Hanging in There

FORM: Trolaan - Trolaan, created by Valerie Peterson Brown, is a poem consisting of 4 quatrains. Each quatrain begins with the same letter. The rhyme scheme is abab. Starting with the second stanza you use the second letter of the first line of the first stanza to write the second each line beginning with that letter. On the third stanza you will use the second letter on the first line of the second stanza and write the third each line beginning with that letter. On the fourth stanza you will use the second letter on the first line of the third stanza and write the fourth each line beginning with that letter.

High above the countryside,
Hanging in there;
He takes everything in stride,
Having no room to err.

Into the heavens he ascends,
Inching closer toward the top;
If he should fall and rapidly descend,
It would be quite a painful drop.

Nagging doubts begin to compose,
Near but not near enough to the summit;
Nothing beneath his tired, cleated toes,
Nascent mistakes could cause him to plummet.

Air whips briskly around him, gusty and strong,
Alarm bells go off in his head;
A capricious event that could mean his swan song,
Anchored to the rock, he inches ahead.