Perhaps the road was better left untaken this time

If I ever did you wrong, or hurt you, please forgive me
That "if" is so rhetorical, I know.
I get so caught in my own point of view

For every time I thought that I could just ignore you,
Say I knew better and let's move on
Please don't just discount me like you clearly want to

I'm not sure if I can be a better person
I'm not sure if those were better days
All I know is that I'm trying hard as ever
Even harder since you and I parted ways
Even more than I had thought, since we have parted ways

I don't pretend that if we tried to start things over
I would be any better than before
I don't propose that that's our forward course of action
I don't want another romance to become a chore
All I want is my friend back.
That's it.
I miss you is all.
Nothing more.

Don't rhyme every time...

So it is once again the weekend. Happy Easter. I have been thinking about what to post here this weekend, to kind of kick off these weekly talks. Lucky for me, no one reads this, so I can go on about whatever I want. I had thought this weekly post would be more about substantive things, but I suppose stylistic things are good to talk about from time to time as well. So, this week's topic is just going to be about writing. Specifically, I want to talk about

Rhyming

It seems simple, right? Poems and songs rhyme. That's just a part of what you do when you write. Of course, it's not that simple. First of all, some really great poems don't rhyme. I've had friends over the years tell me that they hate rhyming poems, because they sound trite. I've gone through phases of my own where I both praise and denigrate rhyming. These days I see it simply as a tool. When something rhymes, it makes your brain kind of latch onto it. It's a great memory tool, and just in general fun to do. It is entertaining for readers and listeners.

So why wouldn't you want to rhyme? Well, it's surprisingly easy to choose the wrong rhyme. Certain words just feel cliche when you rhyme them, and sometimes if you stick too hard to the rhyme, it can convolute your message. Since one of the goals of good writing is to clearly communicate your message, this would make rhyming a bad idea in some cases.

I'm not going to offer examples of bad rhyming. You can look through my past posts and find plenty of examples, both good and bad, if that's what you're looking for. And the truth is, it's all subjective anyway. As with any art, there are things that are generally considered good, and the opposite is true as well, but in the end, if your end product communicates the idea or feeling that you were trying to portray, then whether or not someone else likes it is completely on them. It's important to listen to criticism, but it's also important not to get so caught up in making everyone like your work that you lose your unique voice.

So just remember when you're trying to decide what rhyme to use, or whether you even want to rhyme:
Does this word choice help convey the feeling or idea that I'm writing about, or does it just sound like I needed a rhyming word?

On the merits of a good salad

My lunch is always rushed, but still a most important meal
I always will attack it with a high amount of zeal
I've found a way to eat a lunch that finally makes me feel
More energized than sapped
More satisfied than simply tapped

Some lettuce forms the base of things, romaine is really best
Some green bell peppers and some tomatoes can add some zest
A certain type of sweetness comes in with a few blueberries
And cheese is necessary
Salad without that? Be wary

I also like some carrots, if I need a little crunch
Abd I will sit and on my salad diligently munch
But soon enough the clock will call an ending to my lunch
Container tossed away
It's time to get back to my day