Weekend Assignment #212: Celebrate Poetry Month!

I think Karen needs a good laugh. Why else would she get untrained people, such as myself, to write poetry? She says it is because April is National Poetry Month, but I have my doubts. Here is this weekend's assignment.

It's National Poetry Month in the United States, but poetry itself is a worldwide phenomenon, existing in many styles. Let's celebrate the form. How? By writing a poem, of course! It can be silly or serious, haiku, limerick, rhymed verse, blank verse, free verse, two lines long or fifty, or anything in between. All I ask is that it be a new, original poem, not something you wrote in high school and trot out occasionally.

Believe me, I do not have any poetry from high school anymore. Anything poetry related I was forced to write was destroyed immediately. Some by my teachers. Yes, they were that bad. I'm not good at rhyming, or using proper meters, or any of the other tools poets know how to use properly. I can barely talk half the time, how am I supposed to make every other line rhyme?

Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with poetry -- as long as I don't write it. In the proper hands poetry is great. Poets know how to get the most out of every word or phrase. It can be a good exercise in vocabulary and word usage, which is probably why they tried to get me to write some.

Do you want to read some bad poetry? OK. Don't say I didn't warn you. I am not responsible for any damage to your retinas or anything.

Warning: Bad poetry ahead!

I enjoy writing in my blog,
but poetry is a different story.
I barely know how to rhyme,
I don't expect any glory.

Still alive? Try this.

Karen changed the assignment
now I'm in trouble.
I don't know how to write a poem
my work is nearly double.

Ouch. Last one.

We have a dog named Qunicy,
we think he is half cat.
He stalks and pounces on his toys,
like he's chasing a rat.

I warned you.

Extra Credit: Do you have a favorite poet?

No, I don't have a favorite poet. Though I do like some of the epic poems like, Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Kahn by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I will say that I wouldn't know either of those if songs were not written about them. I liked Homer's Odyssey, but I don't remember the form of the version I read in school. I guess it doesn't matter, the original was an epic poem.

There you have it. I hope you are all OK after reading this.