Poetry in Motion Poems

Swap Quatrain

I Celebrate Naw-Ruz

Because of God’s Glory, I celebrate,
And in spring a New Year inaugurate,
I proclaim to all love’s wondrous story,
I celebrate, because of God’s Glory.

At dawn, I intone the Naw-Ruz prayer,
And on this day I suspend all labor,
With my New Year’s resolutions redrawn,
I intone the Naw-Ruz prayer, at dawn.

Line Count: 8

Form: Swap Quatrain (created by Lorraine M. Kanter) = each stanza is one quatrain (four lines), with each couplet rhyming AABB, CCDD, etc. Each stanza has different swap lines. In addition, each stanza’s first line repeats in reverse in the fourth line of each stanza (phrases reversed) and occurs in all stanzas. For an example, take the first and fourth lines in this poem: Because of God’s Glory, I celebrate, line 1, Stanza 1 / I celebrate, because of God’s Glory line 4, stanza 1.