The End Game

I skidded into June without even tapping the brakes. Time seems to slip through my fingers the further I travel down the road. I decided to take a pit stop at the poetic form called a Dansa. This style of poetry, known as an Occitan (the official language of Catalonia) this form has no set meter. This lyrical poetry style comes from the Occitan words for “to dance.” I called this Dansa Poem The End Game.

Guidelines for writing a Dansa Poem and The End Game

*Opening quintain (Or five-line stanza) followed by quatrains (or four-lined stanzas)

*The opening line of the first stanza is the final line of every stanza

*Rhyme scheme in the opening stanza: AbbaA (Capitol represents the refrain

*Rhyme scheme in the other stanzas: bbaA

There are no other rules.

Note: I will also be adding Black Out Poems as we go along the way. I plan to keep using this style until the book I’m using runs out of pages for me to play with to create these unique and visual poems. I’m excited about jogging down this road.

The End Game

The game is rigged from beginning to end
The haves keep the have-nots in their place
Blink your eyes and find they plan to erase 
Working-class with machines is the latest trend
The game was rigged from beginning to end

Toil your life way with a degree of grace
Dare to get old and exit the race
Discover there is no way for you to transcend
The game was rigged from beginning to end

Simple white trash in a hostile space
They make you believe your life a disgrace
No one here left to argue or defend
The game was rigged from beginning to end

Your loyalties are yours to misplace
No dreams left for you to chase
The leaders you trusted you can’t depend
The game was rigged from beginning to end

Who is Molly Shea?

Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh.  To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.