The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-12-10

He Sizes up the Poets and Hunts
for Rhyme for Chrysan-
themum.

| A miserably reckless far western
editor recently offered a prize of s.
for a stanzs introducing a rhyme for
chrysanthemum and now the country
Is not only being drenched in bad
verse, but everybody seems to be
hard at work revealing the distressful
fact that there is an exceedingly large
crup of popular ignorance as to what
constitutes rhyme and that much of
it is stored in the noodles of persons
who really think they are born poets.
There is too much of This notion that
"poets are born, not made" 1t is
true they have to be born first, but it
is also true that they have to be
made afterwards. All artists,
of course, have to be born
with artistic temperament, but you
would hardly expect a man of any
temperament to paint great picture
until he had learned how to mix
colors or to perform great violin
solo until he had learned to finger the
instrument. "BOrn poets," however,
seem to think that in order to
write a poem in rhyme it is
necessary only to be seized by
a wild desire to do so; that rhymes
make themselves and that the "poetic
instinct tells us when they are
rhymes. This is bosh. The greatest
poet that ever lived might write the
worst verse if he would permit him.
self to write before learning what
verse is. We know that this is some
times answered by the very lofty as
sertion that the true poet rises above
all man-msde rules, scars in realm
beyond all human laws. Well, what
if he does? He may soar there until
doomsday and nobody else will be the |
wiser or the better for it unless be now
and then comes down to earth and
tells the people what he has seen up
there above their ken; and in order
to tell them he must learn their lam
guage. There are always plenty of
people to search for excuses for not
working, but there really is no such
excuse. The "born poet" for whom
M ture has done the most, is the most
culpable if he lazily waste his genius
and neglect to give the world the ben
eft of it. To do this he must work
work long, patiently, ceaselessly.
The Prowler, however, mas no am.
bition to be poet, but just as a mat
ter Of curiosity he resolved to find out
how many people could on the spur
of the moment make a rhyme for
and with this end in
view started cut.
He first called on Henry Lamm,
that gentleman being particularly
fond of flowers and after starting the
several times the following D..
vas evolved
400 this here theme can't keep mum,
love the flower Chrysanthemum."
The Prowler reminded Mr.. Lamm ,
hat the last two syllables in the ,
lynne were precisely alike, but the
,enial gentleman was too well salts.
led with his effort to attempt to COR
ect it and with an appealing glance
lie requested that it should go as it
1as.
F. b. Meyer said "Now don't give
ne away young man, but am poet !
nd for long time I've felt that all /
eeded was chance to spread myself E
nd am glad that the chance is at :
ast mine" Here he struck an atti- II
ude and began
The Chrysauthemum, the chrysanthe- {
mum Us
Twill believe it is a hum
ug 10 make 1t rhyme
no I'm poet every time" $
The Prowler put that down and .
len waited, but NJ. Meyer seemed to =
e satisfied and said he guessed that :
ould do for the present, ne merely
ished to let the people know that the :,
wine afflatus was not confined in this ;,
,untry TO Longfellow and | Mac -
emuth alone. :.
w. ID. Steele said! 81 am not a :
bet if / know it, but here's Whack =
the rhvme you asked for: :,
ne quart ex. dry; of brandy one, "
hen deity mix and let her run
Glow the nice chrysanthe mum
our girl pinned on-piBned on with fs
pin and thumb" M
Mr.. Steele's eyes rolled in his head is
he gasped out the last word and es
e Prowler FASTENED to assist OF
m to seat, fearing he d1
as going to faint, a catastrophe ST
hich was averted, however, by 10
gorous tanning and liberal doses of
,ltZer water. -;
Giimer Gilbreath said -
ooh, no indeed, tits not my creed N,
To make q rhyme at any time, =.