I have written a hundred poems in the last three years. Editors returned them with tears. They all had rhythm and meter, And rhyme as perfect as Peter, Pumpkin Eater; Because I believe that rhythm is a poet's first duty, Meter is the second and rhyme the third, in an expression of beauty. I have examined a pile of recent magazines to find out why my poems met rejection. Inspection . . . retrospection . . . introspection . . . dejection. Most of the poems I found were by Balder Dash, Rhyming hippopotamus with duckbilled platypus; (but he gets the cash). His poems have no rhythm or meter, And are not beautiful either. . . . I tell you, this writing game is driving me nuts. The hell with Balder Dash! (Wish @3I@1 had @3his@1 guts!) | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE MODERN MAJOR-GENERAL, FR. THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE by WILLIAM SCHWENCK GILBERT THE INVITATION by GEORGE HERBERT THE SHEPHERDESS by ALICE MEYNELL NORTHERN FARMER, OLD STYLE by ALFRED TENNYSON A PENNY'S WORTH OF POESY by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS A STREET SKETCH by JOSEPH ASHBY-STERRY |