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A Reason For Every Rhyme

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Poetry is important
for me — and you!

That's right. Don't think for a second you left poetry behind in your high school English class.

Look around, listen and you will find a poetic pulse surrounds you.

Ever hear these gems in a conversation? ... "All the world's a stage … A rose by any other name … To be, or not to be ... The lady doth protest too much."

Such lines, and many more, are woven into our daily dialogue to the point of being clichés. Thank you William Shakespeare.

I bet there's a shoebox in your closet full of rhymes and sentiment you saved to remember special moments … and special people.

And, of course, there's music — truly poetry in motion.

Poetry is just words, but they are so personal … they nibble on our emotions and cannot be ignored. 

This happens to be National Poetry Month. And Thursday is “Poem in a Pocket” Day — carry a poem and share it. 

Poetry does not have to rhyme, but it always has a reason. 

Poet William Butler Yeats said: "We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry."

Billy Collins said: "I don't think people read poetry because they're interested in the poet. I think they read poetry because they're interested in themselves."

And finally, from poet James Wright: "Poetry can keep life itself alive. You can endure almost anything as long as you can sing about it." 

Perfect. Take a moment today … and sing about it.

I’m Lonny Cain, and this is my perspective.

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