Firstly, consider that no one has ever spontaneously invented faith from nothing. Ever, in the history of everything. Secondly, to both you and Dovina, I'd add that faith is holding something to be true DESPITE the evidences of your senses to the contrary. Consider: You don't have FAITH that matter is composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons bound together by unimaginable forces, despite that you have no real evidence for it. You don't have evidence that space is infinitely huge, but holding that to be true isn't what any of us would call FAITH. (nb here-Dovina's quibble involves the expression "take it on faith" and has little to do with what we're talking about.) People DO, however have FAITH that some part of a person exists beyond the physical body and death, despite that all the evidence points toward dead people being pretty much gone. People have FAITH that the world was made by God one week about 6,000 years ago, despite that there are dinosaur bones apparently millions of years old, records of human existence from tens of thousands of years ago, and all kinds of other evidence for a world billions of years old. Faith's not just holding something to be true without evidence, it's holding it to be true AGAINST evidence. Sorry to interrupt, but we've had this argument for days before without realizing that vocab/definition problems had us talking about totally different things. Another hint: Don't use the words 'faith' or 'belief' to mean 'holding something to be true'. Use 'holding something to be true'.

Usually I sing it to the Smurfs theme song. (Bonus note: It's against Muslim holy law to call the call-to-prayer 'singing'. True story.) After 10 years of paying attention to it, I'd say the key to poetry is repetition. Or, better, prediction. I don't mean when you hear "I'm in love" you know the next line's going to be "sent from heaven above." I mean, you tap your feet to it; you know there's a line ending with -incter coming up somewhere; the image of the dump truck comes back in the end; a metaphor holds the poem together. Now, before everybody jumps on my ass, I think there's a WHOLE FUCKING LOT of room to play in poems, even when your goal is repetition. As evidence, consider that my poems (ie, repetition-focused) are generally more original than the most out-there free-form poetry on poemranker. The trick is surprising people just a little. Put 'succincter' in the middle of a line instead of the end. Toss up the beat a little. Make an odd refrain or repeat an image where it's not expected. But repeat something, anything. Or you'll sound like one of our resident Californian poets reading a Whole Foods grocery list in a monotone. Rhyme's a good place to start, but I wouldn't do it for a living.

One: Well, yeah. It's a limerick. Two: Most of the time. I'm pretty sure sometimes I'm just adding consonants at random. I swear half the time he sounds like, 'ra'ira', 'ello, ra'ira'ira'.

Because of course you'd hate to be, oh, what would you say? - "pinned down by a title." Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. I mean, I'm not some "tree-hugger" or "nigger-lover" or something, but thinking like yours is as dangerous as the kind who actively hate women. That's me being 100% sincere. Therefore, I refuse to afford you the dignity of a zero. 5 is the least-respecting vote.

Are you joking? I mean don't punctuate where it's unnecessary and punctuate where it is. Have you ever tried checking your poems in prose format? I.e., But in this sadder, better role any gesture: wisdom or kindness - appears magnified. Actually, it seems to me like commas would work best. Sorry to be such a predictable homebody.

This is a philosopher: "I believe X." This is a religious: "I believe in a philosophy."

Surely I do not jest! Jesus' apprehension was not faith; it was a gut feeling, which is different. Faith is taking someone on his word. If it starts from within, then it is not faith, but inner persuasion. I'm not just argueing definitions, it's the crux of religion.

Punctuate, don't punctuate - : Can't you ever be consistent?!:-

I'm neither maleist nor feminist. Is a 5 a no-vote? Just say yes.

Yeah I considered those but I thought you'd say "Yeah but those aren't real words". It's nice to see someone loosening up the grammar noose every know and then. You mean you can actually understand what Thom Yorke is saying.

I believe what I had said in previous comments was that the Summa may have been on to something when they theorized about the origins of the universe and that I didn't believe in the religion or philosophy or whatever it was that came after it. If my interpretation (I don't think I ever said I was 100% sure) of one little thing said by a semi-ancient race of people is to be called religion than your interpretation of what your reading right know is to be called religion too. Philosophy can also be borrowed from some vague semi-ancientness, exaggerated, and so totally changed to meet your needs.

Surely you jest. Your definition of faith is an unhindered one. Which doesn't really exhist in human nature. Even Jesus had apprehension the night before the Crucifixion according to the bible. Faith starts from within not because someone says so and most certainly involves either emotion or logic but not necessarily both.

All together now: La ilah ila allah... Ahyippyyippy mowmow. I think the quality is something akin to the primal feeling that rhyme equals reason and I think that is because repetition has a simular effect. I hate to say it but Poe might be right about poetry being mostly a mathmatical effect.

I think nothing would be better. That reminds me: drop the dash after kindness.

I dunno. Hairy shirt's just a good image.

You have a very grunge predilection for say/away/day/play rhymes. Personally, I think you should consider another line of work.

Where I live, the people who bother to visit think the Muslim call to prayer is the most beautiful haunting thing ever. This is at least half because it's not usually in any musical key known to the West and because the desert gives it odd echoey effects. The other half is that it rhymes. If they knew the muezzin was just singing "I believe there's no god but God, I believe Mohammed's the prophet of God, hurry up to prayer, hurry up to the harvest, no god but God," they probably wouldn't think it's nearly as tragic and emotive. As it is, they just have a dim awareness of rhyme, especially the part that actually goes "la ilah ila allah". There's a quality to good rhyme beyond the emotive power of words themselves. cf Robert Frost. In short, you should love rhyme for exactly the reason that you hate it.