Begin not the Beguine

[Brownlie]

.

Yes, I suppose I could write a poem,
about the minutia of my life,
it’s all been better said before,
in monotones of black and white.
Writing in tomes of reminiscence,
where there’s no room for mushy gray,
where only Hemmingway sharp edges,
are docked, not floating in the bay.
Yet should a storm arise, things then
most surely would be tossed about,
making it seem so uncertain,
how the ending would come out.
But we can’t have that, for uncer-
tainty is now the greatest sin,
and always padded for our safety,
the Beguine cannot begin.
I’ve heard from profane sources that
it’s still danced in Martinique,
under pretense of sweaty sex,
though it’s the dance they seek!
Listen, and I’ll tell you true,
for surely it’s a mortal sin,
they take your freedom from you so,
the Beguine will not begin.

One thing I noticed was the rhyme of about and out stood out and drew attention to a rhyme that's been used quite a bit. However, the word play was intriguing and I ended up looking up the pronunciation of beguine. Anything that puts more emphasis on this wordplay would be interesting to me.