To Rhyme or not. That is the question

At our last writers’ group meeting, we were discussing our upcoming Christmas party and one of our leaders, Laura, suggested we each write a poem to read at the holiday gathering. I countered with an idea that had been brewing in my mind, “I thought maybe we could tell something about ourselves that no one here knows.”

“Great idea,” Laura said, “We can write a poem about ourselves.” So, now I must wrestle with writing a poem. Being the analytical person I like to think I am, I first looked through my filing cabinet for poems I had written long ago as part of a writing course. Maybe I shouldn’t have. The hope these poetic attempts might help evaporated like a drop of water on a hot stove. The professor had written on most of my offerings, “interesting thoughts, but I’m not sure it qualifies as a poem.”

From there, I went to the Internet figuring I could get an answer to anything I needed. I tried some good websites and here’s some of the advice I found.

Start with an idea, an inspiration, or a strong emotion:

This is the easy part, I thought, the poem is supposed to be about me. Not so easy, what about me? My torrid love life? My solitary childhood? My nursing career? Or perhaps, my philosophy? Definitely, not politics

Use descriptive words:

Easy one. I love words! I’m comfortable here.

Brainstorm:

Still feeling confident here. Let’s see, sum of my parts, life’s stages. Life as an optimist? Seasons of my life? Maybe not so easy, after all.

Remember rhythm and meter:

This is getting harder now. I’ll definitely have to visit the Internet again to ensure I know the difference.

Decide if you want it to rhyme or not:

Now I’m really getting nervous. What would Shakespeare do? Then again, I’m no Shakespeare and never will be. I return to my dusty file. I have some in rhyme and some in not. Since I’m an inveterate cryptogram devotee, I think I’ll opt for rhyme and try to match the words that rhyme to the thought I’m trying to convey.

In my Google search, I find this sage advice:

*What is a good poem?
A good poem is a slip-of-a-thing
That celebrates language, that takes
you on a short journey and touches your heart,
turns on your imagination, or tickles you funny-
bone somewhere along the way.

I am ready now to take my pen and paper in hand and start. I tell myself it will be character forming and stretch my horizons, in the same way as eating vegetables are good for us, and prune juice serves as a cathartic. But first I think I’ll do some more research, maybe read some Emily Dickinson or Robert Frost. The one thing I’ve learned is I WILL rhyme.



*Nikki Grimes. A Pocketful of Poems. Clarion, 2001. Danitra Brown Leaves Town. HarperCollins, 2002