NaPoWriMo Day 23: Today, I challenge you to write a sonnet. Traditionally, sonnets are 14-line poems, with ten syllables per line, written in iambs (i.e., with a meter in which an unstressed syllable is followed by one stressed syllable, and so on). There are several traditional rhyme schemes, including the Petrarchan, Spenserian, and Shakespearean sonnets. But beyond the strictures of form, sonnets usually pose a question of a sort, explore the ideas raised by the question, and then come to a conclusion. In a way, they are essays written in verse! This means you can write a “sonnet” that doesn’t have meet all of the traditional formal elements, but still functions as a mini-essay of a sort. The main point is to keep your poem tight, not rangy, and to use the shorter confines of the form to fuel the poem’s energy. As Wordsworth put it, in a very formal sonnet indeed, “Nuns fret not at their convent’s narrow room.” Happy writing!

Mr. Bubble frets not who he touches
With his fresh signature bubble gum scent;
Mom’s trusted bath-time buddy, made much is,
Forming foam bikinis, her childhood spent;
Resistance to stay dirty, assuages,
“Too many bubbles, there’s no such thing.”
The perfect playtime pal for all ages.
Surprise, Mr. Bubble is adulting!
Soaking, contented to turn the pages,
Turning bathing into quality time;
Showering, a lip sync battle rages,
Mission getting clean is more fun than grime.
Hidden in the guest bath, he won’t admit —
Sweet scent of nostalgia, his favorite.

~Just L (April 23, 2016)

A Sweet, Sappy, Soapy Sonnet for Allen.

#abouthim