[John Whitworth]

Brian, I hesitate to say it, but isn't the second line a syllable short? Perhaps 'and beamed quite...'

I was thinking of Ogen's rhyming lines of variable length. But they're not free, since they rhyme. Mcgonnegal (however he is actually spelt)?

[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.

[Brian Allgar]

John, I hear 'smiled' as one of those words that can be pronounced as one or (almost) two syllables - in this case, 'smi-aled'. But I'll consider a possible replacement. 'Simpered'? 'Sniggered'? No, I think it would be hard to do either of those seraphically.