The Flow

Keep a flow to your poetry despite the rhymes.

Your reader should be able to follow your flow easily, and to grasp the concept of your poem easily. Its rhymes should not be demanding or harsh, but rather something that makes your poem more beautiful. In other words, the rhyme should almost feel like an afterthought, a subtle and beautiful addition to your work- not the work in itself.

DO NOT let the rhyme become the poem.

This can be difficult. You need to find the right way to phrase your words and ideas to make the rhyme come naturally. It can take days to get a line the way you want it to sound. 

For example:

Without you, i was blue

and it rained too

i need you, it is true

i can't breakthrough

While this may be an exaggeration, the point is the same. This poem is about a sadness, missing a loved one. The weather and the world around the author seemed to be missing that loved one too. It is a beautiful concept. But the rhyme just gets in the way. It is apparent how hard the author is trying to rhyme their words, and that makes the rhyme insignificant and the poem feel empty. 

Instead:

Without you, the clouds cried

the same tears that escaped my eyes.

While a void in my heart is all that i feel,

when we are apart 

My love becomes real

This is more sophisticated. While probably still needing editing and additions, the second poem is deeper, and makes the audience feel more like how they would imagine the author to. Poetry is to make your audience feel something. To make them feel what you felt when you became inspired to write whatever it is you are writing.

Rhyming poetry is difficult. In a glance, quick tips

1. Avoid using the same rhyme throughout an entire poem.

You want to rhyme different words to keep your audience intrigued. If the only rhymes in your poem are you, blue, too, shoe, new, knew, true, boo, rue, due, lieu, and dew your audience is not going to take you too seriously. The key is to convey your point, your feelings, you thoughts, your message, in the best and most fitting words possible. And, oh, look at that! it just so happens to rhyme too. Do not dumb down your vocabulary and lose depth to your poem by using simple words to hold a rhyme. 

2. The flow is more important than anything. 

Do not rush a line or idea just to because you see an opportunity to rhyme. Your poem should have a feel to it. A groove. It should make your reader smile at the art and mastery of your words. Your readers should be excited that you were able to create such a flowing piece of work that holds a rhyme.

3. Don't let the rhyme get in the way

The beauty in writing is to allow your audience to enter your mind. You want them to understand you, to feel as though they know you through the words you write. Do not let your attempt at rhyming get in the way of that.