Ronnie McGinn's Poetry Page

Ida F. Lee is a member of The Douglas Writers Group and has recently compiled a booklet of her poems as a fundraiser for some local charities.

It could be argued that most people live without reading poetry but that doesn't mean there is no place for it. There is for example a good deal of concealed poetry mixed up in novels and other prose writing.

What we have to do, therefore is to try to find out the essential differences between poetry and prose and so discover the real nature of poetry.

This week's poem from Ida F. Lee gives the process a little kick start.

Poetry or Prose

I'm really not a poet
But I like things to rhyme
Maybe it's the "Culture"
Or perhaps the change of time.

But there's a lot that's written now,
Which I can not oppose,
But would you call it poetry?
Or would you call it prose?

I know there is a meter,
And I know there is a plan,
But when I'm reading poetry,
For a rhyme I have to scan.

When I was young and going to school,
Rhyming was the general rule,
Poetry was poetry, prose was prose,
Hot was hot and cool was cool,
(now everything's cool!)

© Ida F. Lee