The rules are simple: players are given a familiar line of poetry and charged with creating a rhyming line of their own. We’ll get you started with a few examples taken from Willard Espy’s Best of an Almanac of Words at Play, then challenge you to join in the fun.

William Shakespeare: 
“Full fathom five thy father lies....”
I pushed him. I apologize.

Joyce Kilmer:
“I think that I shall never see...”
My contact lens fell in my tea.

Christopher Marlowe:
“Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?”
No wonder there are keel marks on her lips.

William Wordsworth:
“My heart leaps up when I behold...”
My pumpernickel green with mold.

Ready to try your hand?  Send your next line to us at comments@word.com. We’ll share some favorites in an upcoming issue of Word.com.

Robert Frost: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood...”

Emily Dickinson: “There’s a certain slant of light...”

Lewis Carroll: “‘You are old, Father William,’ the young man said...”