Ode To Free Verse - Stephen A. Roberts

I hope that I am not too late,
to add my voice to the debate -
about not making poems rhyme
supposedly a heinous crime.

The following work is tongue in cheek
and has sadly spawned some rhyme that's weak;
please don't be upset, just gently cringe
at this turgid, rhyming binge.

This loose discussion of poetic styles
is designed to bring you out in smiles,
I don't know my iamb from my elbow
Hmmm, think I'll end this line with yellow.

So off we go, you'll soon agree
that sometimes rhyming can be twee,
we're already at verse four, line three
with our rhyming dik-shun-ree!

Yes, one man's fish is another man's poisson
vin de pays is the frenchman's boisson;
quick find me a word to rhyme with doggerel
oh dear, it seems there's ...none*.

With so many types of written form
one cannot say what is the norm,
there's more to this than rhyming couplets
(you know this line will end in droplets).

Yes, it takes all sorts, there are many voices
odes and sonnets, even if your choice is
free verse versus schemes more rigid**,
I'm pretty sure this blog can bridge it!

So if ginsberg, cummings and poets bolder
don't float your boat and leave you cold, er,
you can look up words to rhyme with “verse”,
like I have done with this silk purse*** !

*  you can put "bugger all" here, I swear but I was timid and didn't dare!
**  did you like this rhyme internal? please, no, stop, it's too infernal!!
***  of all the rhymes this is the worst fetch the nurse, my boil has burst!

Stephen A. Roberts