Caliban

[Forever*young]

For starters, I have to admit I am not at all familiar with the character of your poem which means I probably won't appreciate or understand everything you express; nonetheless, I will say that for being a novice when it comes to rhythm/meter, "Caliban" has considerable rhythm. It does not have much rhyming going on, but it still sounds poetic and has a nice flow although if you managed to get some more rhyme in there, I think this poem would be even more awesome. Maybe you could try that when you feel more comfortable with rhyme. In any case, there are a couple tweaks you might want to consider...

*this is a piece i wrote a few years ago,
after taking a critical theory class where we looked at this character
from The Tempest through a postcolonial lens rather than the old
"Caliban = pure evil" view that i find rather shortsighted
and ignores the context in which Shakespeare wrote his plays.

i am a novice when it comes to rhyme and meter,
so i thought i would try blank verse in tetrameter to get my feet wet:


Good monster of the distant shore,
fear not! I am no Prospero.
I only wish to comfort you
in penance for my life’s regrets. (The first two verses seem to rhyme somewhat so when you come to the end (regrets) and there is zero rhyme with "you", it feels like something's off.)

What would you have me do, dear sir, (This stanza has a nice flow. But why is this the only stanza to have three verses? It makes the poem seem unbalanced or random. But maybe that's just me.)
to ease the ache of misplaced trust,
to salve the wounds of wizardry?

I’ve no resource you may desire,
no wealth or title to extort;
I trade in verse and images,
creating life from broken words.

My hands will craft a dream supreme,
a gift of vision with no end.
I'll sing to you a lullaby, (I like how you said "I'll sing to you a lullaby" instead of "I'll sing a lullaby to you". Much more poetic this way!)
caress your brow with feathered quill. (You might want to consider changing the order of the words: "With feathered quill your brow caress" as it gives it more rhythm. Btw, this is my favorite stanza!)

Your tempest is away, good sir.
The time for sleep is now at hand.

Overall, it's definitely a great piece!