Rebel (Pantoum)
No rhyming, no meter, simple language.
They tell me form should not dictate my poem.
You won’t find iambic pentameter or trochaic tetrameter in my writing.
Can I identify as a poet without them?
They tell me form should not dictate my poem.
I always struggle to conform with conventions—
Can I identify as a poet without them?
My ideas and words are left naked, structureless, to be judged.
I always struggle to conform with conventions—
This is how I write.
My ideas and words are left naked, structureless, to be judged.
I call it poetry.
This is how I write.
You won’t find iambic pentameter or trochaic tetrameter in my writing.
I call it poetry.
No rhyming, no meter, simple language.
by John Johnson
Editor’s Note: With every repeated line, irony digs a deeper hole into the ground in this poem. By the end, the speaker is yelling assurances from the bottom of a ditch while this editor snickers.
Leave a Reply