To Rhyme or Not

The Challenge of Writing Poems That Rhyme

Writing poetry is not as easy for me as writing prose. More of a challenge is writing a poem in proper rhyme and meter. Whenever I try, the verse seems forced and clunky. Then I think of the many poets from Chaucer to the present day, who have written poems in English that rhyme and flow with such ease as a leisurely walk in the park, yet their poems also take the reader deeply between each line and verse. That is also the case for the many German poets I’ve read beginning with Middle High German poets to those today.

Many poets today tend to write more free verse poems, or poems which don’t rhyme necessarily, yet may include meter and internal rhyme. Some poets still write rhyme and meter poems, even blank verse, and excel, no matter what they write. Below is just one of my attempts:

Tomcat Jack

Jack wasn't always fat
but in his heyday slim and trim
courting women as a whim
like a brazen tomcat

Full of life and guile
his warm fetching smile 
caught women’s eyes
like a tempting prize

A true Adonis and bold
a true woman’s heartthrob
whether young or old
he made them smile or sob

He strutted the streets proudly
singing a ditty loudly

I love ‘em tall
I love ‘em small
truth be told
I love ‘em all

But age caught up with Jack
there was no turning back
his trim physique turned to flab
and Jack lost his gift of gab

Cataracts blurred his eyes
his ears no longer heard
if a woman sang like a bird
and Jack was no more a prize

In the end, Jack withered and died
and at his grave no woman cried.