If you quibble on the riddle of some shrimp's descriptive syllables,
Every nibble of your scribbles'll come out limp.
Don't get stressed out – puff your chest out and find new rhymes to test out,
And you'll soon be slapping stanzas like a pimp.
If you sour on how dourly your words convey a happy flower,
And your leaden, laden verses seem to sink,
Don't start caving to the pressure – try some phrasing that seems fresher,
And you'll find it pulls the work back from the brink.
English is a feisty mistress who'll not tolerate the listless,
She likes it better when a poet treats her rough.
So when you stumble, just don't crumble – she's spicing up the tumble,
All while hoping that you'll seize her by the scruff.
Poetry's rules (as taught in schools) will serve to furnish you with tools,
For it's good to be prepared ere you begin.
But don't worship them in awe, for art has just one iron law –
And its haunch and hoof and hump is: Don't give in!
quotingI suppose trying to learn how to properly write poetry in under a month to be able to submit it to the competition might have been a bit optimistic. But I still like the idea I had originally, I could convert it into prose with some of the elements I had in mind staying.
note1ckx…v3qn
A short story with no dialogue and fantastical alliterative narration sounds nice.