This is the 4th prompt for the NPM 2022 Flex Scavenger Hunt – Write an Alouette poem or write a poem using the word “yield”. The Alouette is a form created by Jan Turner. The name means “skylark” because the poem is supposed to mimic bird song. To write an Alouette you must have 2 or more 6 line stanzas (a 12 line minimum). The requirements are both rhyming and syllabic. The rhyme scheme per stanza is: a/a/b/c/c/b with a syllable count of: 5/5/7/5/5/7 where the preference is an accent on the 3rd syllable of each line. It sounds complicated but it really isn’t as tricky as it sounds…
Slow to rolling stop
Check for stealthy cop
Took the corner tires squealed
Left skid marks graphic
Merged into traffic
Policeman perfectly concealed
Lights flash red and blue
I was caught I knew
Approached my ride, flashed his shield
What’s your hurry ace?
It isn’t a race
Got a ticket “failed to yield”
So my inspiration for this one, is my friend the fashionista. She is about as conservative a driver as you would ever meet. However, she got a ticket! In our sleepy neighborhood, there is a 3 way stop that happens to be on the corner by the community pool. During the summer there are lots of kids streaming across the road from the parking lot opposite and riding bikes on every sidewalk to and from the pool. There had been some drivers being reckless and blowing through the stop sign. The local police decided to monitor that intersection. There was a police car in the parking lot and then another one on the other side of the park. Anyway, she failed to come to a complete stop. Even though she didn’t run the stop, she earned a traffic citation and a hefty fine. She is an even more careful driver now. She’ll give you heck if you don’t come to a complete stop at any stop sign!!
A Different Perspective 
Nice! I was intimidated at first with all the rules but your right it kinda flows naturally once you start.
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Some of these forms are pretty tricky when you look at the rules but when you start to write it becomes clear and the words flow! I’m so glad you are doing this one! It is a fun form once you get going.
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Nice not to be intimidated
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Thanks for stopping by to comment! I can’t speak for Monty, but I think the forms can be intimidating at first but once you try it all becomes easy…
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Those cops would have a field day with the drivers here…city cops don’t even bother.
I admit being intimidated by this form description, but perhaps I’ll give it a try. (K)
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Thanks Kerfe! The form is not too difficult when you get started… And its kind of fun too! The police are some times bored and so we have very good enforcement. It is a perk of having a highly trained police force in a smallish city!
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Keeps everyone on their best behavior I imagine.
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Yes. You never know if “Big Brother” is watching….
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Great form, and it works nicely the way you did it.
I’m sorry for your friend’s ticket, but I would feel similarly if it were mine.
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Hehe! Thanks Dodi! I’ve made it a point to come to a complete stop… I’m smart enough to learn from the mistakes of others!
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I am glad cops are enforcing stop signs. Out on the highway people seem to ignore them. Have a great weekend.
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Thanks! We have excellent police enforcement in our city and for the most part that has made the populace “law abiding” citizens!
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Good.
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🙂
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Oops. Poor lady! I’m glad she’s a more careful driver now! Great poem Val! Xx
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Thanks Carol Anne! I’m tickled you liked this poem! She was careful before and now she is hyper vigilant!
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Well done, Muri! I thought this was a firsthand account and YOU were the one who got the ticket. The town I used to live in had a lot of cops with little to do. Mayor’s Court was always full of speeders and red light runners (only two stoplights, no cameras).
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Ha! Thanks Joan – but I’m not a law breaker!! And even less so now that I know the police are watching. We are definitely bigger than a 2 stop light town but when crime is low the officers have to keep busy somehow!
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I love this! I’ve only met the fashionista a couple of times, but I’m willing to bet that was her first ticket. I got three tickets in my first year of driving, and none in the 44 years since. I didn’t do the syllable stress in my Alouette. It didn’t sound like a hard and fast rule with words like “usually” and “preferred” in the description. Mine flows kind of like a limerick. I guess I tend to fall back to a bouncy cadence when I’m writing something serious. I don’t do it on purpose, it just seems to turn out that way!
