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34 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | DECEMBER 2022 Writers' Club How to write a poem By Jane Czajkowski Reach deep down into your heart And comb the crevasses of your mind. Grab a thought that is fretting to get out, Hold on to your lucky find. Handle it with the utmost care. Let it out, little by little. Otherwise it will burst apart And you'll be left with spittle. Find some words – the dictionary is full of them. Make sure they fit just so. Catch them before they fly away - Good words like to do that, you know. Let your words craft a mosaic Cemented by the breath of your thought. (The one that you mined from your beings's depths. Not one that could have been bought.) That's all that it takes to write a poem. You may not merit a critic's prize. But you will have preserved a part of yourself. That's where the worth of your poem lies. That tiny nugget brought to light Has escaped burial in oblivion, Because once a thought gets out, It will forever live on. NO RHYME, THIS TIME Two words approached me and said: "We beg to be paired in a poem. We fit well together But, alas, we do not rhyme. Could you make an exception? Find space for us somewhere. It doesn't have to be A lofty complex tome. Just a simple verse will do." Then other pairs interrupted: "Can you do likewise for us, too?" I responded: Poetry need not rhyme To charm the human mind But it needs movement, a beat, A spark to jump start the heart And mesmerize the brain In an "ah, so true" moment. Can you grieve in four note measure? Crescendo joy in the heart? Staccato faith into action? Legato love's last embrace? "Yes, we can! Yes, we can!" I answered: You will all have a part In a poem that does not rhyme. I'll fit you all in, line by line. So, dear reader, take heart. Just because you are square And the mold is round There is no need to despair. There is a part for you: Perhaps a starring role. The Writer's Club meets at 1 pm each second Tuesday in the RCN CR. Contact Mary Lynn Archibald at mlarchibald@mac. com. ~ Mary Lynn Archibald