by Lucy E. Zahnle

Created on: September 24, 2009

They say that modern poetry should not rhyme, that meter no longer matters,

And that sing-song sentiments are no longer "in",

But I like poetry that rhymes.

I like to read it and I like to write it.

I like the rhythm of words arranged to create emotion or mimic nature's sounds.

I like the challenge of making the words and the meter

Work together in harmony.

They say that a modern poem's meaning should be mysterious and obscure.

I like a poem with a surface message

That even a child can understand,

But with underlying themes, layers, and symbolism

For those who are of a mind to dig deeper and think harder,

The surface message and the deeper meaning combining to

Work together in harmony.

They say that modern poetry should have no structure,

Should have no universal patterns or repeating phrases.

I like recurring passages that tie a poem's themes and images together,

That meld the dark and the light of the poet's soul

Like grey-black storm clouds swirling through a cerulean sky,

Sharpening the poem's imagery until words and imagination

Work together in harmony.

They say that modern poetry does not have to make sense,

That vivid imagery is enough,

But I hate reading a poem that goes on and on,

Offering image after image without an anchor, without an idea on which to rest.

Reading such poetry, I get bored; I get lost; I give up and move on.

I like the concept, the heart, of a poem and its imagery to

Work together in harmony.

They say that I will never be a fashionable poet with attitudes like these,

That I waste my time,

Writing poems that rhyme,

That meter, meaning, and structure are unimportant; have no place

In our modern world of empty chaos, but I think that a well-crafted poem

Rhythmic, rhyming, with clarity of soul, shows all the world's people how to

Work together in harmony.

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