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I thought it seemed limerick-y as well. Sometimes I ended up with extra syllables, but I left them in because the line lost its bouncy cadence without them.
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The syllable stresses are strictly optional – so no harm, no foul! She had NEVER had a ticket before and was devastated!
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The form suited the tale you narrated, Val!
I’d rather not say much about the traffic cops or the people driving here. Both are lax.
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Punam, there is such a divergence in enforcement from city to city and state to state that is can be really confusing! Hope you are able to travel safely despite the scofflaws!
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Thankfully, we are able to do so.
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I got nailed for a rolling stop in a quiet, empty neighborhood by a guy with a SWAT badge. I asked him if he didn’t have something better to do? I got home (this was back in the hood) and there was a woman shooting up heroin in the doorway of an “ice cream” truck. I was all, “Yeah, SWAT team.” I called the cops…
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Yep. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense what is enforced and what is overlooked… The wealthy area are patrolled more heavily than the less affluent neighborhoods in my experience. I hope the SWAT cop was sent for that call!
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I feel sorry for her. I’m pretty sure I sort of stop and roll, but…. I’m trying to be good!! 🤷🏻♀️
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I also thought at first that this form is kinda tricky but as i stated writing, i realized its more fun than being tricky..
Thanks Val.
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Full stops are bad for gas mileage. I roll for the health of the environment. That’s my story…until I get caught.
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Hehe! I hope you can keep on rollin’!
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I like the Alouette, the rhythm and rhyme, and you did a fantastic job. I’m sorry your friend got a ticket and surprised that the officer didn’t just give a warning, especially if she’s otherwise a safe driver. I lived by a park and community pool years ago and there was an intersection at the corner of the park that always seemed dangerous. I almost witnessed a city truck plow into a small boy on a bike, who swerved into its path without looking. I imagine the driver had his heart in his mouth (as did I), but it meant that it isn’t just drivers that have to be careful.
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Thanks Mary! The alouette is a fun form to write!! I think he had a quota – maybe. But she was in the wrong and she knew it. The neighborhood runs an annual bike safety course for the kids – it is free for residents. They try to really impress on the kids that they have to be careful and watch out for cars/trucks… I’m glad the bike versus truck incident didn’t end with injury!!
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Oh, no! I’m cautious about full stops because I’ve gotten a ticket for the very same reason as your friend– I stopped, but apparently it wasn’t a completely full stop, oops. 🙈
I love the rhythm of this poem and how it creates a clear scene.
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Thanks Sarah! I enjoyed writing it. Sorry that you’ve had to learn it the hard way. I hope it wasn’t too expensive a lesson!
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I love this cheeky one … in this case it sounded like motorists needed a warning, here its mainly a fundraising event!
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Thanks bunches Kate! I think that it was mostly to make an example of some offenders and my friend just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time doing exactly what they were trying to prevent! The revenue generated by traffic fines is not inconsequential!
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I love your alouette Val – great rhythm. It looks like a fun form to try.
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Thanks bunches! It is a fun form – although it might seem intimidating at first glance, once you get started it is a hoot to write!
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Been there, done that. I’m a ‘rolling stop” kind of driver. LOL
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Oh! I hope you didn’t get a ticket – those are expensive!!!
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It’s comforting to know that there’s a three-way stop on the corner beside the community pool in your peaceful neighborhood. During the summer, a large number of children across the street from the parking lot across the street and ride their bikes on every sidewalk to and from the pool.
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Thanks for the visit and comment! We have lots of children in the neighborhood…
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A policeman once told me that a complete stop of ten seconds is best. As you know, the last time I only stopped for five seconds, I was t-boned by someone going pell mell up over the hill.
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Yep! We live and learn. I’m glad you are still with us and not a traffic casualty! Ten seconds is a good suggestion!
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