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Welcome to
But Does it Rhyme?
We're a small, but
hopefully growing, band of poets who like to
talk about our craft and share what we've
written. We'll highlight favorite poets, review
new books, and explore the process of writing
poetry from inspiration to conclusion. (We might
venture into essays and short fiction, too.) We
hope you'll like our blog — and contribute your
own thought and poems.
Sally Zakariya, Poetry Editor
Richer Resources Publications
Charan Sue Wollard
(LivermoreLit)
Kevin Taylor
(Poet-ch'i)
Sherry Weaver Smith
(SherrysKnowledgeQuest)
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How Good is that Poem?
Before you submit your poem for publication, ask yourself how it would go down with other readers. It isn’t easy to be objective about your own work, but it’s a good habit to cultivate. At a recent meeting of the Northern Virginia Poetry Salon, we took a look at a list of questions the editors of the Beloit Poetry Journal ask about poems that are submitted:
1. Is the language fresh?
2. Will the poem stand up under a second
reading, and a third?
3. Does it make music?
4. Does it resonate beyond its immediate
context?
5. Does it pass the “so what” test?
6. Can it enkindle, prod, or enlarge us?
It’s hard enough to say “yes” to all those questions, but if you want an even more intimidating list, check out the Connecticut Poetry Society’s Poetry Critique Checklist at Connecticut Poetry Society. Click on Contests and keep scrolling … and scrolling … and you’ll come to some 28 questions on the subjects of theme, story, length, imagination, meter/rhyme/etc., music, and complexity/novelty. Any poem that can survive this scrutiny is, if not a masterpiece, at least darn good.—S.Z.
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Brooding about Brood II
If you live on the East Coast, you’ve no doubt heard about Brood II, or heard its many members. Some parts of the Washington, D.C., area are swarming with buzzing cicadas, just coming to the surface after 17 years. Love ’em or hate ’em, you just can’t ignore ’em, and Washington Post columnist John Kelley is paying attention. After a poignant column on June 3, Kelley challenged readers to send in cicada poems. Here’s one of ours that made the cut:
Cicada
By Sally Zakariya
What calendar is there beneath the soil
Its days crossed darkly off year after year?
What dreams of sun?
What longing for the other to complete it
Until by some mystery it wakes and struggles
upward
Emerging at last, shedding the stiff brown
nightshirt
Big eyed and bumbling, dazzled by light and air
New to wings and the freedom of flight
Its stuttering song a proof of life
after so long a silence.
Want more cicada poems? Check Kelley's June 5 column.—S.Z.
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And the Winner Is
…
Virginia poet Eric Forsbergh recently brought home a handful of prizes in the Poetry Society of Virginia’s annual competition—including second place in the haiku category. His winning entry:
Four Haiku on the Theme of Falling in Love
By Eric Forsbergh
“Banging two pans, you
chased a bear?” Such a woman!
I thought, unsettled.
The windy day whips
hair across your smile. Your hands
brush back this disguise.
“Natural woman,”
you said as we watched the stars.
Thank you, Aretha.
Like a tree with nails,
I’ve grown around my partly
hidden wounds. You too?
Eric’s a winner, too, in the category of Most Thoughtful Anniversary Present Ever. These four haiku are from the 25 he wrote for his wife on their 25th anniversary. Husbands, sharpen your pencils.—S.Z
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Two Beats of Silence
When I am done with being right // And you are done with being wronged
Perhaps then we can speak of something small and
bright
That we can both agree upon
Let me tell you two short stories about this short poem.
I had an argument with my
wife that descended into unpleasantries and
upset. I slept poorly, and at work the next day
I composed these few lines to try and fix it.
During the course of the day, I met a woman I
did not know and I decided to ask her about the
poem. I explained that I had written it recently
but was considering another wording. I recited
the poem and her face lit up. She said she knew
people who needed that, and I knew then that I
had the right words.
The next day I sent a copy to my mother, just
because I do that, and a copy to my sister. My
sister does not have a lot to say to me. We are
not particularly close and we stopped talking
much decades ago. She is employed in conflict
resolution, and I sent her the poem with a note
that it might amuse her. She responded with a
brief thank you.
But three weeks later I got another letter from
her saying the poem was so special to her, that
whenever she read it, the stress of the day
would just melt away. Since then, she has phoned
me. The point being, don't underestimate the
power of your aesthetics.
And of course, my wife and I are spending our
time on something small and bright that we can
both agree upon—our grandson!—K.T.
What Are You Writing?
Why should we get all the bylines? Submit your
latest poem—just one for now—and we’ll publish
the poems we like best in an upcoming blog post.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, but please
let us know if the poem is accepted or published
elsewhere. Send your poem, plus a few lines
about yourself, in the body of an e-mail message
to:
poetryeditor@RicherResourcesPublications.com