I used to look at rhyming like a crossword.

The final rhyme in a line

must be fine yet aligned

with the meaning; whether normal or absurd.

Yet every rhyme shouldn't be hard to find.

Even the blind will find,

whether spoken in front or behind,

no hunt or incline,

the blunt power of a rhyme.

Yet rhymes don't have to be at the end;

let them be at the start,

maybe mix, mash and let met in the middle.

Just don't fret over proper English too much.

Hell, use a rhyme twice.

Slice a word of it's two, three meanings:

dwell the reader in hell

as they spend a hell of a time

pacing back and forth over

what the hell you meant.

Even big words like 'criminal'

are irresistible to the ear.

Though they take more time to think of.

Just don't go invisible to the idea

of a multi-syllable tortilla--

I mean multi-syllable rhyme.

Sorry, I'm hungry.

His femme pro temps was a femme fatale, she,

Who worked his worth until worthless was he;

Said she in a tone that baited seductively,

"I'll pay you back in love if you will wait here for me."

He remained, you see, for that enchantress, his she,

And bided his time for that temptress, did he;

But the calendar pages turned unrelentingly,

His years sans wages compounding cumulatively.

Then lo! and behold, the villainess returned fundless,

Having taken and lost his hard-earned abundance.

And she asked for some more, if you can believe it,

So he reached in his pocket, therefore, to retrieve it.

He was crumpled and wizened but all the more wiser

Pretended to fawn, but did, he, despise her;

He found the papers under legal purview

And retrieved, did he for her, the bill that was due.

She grumbled and seethed and reached in her purse

Too humbled, was he, to ride in a hearse

She thought she had trumped him, but he outgunned her, moribundly

And now he's made it all back with a comeback GoFundMe.

There once was a nation

Divided in two

One side was red

The other was blue

The side that was red

Belonged to the right

The side on the left

Was blue as the night

The people who lived there

Could never agree

And that was ok

Because both sides were free

Free not to listen

Free to ignore

Free to join forces

And so, so much more

They set up a system

To keep things afloat

That gave every person

A voice and a vote

They voted on issues

They voted on rules

They voted on when

They should open up schools

They elected their leaders

And who governed the law

But the system was broken

The system was flawed

Politicians turn tyrants

Motivated by greed

Who put their own wants

Ahead of our need

Both sides were guilty

This much is true

But lies and deceit

Often favored the blue

They played on emotions

And paid off the news

To change your opinions

And alter your views

“United we stand!”

“Divided we fall!”

“Don’t vote for Donald”

“He’s to blame for it all!”

They had to defeat him

He had to be beat

No room for chances

They needed to cheat

The election was stolen

It should always be fair

Unless you vote Donald

Then they don’t care

Red, blue, or yellow

Black, white or green

We all have a voice

And all should be seen

Our nation is grieving

We can’t let her go

But nothing can happen

If nobody knows

Stand with your neighbors

Stand with a friend

Fight for your country

Put this war to an end

Rock and roll, you tootsie roll

There's nothing wrong with going sol-o

Ring it in

you like to win

And I'm not gonna lose

We get to choose and this caboose is off the rails

Talk about what it entails

A lock of hair

A bit of tape

A bitter air

An empty lake

A girl in need

A man indeed

And no one here to blame for these

Give me time to write this rhyme

I'm going as fast as I can

The time I ran, the words collapsed

And still turned out just fine

A tile?

yes a tile...

with certain

style from

corner aisle

a rhombus

to beguile...

floating down

along the Nile

like a multi-

purpose file

with odes

to Carlyle...

washed upon

deserted isle

transfigured

and defiled

by leeches

heaped in a pile

of Kafkaesque

morbid trial

still spewing

official bile

with ornate

underlying firm

Baroque denial

but all in all...

an odd evening

on the tile...!

For the spirit

not words

that rile...

a Life

worthwhile.

03.31.2023

Ridiculous Rhyming challenge @Ash2ash

Fumbling feet frolic in fields,

Fields with flowers that freely flow,

Growers keep growing the flowers that are flowing,

While mowers are mowing and stop progress from showing.

Knowing won’t keep them from going,

Moaning and groaning are growing.

The mowers mow, the growers grow.

All the earth knowingly woes,

No longer will feet freely spread their toes,

If ecocide is what they chose.

Mother earth taking all the blows.

Homo sapiens friends or foes?

Whoa.

Claire didn't dare to try airfare because of what she was told by a bear

"Armchairs on planes are unfair, because they're too small for bears!"

So Claire stayed home and ate a pear, but first peeled its skin until it was bare, because the shiny green coat gave off an awful glare.

But she heard a noise in the air, ran out and let out a gasp of despair, because a giant plane was floating right there.