As to poetry being in need of rhyme and meter: actually, certain poets do not use rhyme at all (like in Beowulf), while others ignore meter. I'd say, however, that meter is more important, although it very much depends on the poem - and the poet. Personally, I can appreciate the use of rhyme if it doesn't interfere with 'the message'; I don't care much for rhyme for rhyme's sake.
Here's another example of Akhmatova:
The Muse
When at night I await her coming,
it seems that life hangs by a strand.
What is fame, what is youth, what is freedom,
compared to that dear guest with rustic pipe in hand.
And she entered. Drawing aside her shawl
she gazed attentively at me.
I said to her: "Was is you who dictated to Dante
the pages of The Inferno?" She replied: "It was I."
1924
Very simple, yet very powerful: with just two verses Akhmatova sets a very vivid scene of the poet and poetry in general - one might even call it a vision. She has no need for grandiose words or a long story - which is not to say is not capable of it.
As for the translation: the only odd thing about it is that 'rustic pipe'. (The translation is again by Judith Hemschemeyer; I only corrected the third line.) In another translation I found a flute (a medieval one, with a double reed for which I don't know the English equialent). The only other attribute would be a lyre, which is also used by Apollo. But the Muse is addressed as she and not named, much like in the opening verse of the Iliad: "O Muse, tell of Achilles' anger..."
Here's another example of Akhmatova:
The Muse
When at night I await her coming,
it seems that life hangs by a strand.
What is fame, what is youth, what is freedom,
compared to that dear guest with rustic pipe in hand.
And she entered. Drawing aside her shawl
she gazed attentively at me.
I said to her: "Was is you who dictated to Dante
the pages of The Inferno?" She replied: "It was I."
1924
Very simple, yet very powerful: with just two verses Akhmatova sets a very vivid scene of the poet and poetry in general - one might even call it a vision. She has no need for grandiose words or a long story - which is not to say is not capable of it.
As for the translation: the only odd thing about it is that 'rustic pipe'. (The translation is again by Judith Hemschemeyer; I only corrected the third line.) In another translation I found a flute (a medieval one, with a double reed for which I don't know the English equialent). The only other attribute would be a lyre, which is also used by Apollo. But the Muse is addressed as she and not named, much like in the opening verse of the Iliad: "O Muse, tell of Achilles' anger..."