Rhyming Muse - by Sharon Flood Kasenberg

Into my brain she popped one day,
an uninvited muse-
to give me words I had to say,
and rhymes I had to use.
I told her, "I don't write that way!"
She said, "That's no excuse!
You have to keep your guilt at bay -
you really can't refuse.
This rhythmic habit you must nurse
if you don't have it yet.
I know you can write rhyming verse-
your style is not too set!
The urge to write...well, it's a curse
that I'm here to abet.
And writing nothing would be worse
than being in my debt!"
She takes a lot of harsh abuse,
this dedicated sprite -
as dictionaries I peruse
for words that sound just right.
And oft' my temper she'll defuse
when what I've penned sounds trite -
but when I am inspired by Muse,
we both bask in delight.
I've learned to trust her good advice
to try out something new.
Producing rhyme is rather nice -
it's kind of fun to do.
All the syllables I've counted
have disciplined my mind -
with writer's block surmounted,
I think my Muse most kind.

-Sharon Flood Kasenberg-March '06

That's how it all happened - really.  One day I was a frustrated "wanna be" creative sort, who thought that maybe I had something to say - IF I could ever find the means and ambition to put pen to paper.  The next minute I began spewing rhyme at breakneck speed.

In the beginning nobody was more shocked by my sudden burst of rhythm and rhyme than me. Sure, I'd always been good at impromptu ad-libs (things like finding new words to that annoying tune occupying your head space) - and without a doubt I had totally rocked at creative lullabies when my boys were babies, but I'd never considered that rhyme might be a means of actually expressing my own thoughts.

I discovered Ogden Nash and Robert Service when I was an adolescent, and loved the way their poems rolled off the tongue. ( I confess that I still have large portions of "The Cremation of Sam McGee" committed to memory.) Oddly, I never acquired a taste for Dr. Seuss as a child. (I mostly objected to the way his works were illustrated - too monochromatic to appeal to my discerning eye - LOL) When I was a teenager babysitting my eldest nephew I quickly revised my earlier opinion of the good doc, who I then decided was a literary genius. (For many MANY years I could recite "The Cat in the Hat" and "Dr. Seuss' ABC's " verbatim.)

I don't know why I didn't dabble in rhyme earlier, except for the fact that I was aware that rhyming poetry wasn't fashionable, and like most younger people I wanted to be "cool" - or at least to be seen as someone who could express herself in a "current" fashion. (Obviously trying to be a young Margaret Atwood didn't quite work for me.)

The "Rhyming Muse" began to visit me at a most opportune time. By middle age I no longer cared one iota about what was fashionable, and was just relieved to find my creative juices flowing again. If "the critics" wanted to write me off as a "trite rhyming poet" that was their problem. I was writing prolifically and enjoying my new creative surge. Besides - anyone who thinks that rhyme is trite has never read "The Lorax", or "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".  Both books prove that deep thoughts and important messages can be memorably communicated in rhyme.

That's what I strive to do - with the help of my kind "Muse", who I thank daily.