RHYMING POETRY for TODAY

is Enjoyable if Profound

De: Jon Lee Junior

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

'Intelligent but unpretentious rhyming poetry for intelligent but unpretentious people.' Queenly Kitten, Rosette of Snows Where few dirty mortals go; Why did God grant pretty grace To a perfect killer’s face? The time is right - and the reading public craves - for a return to rhyming poetry that is both understandable to all but also 'aristocratic' in its artistic standards. When you read this poetry, you will feel as empowered as a prince. The user-friendly edition also comes with poem-by-poem explanatory notes by the author himself, an essay which defines traditional rhyming poetry in today's context, and a glossary of technical terms. In keeping with its understanding of the reader's needs, this collection includes 51 sizeable poems in all - which is nearly double the length of a standard book of poetry. (As a book format - and with the essay, notes, and glossary - this edition is almost 200 pages in length). There is also a variety of poetry types : from descriptive poems about birds and animals, to humorous verse and political satires, and to up-lifting contemplative poetry that makes you think. All this is conveyed in cheekily brilliant rhymes and symmetrically neat rhythms. Here, current ideas, and up-to-date language, are placed in traditional poetic verse. At points in the book, you should read what you always wanted to say, and hear it said superbly. Seriousness made fun. (example poem follows) Panthera Uncia Queenly Kitten, Rosette of Snows Where few dirty mortals go; Why did God grant pretty grace To a perfect killer’s face? Self-absorbed and self-possessed; Times her hunts, times her rests, Times her heir’s conception, too; Does not waste, or greed accrue. Furtive in our twilight zone, Leaps where most but dream to roam; Ours the frisson to chance-see her Venus cheek-bones, ivory furs. You alone of man-size cats Have no larynx, do not roar; Silent feet are your wide pads: Noiseless, Nature’s greatest laws. Cute-smut face and plump round muzzle, Green eyes of a sorceress; Tail’s a full-length muff you snuggle Round your trunk and head, for rest. Man can learn from perfect sights : Killing them brings on more waste, Adding to our sense of fate - We too die where splendour’s blighted. Prettiness calls out at us: Man can work his old dominion Saving leopards from extinction, Changing now as now we must. Though Snow Leopards seek out farms, Stealing livelihoods from herds, Tourists pay to save from harm Cat and Kazakh, undisturbed. Man has learnt by being smitten; Grows by giving, in due season: God’s and evolution’s reason – Why the beauty of Snow Kittens. Author's Notes. The use of trochaic tetrameter here (each line begins with a stressed sound) is influenced by the tradition and form of Blake’s Tiger. Such animals deserve to be described with the grace of symmetry. There is some irregularity in the rhyme scheme, to prevent monotony, but it is the trochaic rhythm that most characterizes the tradition of the poem. As always, the biological facts of the poem are generally accurate. For instance, the female prefers not to mate unless it knows it is in season and 'ready' for pregnancy ; and, unlike other big cats, the Snow Leopard does not roar. (In Latin designations for flora and fauna, the second word is not usually capitalized, but might be in a title.) The idea for the poem came to me when I was accosted by a Tibetan woman who was selling leopard pelts, during the time I lived in Beijing. Although I don’t usually spend as much thought for - or time on - “animal rights” as many contemporary writers do, I was shocked that a creature of such beauty should be slaughtered. However, to be fair, the Tibetans too must earn a living – which is part of the poem’s balanced argument