[Maryann Corbett]

Not long ago I had reason to think, for purposes of critique, about rhyme words, about the way we choose them, and about why they work and why they sometimes don't. Once I started, I kept mulling.

I've come to rhyming very late and somewhat warily. I still get nervous about being cornered by rhyme into saying something I don't mean (though less so than two years ago when all I'd write was blank verse!). I haven't developed useful techniques like keeping lists of great rhymes I stumble on, and I'm probably less conscious than I should be of avoiding tired pairings.

So let's talk about rhymes. What's your all-time favorite great rhyme? Who's your favorite poet, or songwriter, where striking rhyming is concerned? What do you keep an eye out for in your choices of rhymes?

Let's have fun with this.

Maryann