[Douglas G. Brown]

If you want your work remembered, make it scan;
Compose it on a solid metric plan.
Although free verse today is highly prized,
You’ll find vers libre is rarely memorized.

If you want your poems quoted, make ’em rhyme;
It pays to take a little extra time
To make the endings of your latest ditty
Chime in a manner critics praise as witty.

You should also try to make your readers smile,
Even if you think it isn’t worth your while;
Buffoonery provides a pleasant tingle
That resurrects the most insipid jingle.

But if you find this guidance way too tough;
Or, mentally, you’re never bright enough
To figure out a decent rhyme and meter,
Then get a job at Wal-Mart as a greeter.