Branching Out

Someone perusing all the lines I penned before this century would surely think I must have signed a contract to produce just poems with the strictest rhyming schemes! It seemed my mind was programmed to create rhymed couplets or a-b-c-b quatrains. I asked myself then, “Must you always rhyme? If so, you could at least try other styles.” Because I’d always liked to read blank verse, I vowed I’d take the plunge and write some too! I love the partial freedom it affords. While rhyming’s not included, meter is— those five iambic feet I so adore. April 5, 2023 for the Simply Poetry 2 Contest Sponsor: John Lawless