Once,
when younger trying …
in vain
speaking to girls;
I stumbled on syllables
and couldn’t make sense,
stitching intentions
into sentences
without tripping on words.
Only much later
I aged and was trained
into telling
and tried to catch up
by talking too much.
Francis Bacon
Today we dance a Quadrille at dVerse with Punam leading the dance. Quadrille is a poem of 44 words in total where we integrate a given word which today happens to be trip.
January 26, 2026
Björn Rudbergs writings 
This made me smile, Björn. Glad there’s no more tripping.
My son is going through the same stage.
He will get over it… 🙂
I am hoping so. 😊
Nice quadrille, Björn
🎇much love
Thank you
One’s just as offputting as the other to me. I prefer the quiet types, but they usually have other issues.
Balanced is probably best
LOLZ I love it! Great image and song to go with it. I think I might be doing the same thing and tend to go on too much what a nice light hearded poem to brighten the day☀️
You can’t always be heavy and dark
remembering that feeling
That’s what makes us poets maybe
This made me laugh. I remember those boys.
Yes… I think there are many of us.
I think so.
Well written, wouldn’t it be nice if we could strike a balance between the two. I too can relate. 🙂
Balance is best…. but I still have both inside of me.
Time travel helps tell the tale, eh?
Yup… the past is always there
The isolation of the word ‘once’ puts it firmly in the past, Björn. I remember being like that myself, talking to anyone! Your poem also reminds me of my husband, who is still shy, but also talks too much sometimes. I love the stuttering sounds of ‘stitching intentions into sentences without tripping on words’.
I am mostly not shy nowadays… but every now and then it pops up and I mute myself.
Björn, your work always hits that perfect blend of clarity and depth — you say so much with such clean, deliberate lines.
Thank you, that is why I love the 44 word format.
I love it. So interesting, the stages we go through on our journey through life! The ending happens to many of us!
I think we constantly change…. but sometimes you have to remember and see if you ever learned.
Oh, Björn, and look at him now! Such a talent. Lovely poem.
Ha, thanks so much
Poor Bjorn … damned if you do, damned if you don’t ~ you emerged victorious.
Oh the awkward youth phase 🙂
So Nostalgic.
This made me smile. I have two sons both in their 20s now. Girls are more eloquent than boys, generally.
Appreciate your vulnerable self-disclosure, a tricky business those girls.
Yes the are (or were)