As a boy, I knew the nursery rhyme
“The cow jumped over the moon”.
Then, as a man, I learned too soon
That “the cat and the fiddle”
And the jumping bovine, are conquered by time.
Yet, like the child, I find
Rapture in rhyme.
As I shopped in the supermarket earlier today, one of the assistants read the poem printed on my t-shirt:
“I found
Blossom on the ground;
Which brought
To mind the thought,
We all,
As the blossom, fall”.
“Do you like poetry?”, I asked.
“Yes. If it rhymes”, she replied.
I was delighted that the lady liked rhyming poetry. And my pleasure was compounded by the fact that the poem in question was composed by me. (“Fallen Blossom” is included in my collection, “More Poetic Meanderings” More Poetic Meanderings: Amazon.co.uk: Morris, K, Morris, K: 9798388968302: Books).
The above conversation with the shop assistant caused me to ponder on why so many people (including myself) enjoy rhyming poetry.
As a child I learned many nursery rhymes, some of which I can still recite by heart. For example, whilst in the pub enjoying a few drinks with a friend, the nursery rhyme “There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe” There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe – Wikipedia, popped into my mind and I quoted it to my friend.
On the one hand, the rhyme can be seen as a bit of fun designed to make children laugh. It’s catchy nature lends itself to easy recollection by the reader. However, on the other hand, the poem speaks of child cruelty, (the beating of children with a shoe would today rightly have Social Services banging on the door and taking the abused children into care)!
The above rhyme is not therefore simply a charming piece of poetry. It is also (and perhaps primarily) a critique of child neglect. Not withstanding it’s dark messages “There was an Old Woman” remains memorable, as do such rhymes as “Hey Diddle Diddle” Hey Diddle Diddle – Wikipedia, a much more cheerful and light hearted rhyme, which I can still recite from memory.
I do not know how many children growing up in today’s society are exposed to the joy of nursery rhymes. However, it is my view (admittedly unscientific) that exposure to rhyme at a young age has the capacity to instil in people a life-long love of poetry and, in particular of rhyming poetry.
It is fashionable in some circles today to dismiss rhyming poetry as being “old hat” and to laud free verse. Whilst I have no beef with free verse, my instinctual preference is for poetry that rhymes. Whilst at school I recollect reading the “Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman | The Poetry Foundation. The rhythm of the poem enchanted me at the time and continues to do so to this very day.
I will finish with my own poem, “On the Death of a Writer” which contains elements of rhyme:
The rain is falling again.
“The garden smells fresh
And a solitary blackbird sings.
I heard of your death.
Your book remains unread.
You had others to write
And now are dead.
Each man has his plans,
Literary or otherwise.
But none knows
When his eyes may close.
The clock ticks as I write.
The scent of wet earth
Enters the house.
Tonight, I will close my eyes
And tomorrow write …”
(“Passing Through: Some Thoughts on Life and Death https://www.amazon.com/Passing-Through-Some-thoughts-death-ebook/dp/B0F8TWMZJD).
Whilst climbing up a very steep hill
I met with a girl named Jill.
When I said, “where is Jack?”,
She gave me such a whack
That I rolled back down that hill!
“Editors hate rhyming poetry. Or do they? Rhyme has become something of a sore subject in the world of contemporary poetry, but to many poetry editors, there’s good reason for the shift. A number of writers who work in rhyme have yet to distinguish between the nursery rhymes of childhood and more adult types of verse. Recollections of the fun, frilly words that cheered and delighted us as children may be the reason editors tend to avoid rhyming poems”. (See https://writersrelief.com/2010/07/12/rhyming-poetry-dos-donts-and-definitions/).
The above is an interesting article. Whilst I agree that some modern rhyming poetry is child-like in nature, I have also seen free verse poetry of which the same could be said. Also, it should be pointed out that there is nothing wrong with child-like rhyming poetry, indeed both Edward Lear and Louis Carroll wrote some wonderful poems aimed at children, which are very much enjoyed by youngsters and adults alike to this day.
Much of my own work (for example that contained in my “Selected Poems”, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WW8WXPP/) rhymes.
I have, however, always been of the view that just as one should not put a size 10 foot into a size 9 shoe, (as to do so risks mangling the foot), that to compel a rhyme where no rhyme should properly be is to mangle poetry.
You can find an example of my own rhyming poetry, a poem entitled “Raining” below. As always I would be interested in the views of my readers on this post and the above linked to article.
Raining:
I awoke to the rain
Drumming on my window pane.
Opening my lattice, I let it in:
The purifying water that washes away sin.
The hypnotic sound
Of rain falling all around.
All my life, I have listened to the rain.
The same drumming
Of water coming
From the sky
Falling on you and I.
The rain has no end;
But you and I, my friend,
May listen for a while,
Smile,
Then pass on by.
This review is of Poem Reader, an Alexa skill which can be accessed using the Amazon Echo.
Amazon’s website describes Poem Reader as:
“Poem Reader is a random collection of poems for the whole family. Enable the skill to ask for today’s poem or the daily rhyme. Alexa will say the poem, not sing it. This skill is meant to help teach you the words to some popular poems and rhymes.”
Having used Poem Reader, it is, in my view more of a vehicle for having nursery rhymes recited than a means of accessing poetry more generally. Each time I asked Poem Reader for a poem and/or rhyme, it produced a rhyme more suited to young children than the family as a whole.
Amongst the rhymes voiced by Alexa was Hickory Dickory Dock, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Little miss Muffet and Goosey Goosey Gander.
This skill does, perhaps possess the potential to amuse young children and those with an interest in nursery rhymes. However, from my use of Poem Reader, I believe that the description is somewhat misleading in that it implies a broad selection of rhymes/poems, when what is in fact included is largely (perhaps exclusively) a collection of nursery rhymes.
For anyone interested in checking out Poem Reader, it can be found here, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Poem-Reader-Poems-for-Everyone/dp/B01LFXD2LY/.
I have played around, (purely for my own amusement), with the English nursery rhyme “Doctor Foster”. The first rendering is the traditional rendering, followed by my reinterpretations:
Doctor Foster went to
Gloucester,
In a shower of rain;
He stepped in a puddle,
Right up to his middle,
And never went there again.
—
Doctor Foster went to
Gloucester,
In a shower of rain;
He got in a muddle,
When he fell in a puddle,
And never went there again.
—
Doctor Foster went to
Gloucester,
In a shower of rain;
He indulged in a cuddle,
In the midst of a puddle,
With a lady whose name was Jane.
—
Doctor Foster went to
Gloucester,
In a shower of rain;
He stepped in a puddle,
Which did befuddle
His poor overtaxed brain.
Hey diddle diddle.
The cat’s on the fiddle.
The cow kidnapped the moon.
The policeman laughed at the overtime
And the butler ran away with the spoon.
K Morris - Poet 