Last Day of National Poetry Month – Make it Rhyme, Or Not

By Riley, ACE Poetry Contest Mascot, Alpha Public Schools

How do I love thee poems? Let me count the ways.

I love thee for the 30 days in April when we ACE Poetry Contest Mascots get to encourage students that they can tell their story with poems.

I love thee when Hei Hei shows that getting to the emotional point by the end of 17 syllables can be accomplished. Haiku takes some effort and, for me, counting out those syllables on my paws. But the result can have truth and impact. Plus, it’s a combo of math, rhythm, words and insight. That’s a treat.

I love thee when Samosa purrs her rhyming poems. They have a beat, but a changing beat for every type. Some rhyme at the end of every line. Or internal – two words in the same line of poetry like my last sentence. Arf. Some words share vowel sounds or sound the same but mean something different. And rap just finds a rhyme wherever it can. But rhymes are great ways to tell your story.

I love thee when our hero Thor tells big, epic stories. Ballads, adventures, fables, fantasy, heroes, legends, even nonsense can be told in an epic story poem that can go on for many pages. No wonder Thor loves Game of Thrones. That fantasy-legend poem has gone on for eight years. That’s a loooooonnnnnngggggg poem. But a great story. Arya rocks. Arf. And I’m happy The Hound survived The Long Night.

And I love thee when it’s just poetry – good or bad doggerel. Poems are the best treats. I’ll admit, they’re even better than the crunchy beef-tasting treats that Lucy gives me. And that says a lot.

But I love thee best when the poems are the winning poems in the ACE Poetry Contest. Young poets learning how to rhyme epically. Long or short. Learning how to like and write poetry.

Stay tuned for the winning poems and poets. Arf! Arf!