James Naismith's Predicament
By: James Naismith

I don't want a game
Where you run with the ball,
For someone would tackle
And someone would fall.

I don't want a game
With a ball that you kick,
Nor a game with a ball
That you hit with a stick,

Nor a game that's so rough
That you tumble and roll.
But I do want a game
Where you aim for a goal

With a ball big enough
You can pass it with ease
And a goal that hangs high
As gym balconies

And making the goal
Takes great accuracy.
Now, what can I use
For the goal? Let me see

I could hang some boxes
Up high with some ties,
But none of these boxes
Is quite the right size

For some are too small
For the ball to go in
And the big ones would make it
Too easy to win.

I've got it! Peach baskets!
Just right for my game.
And now all I need
For my game is a name.

Now, what should I call it?
I don't have a clue.
Peachball? Or PeachBasket?
No, neither will do.

But "ball" is important,
And "basket" is too.
Why, Basketball! Yes...
For my game that's brand-new
"Basketball! Basketball! Wooo!"

I like this poem because it is about basketball. Basketball is my favorite sport. This is why I like this poem.

3 devices

Internal rhyme- in the third stanza game rhymes with aim

End rhyme- in the first stanza ball rhymes with fall.

Simile- in the fourth stanza, the last two lines is a simile.