FREE VERSE

     To write verse free of verse defies all sense,
     especially the sense of rhyme and meter;
     so I arise and come to the defense
     of lines with zip and dash that never peter
     out, but set up expectations they fulfill
     while subtly varying the pace and beat,
     deciding when to run—and then stand still
     and signalling clearly that a thought’s complete.
     Then when a turn of thought is called for it
     occurs at the expected spot and shows
     a new perspective somehow meet and fit,
     while signalling the verse now nears its close.
          Or so it is with sonnets, whose strict rules
          confound the skills of witless free verse fools.

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