4 Quatrains

LETTERED

Puritan New England’s Hester Prynne,
In her day, wore an “A” for unspeakable sin.
Now with sex extramarital, kinky, and group,
The fashion would be to wear alphabet soup.

UNSKIRTABLE

Susan B. Anthony, suffragette,
Had each of her sisters issued a threat
To husbands and gentleman friends who’d been doting:
“No more nookie till we start voting!”

STERLING

“Paul Revere
Thought nothing of fear,”
The naive young patriot cried.
Grinned a minuteman, “I cleaned his saddle after the ride.”

IMAGINED

The world without John, Paul, George, and Ringo
Would be filled with players of bingo,
Or other board games still in use,
Sad–like Jude–for want of Beatles’ juice.

Written by Jonathan Rose

Miami, Florida – United States

Jonathan Rose is a bilingual (Spanish) immigration attorney and a cultural activist. He has served as a judge of local, regional, national, and international poetry contests. An award-winning poet, he has translated poetry, presented poetry workshops and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Since 1999, Jonathan has published the arts calendar CULTURAL BULLETIN and has moderated the Famous Last Friday Open Mic Poetry Readings at Books & Books in Coral Gables since 1992.

Jonathan Rose received a Shining Star Award from the Arts & Business Council “in recognition of extraordinary work as a mobilizer, a resource, and an innovator whose leadership skills enhance the quality of life in Greater Miami through the arts.” He currently serves as Program Director for the South Florida Writers Association.