A Different Game

I think it was Robert Frost who called writing in free verse "like playing tennis without a net."

What I believe he meant was that, once you remove the net, you don't have tennis anymore. You have a new game: it might be on the same court, using the same ball and racquets -- but you'll need to change the rules (as you go) to keep the game interesting enough to continue playing.

Because writing in "traditional" verse (using the net) is so long out of custom, it becomes a new game when we take the net out of mothballs and start playing tennis again.

To me, writing poetry is a game: words, images, metaphors communicate (serve) the meaning (thoughts, feelings) from poet to reader (or listener). The rules are understood by both parties: it is a game played by intuition.

And (re-)introducing the net changes things. But, no matter which form of the game you're playing, if played fairly, both sides win.