Greetings, poet-friends! And Happy New Year! De Jackson here, aka WhimsyGizmo. 
Before I get started, I must share an uplifting announcement from the Pub: 

***Announcement***
Please join us at dVerse LIVE on Saturday, January 18, from 10 to 11 AM EST. Google meet link will be provided at Open Link Night on Thursday. 

This is a great way to connect with your fellow poets, as we all lift each other up – in life, and in our work.

Ok. Now, who can give me a lift? 
It’s time again for my favorite prompt, the Quadrille. This is a poetic invention of our own design here at dVerse where we assign you one word, and you use it within a 44-word poem. No other rules or limitations. Today, I want you to lift your poems to new heights by including some form of the word lift.

Uplifting, liftoff, lifted up. Put some lifts in the shoes of your iambic feet. Do some heavy lifting with rhythm or rhyme, or barely lift a finger and tap us out some light prose. Write about a forklift, a facelift, or a ski lift. What sort of poem would a weightlifter write? Or a shoplifter? You can even write about a Lyft rideshare mishap, or happenstance. 

In some countries, a “lift” is an elevator – as depicted in this fun poem by Sir John Betjeman: https://allpoetry.com/The-Lift-Man

Here’s some more poetic inspiration: 

Come, what’s th’ use o’ fratchin’, lads, this life’s noan so lung,
So, iv yo’n gether reawnd, aw’ll try my hond at a sung;
It may shew a guidin’ glimmer to some wand’rer astray,
Or, haply, gi’ some poor owd soul a lift on the way.
                                      A lift on the way;
                                      A lift on the way;
Or, haply, gi’ some poor owd soul a lift on the way.

-Excerpt by Edwin Waugh 
(Try to) read the whole poem here. A Lift On The Way

Lift Every Voice and Sing
by James Weldon Johnson1871 – 1938

Lift every voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list’ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chast’ning rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered.
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by Thy might,
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.

New to the Q? Here’s what to do: 
Pen us a pithy poem of just 44 words, including some semblance of the word LIFT. Post your poem on your own blog, and link up using the Mr. Linky below. Then, make your way over to other poets’ blogs to read and comment. Their amazing work is sure to lift your spirits! And don’t forget: the Quadrille is open all week, so check back to read and write some more! 

Now, let’s lift your spirits musically, so you can get to poeming…

Lift Me Up, Bruce Springsteen 

Lift, Radiohead

And just for fun: 
Love in an Elevator, Aerosmith 

Anybody else feel like this is a good metaphor for life?