I like the parts where I change my mind on how I'm going to write it and you can see the start of a letter I was beginning to write before changing to another word :\

I'm puzzled by a few of the edits where you substitute with using /w as well as and using &. Is it meant to emphasize the words are stressed differently?

Also divine seems like the wrong adjective. The description of the sign is supposed to give a vibe of self aware incompetence while divine seems boastful.

I'll take this one back to the workshop and tweak the meter. I thought I had it. Speaking of videogames, I found a fun trick that kind of works for me; I imagine the voice in Illidan in cutscene dialogues with the dramatic emphasis on stressed syllables. Its not perfect but it makes me giggle.

I really like the way you worded the mime part but I'll use something Ill write myself just so its more mine :)

Thanks :)

I feel a big karmic debt for all of it and always pay forward when I get an opportunity but it would take years at this point.

Back to the topic of meter, how's this attempt?

You might have seen a sign of mine

It says this line, its "Rhymes for Dimes"

Was Written fast with ill design

So hastily with little time.

And made with cardboard slicked with grime

I call at strangers with a mime

Then I am paid a Single dime

and I climb up from my long sit

Get up to play the silly bit

Put out the cigarette I had lit

Then chime a prime brief rhyme sublime

And what had I received for this crime?

mountains of lime coloured slime covered dimes from my fountain of rhymes!

Really? I couldn't find one, got a link?

Its funny you bring up video game mechanics as a thought device for real life. When I think of a longterm challenge I can slowly chip away at, like a savings or payment plan, building skills and experience, or even a long walk, I think about all those times I pulled off a long grind in Runescape haha.

Paper Mario was one of my favorite games as a kid haha. My life transformed for a while but I always held on to the nerd memories. I imagined like I was living in Fallout a lot of the time.

Last year during a zero dollar period I wrote this cardboard sign "Rhymes for Dimes". It worked and I had to write a lot of these to back up the performance.

I was out of a house about 3 years and was evolving upon an old pan handling habit (and strangely knowledge from my former marketing major) after I was housed and couldn't make ends meet on part time. I felt like I had to give a little something back so I did the rhyme thing, got a lot of positive feedback for it and kept doing it the whole spring summer and fall. I usually go for long rhyme chains with some sort of message behind them which vents about my situation in a humorous way in exchange for, well basically anything, even if its just a smile or a crooked look.

This year I'm trying to be more money smart and keep the performance to the local coffee shops poetry slam and open mic. I have small entrepreneurial goals and will relegate the paid performance to a suggestion on the tip jar for a while. The going business plan is street and fresh market pretzels :)

Alternitavely my life goes to the shitter again and I have something to lean on thats slightly less soul killing than the depressed approach to panhandling.

Anyways I trailed off there but my point was that its fascinating how different skills can develop together in weird ways.

Eventually I'd like to be able to write meter off the top of my head without thinking about it too much. In the meantime, if I spend a good chunk of time agonizing over a line I can put it into meter. (I think)

"Come all beasts from west and east let's have a feast of bacon grease"

:)

Eventually I'd like to write more to songs and play and compose my own melodies.

At the moment I'm a broke joke of a star who can't afford their landlord, let alone a guitar

:(

My worst habit is creating a lot more than I read. I'm pretty ignorant to poetry as a topic although I've been at it on and off for a couple years now and its about time I sat down and did some studying.

I usually focus on long strings of rhymes, alliteration and repeating vowel and consonant sounds. When it comes to meter I'm practically deaf to it so far but I've pulled it off in a few rhymes. Didnt worry so much about it for this one.

All in all I have fun doing this whether or not its necessarily a correct way to do poems

I got tons but I don't want to get spammy

Not many places to post poems on this site :\

I'll be honest I have a really hard time getting a handle on meter :_(