A Winning Entry in a Traditional Poetry Contest

Reach Out If each of us extends a hand, Responds with action, not with doubt, United we can make a stand To change our country’s current route. If in your soul, you feel an ache, Our rally force is undermanned. Our moves can cause the ground to shake If each of us extends a hand. If each of us extends a hand And spreads our varied strengths about – If those who lead could take command, If mentors could give counsel out, If those who teach could pupils take, If those with wealth could funds expand - What a difference we could make If each of us extends a hand. If each of us extends a hand I know we’ll quench this moral drought. We need to try to understand – Those folks who have and those without – There’s more than each man’s dreams at stake. This world is one no god has planned Our grit may give, but will not break If each of us extends a hand. It’s not yet time to plan the wake. We have to hope throughout the land That it can change - for goodness sake If each of us extends a hand. The Ballade as its name suggests is a French form and along with the Rondeau was one of the first forms to be standardised in the 14th cetury. Written in syllabic prosody of any one line length, the original French forms were octosyllabic, but now decasyllable is more common, and iambic tetrameter etc; are just as acceptable. The construction is 28 lines which are divided into three octave stanzas and a four line envoi.The rhyme and pattern do not change. It turns around on only three rhymes.and as is common with most French forms, the last line of each stanza is a refrain. The Envelope Ballade is just as interesting a form as the basic Ballade, however, the Refrain begins and ends each stanza. The construction is similar with the rhyme pattern changing to: A,b, a, b, c, a, c A, and the envoy c, a, c A, http://thepoetsgarret.com/2011Challenge/form8.html https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/2112970-Reach-Out