When the Moon is Full
When the moon is full and shines bright,
In the darkest hour of the night,
When it gleams on the windowpane,
I know that I will change again.
I fear my fanged and fearful plight,
When the moon is full and shines bright,
And the wind shouts in a rainstorm,
My fragile soul will then transform.
I hide indoors beside the fire,
With direful dread of vampire ire,
When the moon is full and shines bright,
Its gaze takes hold and clasps me tight
I salivate for crimson streams,
Rivers of blood that flood my dreams;
I shiver, craving for a bite,
When the moon is full and shines bright.
—Lesley Scoble, September 2024
I wrote my poem, When the Moon is Full, in response to Suzanne Brace’s prompt for the W3 Poetry Prompt #122
Suzanne is this week’s brilliant Poet-of-the-Week (You can read her winning poem here).
Suzanne’s prompt is to write a quatern on the theme of Transformation. To read Suzanne’s full prompt guidelines please click below.
Suzanne’s prompt guidelines
Suzanne’s prompt guidelines
- Theme: Transformation;
- Form: Quatern
Quatern
The Quatern is a 16-line form composed of four quatrains (four-line verses), with eight syllables per line. It has a refrain that is in a different place in each quatrain. The 1st line of stanza one (S1) is the 2nd line of S2, 3rd line of S3, and 4th line of S4.
Refrain: The refrain of a quatern repeats the 1st line of stanza one (S1) as the 2ndline of S2, the 3rd line of S3, and the 4th line of S4.
Four quatrains (four-line verses):
THANKS
My thanks to the Poet of the Week, Suzanne Brace, for her inspiring quatern prompt.
My thanks, as always, to David Bogomolny. Our most gracious host at The Skeptics Kaddish.
Last but not least, thank you, dear reader, for reading.
Post Script
A key lesson in writing to prompts is to make sure you read the guidelines! Somehow, I missed the point that the quatern (this is my first attempt at the quatern poetry form) has eight syllables per line!
I now, therefore, intend to toss the above poem into the bin.
Post Post Script
I tossed my original attempt at the Quatern form into the bin! If you have a desire to view how not to write a quatern, please click on The Bin below.
The Bin
When the moon is full and and the stars are bright,
In the darkness of the night,
When moonlight shines on the windowpane,
I know that I will change again.
I fear my fanged and fearful plight,
When the moon is full and the stars are bright,
And the wind shouts in a thunderstorm,
My fragile soul will transform.
I hide indoors by the fire,
With direful dread of vampiric ire,
When the moon is full and the stars are bright,
Its gaze takes hold and clasps me tight.
I salivate for eternal blood,
In a scarlet river overflowing flood…
I shiver like candlelight, yet crave to bite,
When the moon is full and the stars are bright.
Lesley Scoble, September 2024
Lesley lives in the City of London Square Mile. An artist, actor and sculptor (her first ceramic sculpture won the V&A inspired by… Award). Scenic artist & book illustrator, playwright (her musical play, Rapscallion performed in inner city schools and theatre school); TV dancer; Animator and illustrator for TV production. Set up Pinecone Studios Ltd and IIMSI Ltd drama and filmmaking workshops in London – producing award-winning films made by children.
LesleyScoble.com 
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