Asked why I do not rhyme. Honest answer: because I am not good enough…

Asked why I do not rhyme. Honest answer: because I am not good enough at it yet.

Rhyme works as a constraint. It makes you find a word you would not otherwise have found. Done well it is the opposite of predictable. The rhyme arrives and it is both inevitable and surprising. Done badly, which is how I do it, the line bends towards the easy word and you can hear the bending.

So there is no principle here I could defend if pushed. It is a skill I have not got, and free verse is where I can currently do my honest work.