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Wednesday, August 05, 2015

DENNIS M. PATRICK: MORE RHYMES FOR THE SOUL

Special poems often recall memories of better days gone by. A warm summer’s day on a lazy afternoon with light poetry in hand makes a perfect setting for an hour of leisure well spent. A recent column proved quite popular, so a repeat is worthwhile.

Poetry includes a variety of forms. The rhyme, jingle, refrain and higher-end verse are typically lumped into the general category of “poetry.” People who teach and study poetry use technical terms like onomatopoeia, trochee, foot and meter. All are valid as far as they go. However, these are not fine for the casual reader of poetry.

Inspired by their own muse, most people at some point have tried their hand at a rhyme or jingle. Even a few lines of nonsense burbled to an infant might qualify. Why? It is the nature of human beings to create and respond to rhythm. From the earliest times before the written word histories, genealogies and legends were passed down from generation to generation. Putting the stories in rhythmic verse made it easier to memorize. Recite the following to a young child: “Pease porridge hot; Pease porridge cold; Pease porridge in the pot; Nine days old.” It doesn’t matter if they understand the words. In moments they will recite it back from memory.

Anything of interest to a person may be the subject for a poem. The distinction of poetry lies not in the subject matter (there are even poems on such sordid objects as flies and mice) but in the author’s attitude, intention and feeling. What we are interested in is the finished product and that product is distinctively rhythmic.

Here is a textbook analogy. Poetry is to prose what dancing is to walking. Rhythm in poetry cannot be mechanical but flexible and varied. Furthermore, poetry is intended to be read out loud expressively.

But, no more lecturing. Here are some suggested favorites preserved and handed down for our pleasure.

“Fog” by Carl Sandburg is a two-sentence poem every high school kid once read.

“The Height of the Ridiculous” by Oliver Wendell Holmes is a bit of whimsy to make anyone chuckle.

John Greenleaf Whittier composed several memorable poems. With school right around the corner, his poem “In School-Days” will stir memories.

Seldom heard these days is the topic of a poem by James Whitcomb Riley – “The Old Swimmin’ Hole.” Regulations prohibit what used to be summer fun.

Then there is the old favorite “Home” by Edgar A. Guest. Maybe you read it in an old magazine or from excerpts on a plaque. This poem is pure nostalgia.

Any list should include Robert Frost. “The Pasture” is only one of many choices. “After Apple-Picking,” “The Death of the Hired Man” and “Mending the Wall” are other favorites.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote his clearly worded “Requiem” in two stanzas.

Richard Crashaw wrote “An Epitaph Upon Husband and Wife” who loved in life, were buried together in death and continued together in eternity.

In eight short lines in “The Conclusion” Sir Walter Raleigh, executed as a result of a plot against King James I, lays out his victory in Christ over death. The poem was purportedly written on the eve of his death.

In four short stanzas G. K. Chesterton pays tribute to Jesus Christ’s mode of transportation entering Jerusalem in “The Donkey.”

If it was Alfred Lord Tennyson’s intent to draw out emotions, he did so in his lengthy poem “The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet, 1591.” This is the true tale of a small English ship that challenged and fought with fifty-three Spanish galleons off the Azores. The little Revenge earned her glory before her defeat.

And, finally, “The Day is Done.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow captures rather nicely the feeling and sentiment of the final hours at the end of a day’s labor.

You can find any of these poems on the internet. Even so, reading verse from a book (and verse is meant to be read out loud) adds to the ambiance and pleasure of the experience.

 

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

 

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