Rhyme & Meter
Contemporary poets know
that free-verse poems are the rage;
most rhyme and meter quit the stage.
If only Buk had been a Poe!
I know these lines set down in rhymes
will fail to please our modern taste;
Some writers judge all rhymes a waste,
would sooner hear a choir of mimes.
Do rhyming poets act like fools,
spend countless hours of great travail
and cast their lines to no avail
while modern writers chuck the rules?
Did Keats deem rhymes a huge disgrace?
Are Shakespeare’s sonnets heard with shame?
Should Milton bear his share of blame?
Must I my metered work erase?
Some free-verse writers vent their hate
on pages penned with artful rhyme,
on metered lines requiring time;
perhaps the challenge looms too great.
© 2010 C.T. Bailey
Contemporary poets know
that free-verse poems are the rage;
most rhyme and meter quit the stage.
If only Buk had been a Poe!
I know these lines set down in rhymes
will fail to please our modern taste;
Some writers judge all rhymes a waste,
would sooner hear a choir of mimes.
Do rhyming poets act like fools,
spend countless hours of great travail
and cast their lines to no avail
while modern writers chuck the rules?
Did Keats deem rhymes a huge disgrace?
Are Shakespeare’s sonnets heard with shame?
Should Milton bear his share of blame?
Must I my metered work erase?
Some free-verse writers vent their hate
on pages penned with artful rhyme,
on metered lines requiring time;
perhaps the challenge looms too great.
© 2010 C.T. Bailey