A Sonnet for Emily

a sonnet for a free verse poet

A poet who once lived in a small borough,  
Endeavoured to write all night and all day,
Vowed to make her words endure come what may,
Honed her craft till it made her brow furrow,
Till the weight made her feel like a burro,
She began to contemplate; wish and pray,
To muster the courage to go astray,
And embark on an off the rhyme furlough

She then devised a most radical plan,
To step outside the small box she was in,
Toss out rhyme and iambic pentameter,
Thought she would when no one believed she can,
A poet named Emily Dickinson,
Women's history free verse pioneer.

Author's Note

I have set myself a challenge of writing sonnets now and again. But since I am a rebel
against form poetry, I have opted for an ode to a free verse poet within the confines
of a Petrarchan sonnet, written in iambic pentameter as an English sonnet, rhyme scheme for the Octave is a b b a a b b a. This presents the problem, the sestet presents the solution in the rhyme scheme c d e c d e -- (Volta) Free Verse! Heresy, I know, but conventions and rules in poetry are meant to be broken
CAPTCHA outbrave
I am not a one trick pony. I choose to write my emotions freely and with honesty.
That does not make me a good or bad poet, but a human poet. Any verse can be
moving, be it within the confines of a strict form or not. It is how the words are
presented on the page that the emotions are revealed. -- although this one does break some rules, it also follows a lot of them, and I have decided to leave it, as is.

Reviews

[sharonlee]

Cleverly composed KL ... I can rhyme, but I've never been good at structure.

[Lyn Anderson]

This is a challenge for me as well. And so, I have decided to leave it for topics that appeal to me but are not necessarily intensely personal. Thank you.

[sharonlee]

Good idea... perhaps I should broaden my knowledge on structure.

[Lyn Anderson]

A good person to talk to would be Ms Jewel, I think.

[sharonlee]

Thank you KL

[icelandicblue]

My son currently lives in that lovely borough. It truly is a beautifully inspirational area. Emily refused to be held in a gilded cage. She certainly deserves the lauding you've given her in this lovely sonnet(which by the way are very hard to write in my opinion).

Nicely done KL. I like the fact that you used the sonnet to write this ode to Emily's beautiful free verse. Emily was all about being free (especially considering the confines women of the time lived in).

Good for you!

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you. I liked the "irony" of it. That is so cool and thanks for the review.

[Jon Roggie]

We write. Words are only a hint, waiting for what we want to say.

I could tell you a story,
but why not let you find it yourself?

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you for perusing this one

[Bright Ocean Star]

Very nice write, KLG. I like this a lot....:)

[Lyn Anderson]

Thanks sweet girl I appreciate

[Matching Socks]

You are far from a one tricky pony! :)
Love this! Great job,

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you my friend

[Delmar Cooper]

I like women poets, but you knew that already.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thanks as always.

[Tate Morgan]

Hello Kl I applaud this effort to write of the great emily

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you. The point for me really was to use structured poetry to praise one of the greatest free verse poets of all time. That and to flex my abilities within the confines of a particular form. It is a challenge to myself, like running.

[Tate Morgan]

Well my favorite of hers was this
Softened by times consummate plush,
How sleek the woe appears
That threatened childhoods citadel
And undermined the years
Bisected now by bleaker griefs,
We envy the despair
That devastated childhood's realm,
So easy to repair

Emily Dickinson

[Sasha]

Really interesting piece :)

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you.

[Pryde Foltz]

Rhyming or free verse … you never know in which form a gem will come. This is a gem for sure.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thank you. I appreciate it.

[Chris]

a good Author's Note. A brave write.

[Lyn Anderson]

I had fun. Kind of like tackling the marathon. One step at a time.