Masculine Rhythms and Forms
How formal were the Greeks in ancient verse,
The oldest voices most of all, the blind
One, Homer, and then Hesiod. Disperse
All thoughts of paltry freedom. Do not mind
The strictest beauties of control. Since males
Are almost always in the focus of
This poetry, we must expect the tales
Inside the lines to waive romantic love
And weaker sentiments. A formal strength
It implies a manly consciousness. The flesh
Of poems like the Iliad has the strength
Because poetics and the subject mesh.
Do not desire a flabbiness of free
Verse there. Expect stricter liberty.