When I think of sonnets, I’m transported to some of the novels I’ve read, like Little Women, or Pride and Prejudice. Everything seemed proper back then, and a sonnet certainly fit into that properness with its rhyme sequence. So I poured myself a cup of tea, traveled to the ocean, put on a bonnet, and crafted a sonnet.
According to the Poetry Foundation, a sonnet is a 14-line poem with a variable rhyme scheme originating in Italy and brought to England by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, earl of Surrey in the 16th century. Literally a “little song,” the sonnet traditionally reflects upon a single sentiment, with a clarification or “turn” of thought in its concluding lines.
And there are many varieties of sonnets. I tried the Petrarchan sonnet, perfected by the Italian poet Petrarch, divides the 14 lines into two sections: an eight-line stanza (octave) rhyming ABBAABBA, and a six-line stanza (sestet) rhyming CDCDCD or CDECDE. “How do I love thee” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning uses this form.
So I tried two… one about summer, one about the sea, forming my thoughts in these patterns.
Summer is here
Summer is here
The cool rainy spring
although new life did bring,
Is fading into history.
Summer brings cheer
Like a butterfly wing
A bird loving to sing
The sun, warmth, is here.
One day at a time
We don’t know what will come
Will the sun shine?
Or fires come with the sun?
No reason or rhyme
But hope remains strong.
The Sea
The sea, the majestic sea
Mysteries hidden in its deep
Calm moments, or waves so steep
The sea is calling me.
The rhythm of the waves I see
Shimmering blues and green
Grey mist and fog.. unseen…
The sea is calling me.
The sea, it sings to me
A calming song
With ebb and flow
The sea, it’s free,
To earth belongs
Creator’s art to show.
The sea
