Great points, Esther! I have a slightly different take on this:

Meaning doesn’t have to trump rhyme

One reason I love poetry — and I’ve only been pursuing it actively for maybe two years — is that language gives us infinite possibilities and permutations. There is always a way, in fact a multitude of ways, to convey your meaning, in the form of your choosing.

When I am writing a poem, once I have the topic and the approximate structure in mind — the process becomes like a mathematical puzzle. How to make the pieces — the words, the phrases, the rhymes — fit perfectly.

I don’t always write rhyming verse. I do free verse, tankas and haikus as well, but I do love the challenge of achieving a consistent cadence, meter, and rhyme pattern, once I decide to go down that road.

I also translate rhyming verse, such as the example below, where I have no choice — I must get the meaning and structure as perfect as I can. It is one of my immense sources of pleasure to work on such pieces.

ps: thanks for the inspiration, and for joining us at No Crime in Rhymin’! I think I will develop the ideas above into a separate post, at some point!