together taught
Of battles won and borders set.
And in the middle of this strife,
Still fluttering pathetically;
The reason for this loss of life,
A battered flag waves silently.
By: Megen Rose
