I was once shown the virtue of poetic feet
by a woman of dash, skill and verve;
she had led me along through the syllable count
with a sway, and a deft metric swerve.
She explained to me rhyme, and that assonance stuff,
with a little alliterative verse;
but as for my feet, she replied, though petite,
that my scansion could not have been worse.

"It is all very well writing tiddly dum,
but it will not win favour with me;
it goes tiddle de DE when the rhythm says DUM
for the DUM is a DIDDLE, you see."