Growing up, my dad always had his nose in a book. He’d sit at the kitchen table with his hot tea and reading glasses, pouring over theology books and poetry.
My favorite childhood memories are of Dad reading Robert Frost and C.S. Lewis aloud with an amazing Scottish accent–because why not?! My love of classic literature started young.
As a teenager, I would sneak off to the porch with Dad’s copy of “Longfellow” and a large cup of coffee. We lived on a bluff in a beautiful old house and I loved swinging and watching the city below.
When I wasn’t reading, I was journaling and writing poetry. I’d spend hours there, crafting the perfect poem, racking my brain for the perfect word that rhymed with “purple.”
Here is one that I wrote when I was about 16:
Longfellow was the reason that 16-year-old me was writing poetry about my “long-lost youth,” “sad November days,” and “love lost in tragedy.” What can I say, Longfellow is inspiring and he was also the expert on romantic, melancholy poetry.
Take a look at this beautiful stanza from his poem Footsteps of Angels:
“And with them the Being Beauteous,
Who unto my youth was given,
More than all else to love me,
And is now a saint in heaven.”
Beautiful. There is still a special place in my heart for this genre.
I think there are few things more beautiful than a heartfelt poem that rhymes. That’s why it’s sad to me that rhyming poetry seems to have fallen out of favor culturally…as if rhyming is something that you “grow out of” as 21st century writer.
Does anyone have thoughts on this?
Personally, I don’t think free verse and rhyming poetry should even be compared. I think they serve different purposes. For me, rhyming poetry shares more similarities with music than with free verse. (But that’s coming from an opera geek!)
All of this to say, I think there’s room for both styles in contemporary literature.
How do you feel about poetry? Do you have any favorite poems or poets? I’d love to hear from you!
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