Trouble in the Heartland

Udit Bhatia invented cascade poetry in 2007. This relatively new style of poetry got its name because it should flow down the page in a waterfall effect. The poem’s structure is simple and relies on the refrain to create the cascading rhythm. The magic of these poems centers around the refrain. The unmetered poems vary in theme depending on the poet’s desire. The only rule used when writing a cascade is that all the lines in the first paragraph are repeated at the ends of every stanza that follows. I will call this cascade poem Trouble in the Heartland.

Structure of a cascade poem and Trouble in the Heartland

The first stanza has three lines.

1. The lines are represented as ABC.
2. The first line ends with line A.
3. The second line ends with Line B.
4. The third line ends with line C.

I had written this form of poetry before and had fun with it. I plan to start the month of March using this style. The length of the stanza can vary. There is no rule about sticking to three lines. The thing to remember is that the longer the stanza, the more complicated the poem.

Trouble in the Heartland

The town hall meeting last night on my television
Angry Hoosiers shouting about toxic waste.
Transported from a train wreck in Ohio
And poison secretly dumped in a local landfill 

Company people without any vision
Attempting not to answer questions in haste
Oh-me-oh-my-oh
The town hall meeting last night on my television.

I guess they were getting a little taste.
Of their own medicine and tension
Trying to stick to the company bio
Angry Hoosiers shouting about toxic waste.

Lying lips with nowhere to go
Afraid of losing their pension
Weaving answers from paste
Transported from a train wreck in Ohio

To all the politicians on Capitol Hill
The reason you lost the heartland can be traced
To a small town in Indiana and a town hall meeting
And poison secretly dumped in a local landfill. 

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.

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