My Grandkids Asked Me–A Rhyming Poem & Invitation
Complaints are afoot in certain close quarters
That my poems don’t rhyme, they’re merely imposters.
The grandchildren ask me, “Is that how you write one?
I’m not really sure, Nana, your kind’s the right one.”
“There’re no matching endings, really no reasoning.
It’s like eating roast beef without any seasoning.
Tasteless and boring, and lacking all color,
We honestly think that there’s nothing duller.”
Well fine, I give up, I’ll leave free verse behind,
And because I’m your Nana, exceptionally kind,
I’ve put pencil to paper, all right, I can show ‘em
Read on my dear lovelies, for here is your poem.”
A NEW PROJECT
The poem above is a small seed of a dream that’s growing to make poetry more accessible and user-friendly. (Readers may recognize “My Grandkids Asked Me” from the Wayfinding section in my book, “Mining the Bright Birds-Poems of Longing for Home.”)
When I released my first book in 2021 “Hearts on Pilgrimage Poems & Prayers,” I dedicated it to my grandchildren. They were kind and said nice things, “The cover’s pretty, Nana, but the poems don’t rhyme,” as polite grandchildren will do. I think their hesitation is informed, like so much of the reading public’s might be, by just what comes to mind when they hear the word “poetry.”
I get it. Reading (or writing) poetry can feel intimidating. There’s often a sense that, “Everyone else totally gets the meaning of this poem,” or, “I need to be an English major to understand this,” or, “Why poetry?”
Poems written in free verse are partly (mostly?) the reason for this.
Particular attention needs to be paid to language and line length and meaning when reading poems written in free verse.
There are no end rhymes to guide the reader, not obvious, concrete meaning.
The poems are often a little….obscure? oblique?
And most of my poems have been written in that form; hence, the grandkids’ comments.
Well, I’m happy to say my tastes are changing and I’m excited to be not only be reading more verse in rhyme in meter, I’ve been trying my hand and writing poems in rhyme as well. The grandkid poem above was one of the first.
I think there’s something about the way our brains are wired to crave the kind of order that comes with lines of poetry read out loud in pattern and cadence.
When you think of it, God created order out of chaos when he made the world. He is the originator of patterns–think about the Fibonacci sequence** in mathematics, for instance. (Also called ‘The Golden Ratio’ in architecture.)
My current brainstorm (brainsprinkle?) is to craft 52 poems–I have 25 so far–in simple rhyme and meter, encouraging readers to read and reflect on the simple verses in their quiet time with God. In this way those who are new to poetry will have an easy entry into reading a new genre and be invited to ponder God’s voice to them in their reading as well. The tentative title is, “Rhymes for Reflection-52 Poetic Prompts.”
If I can provide an invitation that lessens the intimidation for folks to find their way into reading poetry AND be an encouragement to pause and listen in their relationship with Jesus, well, that’s a great combo–Poetry and prayer together.
I do hope you’ll join me in the journey…And in the meantime, if you’d like to read the previous poems in this project, simply type “Rhymes for Reflection” in the pink magnifying glass search icon in the upper right corner of this page.
Also, you can order either of my current books simply by clicking on the photo below which will take you to the Books page….
** More about the Fibonacci Sequence can be found HERE.
