April Is National Poetry Month
In this, now, its twentieth year
And cuttlefish types who have fun with their ink
Are all happy that April is here
For reading, for writing, for sometimes reciting
This month is the finest of times
But you’ll have to look hard, and you’ll have to look far
If you’re looking for something that rhymes.
Yup, April is indeed National Poetry Month, when the Academy of American Poets reminds me that nobody writes in rhyme and meter any more.
The “Dear Poet” project, which is quite a nice idea, features 7 modern poets reading their own works; students are encouraged to write to them in response. Of the seven poems, none rhyme.
The 21st of the month will be Poem In Your Pocket Day, which is another great idea. The PDF of pocket poems, though, is interesting. 15 modern poems by American poets. 15 by modern Canadian poet. Thirty poems… not one written in rhyme. Then, though, an additional 15 poems “in the public domain” (in other words, by long-dead poets). Of those 15, 12 are in rhyming verse of various forms.
It would seem that if one wishes to write poetry that rhymes, it might be a good idea to be long-dead while one does so.
Have the poets indeed run out of rhyme? But… but the song assures us that such a thing is “in other words, until the end of time”.
The Digital Cuttlefish: Doing my part to keep the end times at bay, since 2007.
If you wish you could write verse
But claim your talent’s scant
Self-denigration makes things worse
Why tell yourself you can’t?
It’s not too hard to make a rhyme
Or write within a meter.
The opportunity is prime
Even if you peter.
Just find a rhythm, pace it well,
To move the lines along.
Check your syllables to tell
If it’s starting to go wrong.
Keep things roughly even,
Keep it balanced, keep it neat,
And soon you’ll be believin’
That rhymes you can complete.
The Internet’s your friend, you see,
With lots of helpful sites,
And you can always come to me
For comments and advice.
A cuttlefish aswim in words
Delights both literates and nerds.
A month of splashing poems around
With rhymes and meter to astound,
From April Fools to April showers,
Makes many merry meaningful hours.
You, too, can fish out verses galore,
As limerick or haiku, or villanelle and more.
A poem a day to read or write
Makes all the world a prettier sight.
If I could write a poem
I would post it on the net
it would have a lot of rhyme
if I could figure out the right words
Everyone would read my poetry
and say what a cool guy that Die Anyway is.
He can rhyme anything
unless it ends in orange.
I could poke fun at the politicians
or disparage the fundamentalists.
I could bring a smile to many a face,
if only I had a rhyming dictionary.
Die Anyway, that may be my favorite verse anywhere any time.
Maybe.
It’s way up there, anyway.
It was fun making it up but I really wish I could come up with rhymes the way you do.
RhymeZone is helpful, I’ve found.