The Baltimore Fire

The Virelay has no fixed meter, but does have a rhyming scheme and is written in interlinking quatrains.

Pattern of a Virelay:

a,b,a,b
b,c,b,c
c,d,c,d
d,e,d,e
e,f,e,f

And so on. There is no limit to this poetry, although the last stanza must consist of the rhyme found in the short lines from the last stanza and the first stanza.

f,b,f,b

Since the Virelay has a close relationship with the Ballade; it alternates one long line, one short line all the way through the poem.

Long line
Short line
Long line
Short line
And so on….

This type of poetry is seldom written in English, but it does offer a vast scope of play to the writer. So, why not try it?

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On a February Sunday morn,
Nineteen-o-four, I hear.
A terrible fire had been born
In Baltimore, that year.

Explosions blew the roof to schmears
Sending large embers to
Nearby buildings, it was clear
The blaze knew what to do.

Flames spread quickly but no one knew
Its anger nor its wrath;
Toward City Hall; the Court House, too,
Burning wide in its path.

A new blaze cropped the next day and a half.
Who could know its intent?
Two fires met, doubling their craft;
Firemen tired and spent.

There seemed to be no way to prevent
A monster so severe,
But continuous help from firemen
Saved Baltimore that year.

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