Rhyming Rives

The first thing I noticed when I listened to Rives's poems was how funny and entertaining they were. I loved "Mockingbird" where he goes off on who's voices he'd collect. Each example wittier than the next, from "...a postman making dinner plans" to mothers, daughter, artists, I even heard hooligans in there somewhere. I loved it. I thought it was so clever how perfectly each word flowed right into the next, so the rhyming was there, but it wasn't entirely noticeable. He really paid huge attention to the specific words he chose to describe his ideas and thoughts. The words made it a poem, not the subject. That was apparent as he easily turned even the most significant event into a poem. Like about the poetry slam for the deaf kids, or about his sister, or the internet. Who rights poetry about the internet? That doesn't seem traditional. But Rives does. And he does it with such ease and with such wit that even rhyming with the internet can sound deep, heartfelt, even romantic.

It wasn't like Rives was trying really hard to recite a poem. Rather he was sharing a story or an idea, which happened to sound as nice and rhythmical as a poem. He made it look so painfully easy!