07-02-2012, 05:06 AM
Speaking cadences are different to meter -- we do tend to iron things out when we speak, as English is a rather uneven language with lots of variable stresses, but flawless meter does add another dimension of music to poetry whether it's written or spoken. If this is a performance piece that you're happy with, I probably wouldn't tinker too much.
I don't know how much you know about meter -- there's a basic meter thread on the site and some forms to play with if you're interested, although the way I learned was just by finding examples of a particular meter and reading them over and over again until I could replicate it without thinking too much. (I studied poetry at uni but in my undergrad degree, meter and form were never to be discussed because they just weren't contemporary enough)
I don't know how much you know about meter -- there's a basic meter thread on the site and some forms to play with if you're interested, although the way I learned was just by finding examples of a particular meter and reading them over and over again until I could replicate it without thinking too much. (I studied poetry at uni but in my undergrad degree, meter and form were never to be discussed because they just weren't contemporary enough)
It could be worse