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“Nor should she be too rich, because the rich
Are driven by wealth as beggars by the itch’
from ‘Beggar To Beggar Cried’ by William Butler Yeats.

May is a time when the landscape is rich with flowers and poets are rich with inspiration. I’m Kim from Writing in North Norfolk, welcoming you to this month’s second Quadrille, in which we take any meaning of one word and transform it into 44 poetic words.

Rich’ is an adjective which originated in Old English rice, meaning ‘strong, powerful; great, mighty; of high rank’ and later ‘wealthy’. The form of the word was influenced in Middle English by Old French riche, meaning ’wealthy, magnificent, sumptuous’. Old English also had a noun, rice, meaning ‘rule, reign, power, might; authority; empire’. The evolution of the word reflects a connection between wealth and power in the ancient world.  (Source: etymonline.com)

Rich’ means having a great deal of money or assets; there are plenty of synonyms for the word, such as wealthy, affluent, well off, rolling in money, loaded and worth a packet. You can be born into a rich and famous family, and be cash rich, filthy rich or stinking rich.

Rich’ also means existing in plentiful quantities, abundant or having a lot of something such as ‘the rich flora and fauna of the forest’, ‘the town offers a rich supply of coffee shops and restaurants’, and ‘the English language is rich in vocabulary’.

It can describe something containing a lot of exciting events or experiences, which is therefore very interesting, for example ‘he has written a book about the island’s rich history’ or ‘she had a rich and varied life’.

Rich’ can mean attractive; a rich colour, sound, smell, or taste is strong in a pleasing or attractive way, such as ‘she produced a rich, deep tone from her clarinet’ or ‘the wine has a rich aromatic flavour’.

​A rich material is very beautiful and valuable but if food is rich, it contains a large amount of oil, butter, eggs, or cream, and can make you feel uncomfortable, as in ‘this chocolate mousse is too rich for me’. It can also mean that something has a large quantity of a valuable substance, as in calcium-rich food or an oil-rich country.

Furthermore, it is used to describe someone’s opinions when that person has the same bad qualities as the person they are criticizing, as in ‘That’s a bit rich coming from him’.

We have expressions and sayings, such as ‘eat the rich’, ‘poor little rich girl/boy/kid’, ‘rich as Croesus’, ‘life’s rich tapestry’ and ‘strike it rich’, and songs about being rich, for example ‘If I Were a Rich Man’ from ‘Fiddler on the Roof, ‘Rich Girl’ by Hall and Oates,  and Aerosmith’s ‘Eat the Rich’:


Here are links to two poems; one is entitled Rich and Poor’ by Francis Duggan:


and the other is ‘Richness’ by Jacob Wright:


This week I’d like you to take any meaning, form or compound of the word rich, and write a poem of exactly 44 words (not counting your title), including the prompt word.

Here’s how to Quadrille:

– Write a poem of exactly 44 words, including the word rich.
– Link it up to our Mr. Linky.
– Visit other blogs. Enjoy some amazing poets. Comment. Come back later this week and write another one, and visit some more. Comment some more. Create as many poems as you please, including ones with all the words. The Quadrille lasts all week, so I look forward to a rich array of poetry!