RHYME’S REASON II

      The reason for this rhyme-and-meter thing,
      Despite the modern fashion that denies it,
      Is simply that true poems ought to sing,
      Though few who’d now be poets realize it.

      Old masters always practiced eloquence
      In language raised above the common tongue,
      Aiming to mingle sweetly sound and sense,
      Their recitations far less said than sung.

      I grant that times and tastes will always change,
      But yet sonority is what defines
      Both songs and verse, so seeking to estrange
      The sound from sense means poetry declines.

           And then, the very act of seeking rhymes
           May suddenly reveal new paradigms.

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