W3 Poetry Prompt #170
I wrote my quatern poem in response to this week’s Poet of the Week, Dennis Johnstone, who invited us to craft a poem of 20 lines or fewer, inspired by a photo of a gathering of gnomes.

Photo credit: Victoria Baker

We were asked to include the word “donsy” somewhere in the poem, and to use a traditional poetic form—no free verse! That means incorporating structure: rhyme, meter, stanza pattern, etc.

I chose to write a quatern. I hope you enjoy my ‘donsied’ gathering of gnomes!

by Lesley Scoble

Protest March of the Gnomes | Digital ink & watercolor©️Lesley Scoble

 Introducing

The Metro-Gnomes Band!

with their debut performance: March of the Gnomes, a quatern poem set to song.

March of the Gnomes©️Lesley Scoble
March of the Gnomes_The Metro-Gnomes Band | Digital ink & watercolour©️Lesley Scoble

THANK YOU
Enormous thanks to David, The Skeptic’s Kaddish, and to our Poet of the Week, Dennis, for inspiring me to write March of the Gnomes!
My heartfelt gratitude to you, the reader, for reading and listening to my poem.

To find out more about David’s W3 Poetry Prompts, follow the link below.


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47 responses to “March of the Gnomes: a quatern poem (& song!)”

  1. This takes on a whole life of its own when the gnomes sing it for me! Very clever 😁

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Violet 💗🙏 They’re a newly formed band. I hope their first song will be a No. 1 hit 😁

      Liked by 1 person

      1. what did you use to create the song or who did you recrcuit to record the song ?

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Love your poem Lesley

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, sweet Sadje 🤗💗

      Liked by 1 person

      1. You’re most welcome

        Like

  3. Love those nomadic gnomes Lesley and their song – brill 🥳

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, AJ, 🤗🎶💗

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for asking about the song. It’s AI generated (apart from the lyrics of course, which are all mine).

      If you’re interested in also making songs, Matt, follow my friend’s link

      https://suno.com/invite/@lesleyscoble

      There is a free subscription (or a paid subscription if you want commercial rights).

      If you sign up and make 10 songs we both get 250 credits (which is a lot of fun music making).

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I tried…but unlike you both i am unable to create my own lyrics I’m guessing unless I pay. Not interested

        Like

      2. Of course you can create your own lyrics! What are your poems? They are words=lyrics. I can visualise really wild songs with your words. All you have to do is paste your words into the lyrics box—then add some style tags (Heavy metal for example) and, bush bash bosh you have a smash hit! 😁 It’s free if you don’t want the commercial rights. 🎶 I’d love to hear one of your edgy poems as a song.

        Like

      3. I can’t find HOW to do that

        Like

      4. Ok found it..i’ll do one

        Liked by 1 person

      5. Brilliant!🤩 🎶👏

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Meh. Asked for Gospel spit out country..sounds cool for it is, but its not what I wanted.

        Liked by 1 person

      7. It can take a few efforts. Adding extra tags such as ‘mysterious’ ‘edgy’ solo male voice’, ‘smoky’ etc. It’s worth thinking about your style tags and creating them with care. Such as ambiance, moody, etc. Name the instruments you want: toy piano, brass ensemble, violin, and so on. Put whatever you want into the style tags. If you want a kitchen sink—put it in. 😁

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  4. That’s a wonderful quatern though how sad the gnomes have cause to protest. I hope they prevail.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Many thanks yous,D 🙏 I hope they prevail too—too many gardens are concreted over for car parking spaces. There’s another march next month. 😁

      Like

  5. Brilliant work Lesley! The rhythm really captures their determined march, and adding music makes it even more delightful. Love how you’ve turned garden gnome activism into such a charming protest anthem – Beyoncé the gnome is inspired!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. My warmest thanks, Bob—I’m delighted you enjoyed the tune. 🎶💗

      Liked by 1 person

  6. I’m loving the musical version of your poems.

    I can just see the gnomes riding the squirrels! Here’s to the Gnomes, may they be successful in their protest!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. 😁 Tee hee, Thank you, Heather! 😁🙏💗

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Hehe! I love that these are activist gnomes! We need more like them!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hee hee, Thanks, Muri! 😁💗

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Very topical – all allotment gnomes will be joining the march!

    Beyoncé3 – lol!

    My foot is still tapping to their song.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, I’m so happy to hear that! Keep tapping, Marion! 😁🎶 I’ll let you know when the next protest is—so you can let the allotment faction know! 🙏

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Placards at the ready 😁

        Liked by 1 person

  9. Cheery and original with an important message woven in there. Well done creative one! 🎶

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you kindly, Michele ☺️❤️🤗

      Like

      1. Welcome Lesley! Have a great week! 🤗❤️💃

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Lesley, love the playful tone of your poem. And the names of the gnome protesters😀 It is true that lots of gardens are being destroyed by construction and new builders. The greenery of lawns, gardens adds that curb appeal and beautification. 🙌❇️🌷

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so much, O’Nika 🤗 Too many front gardens have become car parks. Not only are the gnomes displaced, but the sparrows too—their hedges uprooted and homes undone.

      Like

  11. Lesley, your quatern is a brilliant example of righteous indignation delivered with a perfectly straight (ceramic) face. I was already smiling at “gnomadic gnomes,” but interfluve clinched it for me. That’s a word most poets wouldn’t know or dare touch, let alone rhyme. You’ve used it with such poise that it feels entirely at home alongside Beyoncé and Bertie. That’s no mean feat. (And for the less geographically inclined, an interfluve is high ground between two watercourses draining into the same basin. I paid attention at school. Sometimes.)

    The “nomadic gnomes” repetition drives the rhythm like drumbeat, a chant, a placard pounded on pavement. I can see and hear the Beyoncé gnomes belting this out. Its old-school protest verse retooled for the ornamental masses. The humour is spot-on, too.

    Yet beneath it all is that serious note: the creeping threat of concrete, the erasure of place. The gnomes know what’s at stake. We might laugh, but only because it’s too close to the truth to weep. Marvellous.

    Dennis

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Enormous thanks, Dennis, for your complimentary, thoughtful, and in-depth review. I truly appreciate it—it means a great deal to me. I’m also grateful for your prompt, which inspired me to write it. 🙏💗 Without which, there would be no Beyoncé the gnome! 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  12. why does the 20,000 grandmas waving hankies in the air (Rolling Stones ‘Jigsaw Puzzle’) line come to mind here? anyhow, very enjoyable!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. 😁 Thank you, Artie 🙏😁

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Lesley, I love how “Gnomadic gnomes are on the move” marches through your poem—like a rallying cry with rhythm!

    Your paintings are absolutely delightful (I adore them!), and the recording of the song was such a treat—who are the vocalists? They brought the Metro-Gnomes to life!

    ~David

    Like

  14. How wonderful! And the song rocks!

    Like

  15. Made me laugh, Lesley!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hee hee, that’s splendid 😁🥳 My job is done. Keep laughing, Nolcha 💖

      Liked by 1 person

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