My Grandkids Asked Me- A Rhyming #Poem

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.

“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.)

Maybe I’m simply craving more order in my life…but the poems that are resulting from that frame of mind are more pleasing to the ear and much more accessible for the listener, grandkids included.

Need a place to begin writing your own poetry? You can download my Poetry 101 Starter Kit by visiting my website HERE. And while you’re there, visit the Resource Library for FREE Resources to inspire you!

You’ll find more of my original poems in rhyme and meter by typing “Rhymes for Reflection” in the pink magnifying glass search icon in the upper right corner of this page.

** More about the Fibonacci Sequence can be found HERE.