How to Write a Quatret
A Quatret is a poem that contains two interwoven poems: the main poem made up of four quatrains (four-line stanzas), and a second poem embedded within, consisting of five rhyming couplets. Both poems follow the same meter—either iambic tetrameter or iambic pentameter—and are designed to complement each other. Here’s how to write one:

Step 1: Choose Your Meter
Iambic tetrameter (8 syllables per line, with a pattern of unstressed/stressed syllables).
Iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line, with a pattern of unstressed/stressed syllables).
Both the quatrains and the rhyming couplets must follow this chosen meter consistently throughout the poem.

Step 2: Write Four Quatrains (Main Poem)
Write four stanzas, each consisting of four lines (a quatrain).
Use the rhyme scheme abab for each quatrain, meaning:
The first and third lines rhyme.
The second and fourth lines rhyme.
The quatrains should follow a thematic thread (e.g., a reflection on nature, love, or a personal experience).
Step 3: Embed Five Rhyming Couplets (Poem Within the Poem)
After each quatrain, insert a rhyming couplet (two lines).
The couplets should have a rhyme scheme of aabb:
The first couplet rhymes with itself.
The second couplet rhymes with itself, and so on.
These couplets should create a second poem that can stand alone but also interact with the main poem.
The couplets should be in italics to emphasize their separateness from the quatrains.
Step 4: Conclude with a Shared Final Couplet
Your final rhyming couplet should serve as the conclusion for both poems.
It should bring together the themes of both the main quatrains and the embedded couplets in a way that resolves the central ideas of each.

Example Structure:

Quatrain 1 (abab)
Couplet 1 (aa)
Quatrain 2 (abab)
Couplet 2 (bb)
Quatrain 3 (abab)
Couplet 3 (aa)
Quatrain 4 (abab)
Couplet 4 (bb)
Final Shared Couplet (aa)

By following these steps, you’ll create a Quatret, a poetic form where two distinct poems exist in harmony—one within the other—sharing the same rhythm, yet offering different perspectives or layers of meaning.

The Song of Thought

Within the quiet of the star-lit night,
A whisper stirs the soul from dreamful sleep,
The stars above, they cast a tranquil light,
And guide the paths our hearts are sworn to keep.

In dreams, we find the strength to rise and soar,
For every fear, we face and face once more.

The winds that call through trees on high do sigh,
Their voices dance and sweep along the land,
And though the world may heave a heavy cry,
The heart of man holds strong, a truth to stand.

And doubts that held us, start to fall away,
To bring the dawn of hope, a brighter day.

The moon ascends its silver throne on high,
As shadows stretch their fingers ‘cross the land,
Yet even when we walk alone, we fly,
For dreams, we carry always close at hand.

As memory reclaims each dream we chase,
It whispers truths that time will soon erase.

Beneath the moon, the restless ocean stirs,
Its silver waves reflect the starlit night,
And every tide a secret tale confers,
To rise and fall, a cycle set alight.

The sands of time, in swirling currents, fall,
They write our lives upon the sand’s soft sprawl.

Though time may lead us both to end the same,
Our journeys close where thoughts we’ve lost reclaim.