The Robin

Help! A robin has fallen in love with me

I feel loved by this crazed robin.
How does one begin to explain
the presence of a bird so sweet?
Acting so bold throughout his reign.

Despite my methods of escape,
I feel loved by this crazed robin.
my colleagues frown as they jostle;
half ignoring the clawing scrape.

No matter where nor how I hide,
he unpicks the lock and follows.
I feel loved by this crazed robin.
I can sense white jackets implied!

I am trying hard to shake him;
if I fail, life will be real grim.
My friends think I'm mad, but alas
I feel loved by this crazed robin.

16 line poem written for the Writer’s Cramp using the following prompt:
“I think someone cursed you, but maybe not.
Maybe it’s just one of those oddities of nature.
Anyway, a robin has fallen in love with you.
It pecks at the window, lands on your shoulder if you don’t brush it off, follows you, even when you drive in the car.
How do you explain its presence at work, in the grocery store . . .?
How do you curb its interest?”

Winner! 17th November 2013

This is a Quatern: a sixteen line French form composed of four quatrains. It is similar to the Kyrielle and the Retourne. It has a refrain that is in a different place in each quatrain. The first line of stanza one is the second line of stanza two, third line of stanza three, and fourth line of stanza four. A quatern has eight syllables per line. It does not have to be iambic or follow a set rhyme scheme.