I did not know that poetry has rules.
‘Tis not a craft for ordinary fools.
Those, that form and meter never master,
Are ever doomed; they are the poetasters.
As opera singers, out of tune, do make
Discerning listeners do a double-take,
And chefs, who sprinkle salt instead of sweet,
Serve meals that connoisseurs would never eat;
A writer with a wretched poet’s curse
Will never craft a great Heroic Verse.
So as I count my syllables and feet,
And wonder if my metaphors will meet,
I pray that hypermetrics are okay,
(For I have used a few of them today,)
I’ll leave the verdict, reader, up to you,
Affirm that to my mission, I’ve been true,
Or if the ending to my verse bathetic
Christen me a poet most pathetic.
Heroic Lines in Couplets, I intended;
Judge me, reader, now this verse has ended.
Phil Lindsey 12/24/15
I most often do not write notes to my poems, hoping that any readers out in HP land enjoy them for what they are. Also, I am most definitely NOT a technical writer, nor have I had formal classes or training. But I have been attempting to read "The Ode Less Travelled" by Stephen Fry. Mr. Fry describes (often humorously) iambic pentameter, rhyming schemes, meter, and much more in his didactic book. Thus, I have attempted to write a poem in Heroic Verse. With my apologies to Mr. Fry. :-)