I’ve never been very good at rhymes. I used to marvel at how some people could just do it. I guess I struggled over my words, and found rhyming words a challenge, even in in own poetry.
But recently, I’ve got into it. In January 2022, I was stressing about a phone call from Moorfields, where they were going to unveil some new light on my mysterious condition. I needed to do some writing. I needed the calm, the balm, the euphoric ecstasy when ideas bubble and words sizzle, when my fingers dance upon the keys and stories transport me to another world for a while. I didn’t fancy flash fiction. So I thought I would do some poetry. Just for a change.
I was listening to some music, and got inspired to rhyme. Someone once told me that that’s what music is, another form of rhyme. That words can be musical too, in their own way.
So I gave it a go, having fun with it. And when I got stuck, I asked Alexa for a rhyme, which really helped. I began to see how the words could be like music too, with a rhythm of their own. I read them aloud, and beard it, as I experimented with sounds and syllables. I found a website called RhymeZone, where all the rhymes in the world lived, and I had fun, beating out rhythms on coffee cups to get the speed I wanted and saying them aloud to see how they sounded.
I posted a couple on Twitter, just trying it out. And lots of people liked them. I got lots of positive comments, boosting my confidence. I still do post them on Twitter, small snippets of rhyme, when I get an idea.
And I realised, that I quite enjoyed rhyming poetry. So I’ve kept at it. I’ve even had a couple of rhyming poem published, over the years, and plan to do more. I have lots of ideas, and tap out stanzas quite often, having fun with words and rhymes. Some are about sight loss. Others are about nature, the places I love to be. I have a set of ones about different colours, and what they mean to me, which I’m working on at the moment. Others are about the senses, the sights and scents and tastes I love best, and several are about coffee.
I’m glad I decided to get into rhyming poetry. Its given me so much enjoyment, and I will keep at it.
