Introduction

The title speaks for itself. Each rhyme is preceded by the reason it came to pass. The influences go back a century or two, where the rhyme was ever so prevalent, and to which the meter was paid attention, unlike today. Just ask your English professor.

The credit for my influence goes to my English instructors at my alma mater, Saint Ignatius, Mr. Isham and Mr. Grady. They taught me old school: Twain, Eliot, Longfellow, Shakespeare, cummings, Burroughs, etc. Years later, I would seek out the more contemporary works of the Beat Generation - Bukowski, Ginsburg, and Kerouac.

I was still, always a sucker for the rhyme. The jokes that rhymed, seemed to be the only ones I could remember over time. Such is the paradox of a left-handed Gemini. Organizational, system-oriented on one side, creative on the other. I suppose the poets of yesteryear struggled with the same. After all, when you're writing from the heart, it doesn't exactly keep to the meter, which is the structure of the verse. That requires the mind. The neverending story.

Lastly, even though the hardcopy is divided by subject matter, the entry into blog format necessitates chronological order. No matter. So the subject matter from the beginning, will be all over the place. As it should be. As it was created. Now who can argue with that.