Quatrain Poems with Single or Double Rhyme.

Quatrain poems are four lines of verse with a single or double rhyme. The American style quatrain may or may not have a syllable count or pattern. The single rhyme quatrain has a-b-x-b or a-b-a-x as the rhyme pattern. The double rhyme quatrain has a-a-b-b, a-b-a-b or a-b-b-a as the rhyme pattern.

Examples by Frank G. Poe, Jr.: Single Rhyme Quatrains

Single Rhyme a-b-a-x                                           

New Desert Rose

Will democracy’s flower flourish

In Libya’s Saharan desert sun

Or wilt malnourished

Under black rain from gunships?

Single Rhyme a-b-x-b

Desert Ice, Ice Baby

Voices cry out for freedom while

Fighting mercenaries for the streets

Gadhafi’s power and mind melt

Ice sculptures in the Libyan heat

Examples by Frank G. Poe, Jr.: Double Rhyme Quatrains

Double Rhyme a-a-b-b                            

Get Out of Debt Free Card

The difference between our government and you

They can do something about debt, you can’t do

Don’t laugh although it sounds funny

They could always print more money

Double Rhyme a-b-a-b

Hello, Inflation

Hello, inflation grandpa said you were his friend.

Making our government look like a brain damaged clown

Adding to the national debt, fighting you to the end

But you, inflation, won’t be artificially held down?

Double Rhyme a-b-b-a

What will China say?

I’ve got a solution to our national debt

Print the money we need to pay it off in a day

And China won’t lend us anymore money that way

Accruing no interest on any loans, we won’t need it.