My friend and I had a talk today,
and to my surprise I heard him say
that he\'s given up all efforts to write
with style and grace, not the usual trite
little rhymes that garner a giggle or two.
Those days are gone. He says he\'s through.
That from this day forward, for better for worse,
he will stick to shallow, mindless verse,
the kind one finds on greeting cards,
a few simple words that aren\'t so hard
for the average mind to comprehend.
Yes, mark this day, poetic friends
as the culmination, the sorrowful end
to become what, in fact, he could only pretend.
My friend shed a tear when he told me the news,
said he\'ll miss the joy of admiring reviews
in poetic journals, collections of note.
He stuttered and stammered, had a frog in his throat
as he waved goodbye to a dream unfulfilled.
His parting words, I can hear them still:
will you do me a favor as I go over the hill?
Can you tell me a word that rhymes with tranquil?
So, goodbye to my friend, The Almost Poet.
Can you think of that word? Anyone know it?