Sonnets

A couple of years back I had this scathingly brilliant idea.

I was going to write a love story about these two people who met, went their separate ways, bumped into each other a few times over the years and ended up together.

Yeah, I know, we've all seen When Harry Met Sally - but this was going to be different.

This was going to be about two people who were interested in each other from the start, but life got in the way and they followed their heads instead of their hearts.

Okay, we've probably seen a few films (not to mention read our fair share of books) with the exact same concept. But this was going to be different.

This was going to be in verse. Not only in verse, but in too-clever-by-half verse - the girl's side of the story was going to be told in sonnets, while the guy's side of the story was to be told in haikus.

Bet you haven't seen that one before, eh? Probably because it's daft.

Sonnets and haikus are lousy ways to tell stories. They are not designed for exposition. The few sonnets I wrote to actually convey the story line sucked. The haikus were slightly less terrible, but they also weren't really haikus. Oh, sure, they had the structure of a haiku, but not the soul of one.

I quickly abandoned the idea as being "stupid".

However, every now and then I suddenly feel the urge to write something that might fit. One day, some day, I just might find I've written the thing after all - one sonnet at a time.

Sonnets are one of those things that just draw me in. I just love the form. I'm particularly attached to the Shakespearean style, but I have been known to accidentally produce an Italian Sonnet (it's probably best if you don't ask how someone can accidentally write an Italian Sonnet). I haven't written a Spencerian Sonnet yet, but I'm sure it's bound to happen one day.

Anyway, the other day (yes, it was another one of those middle of the night things) I felt compelled to write a couple of sonnets. I had meant to write one Shakespearean Sonnet, but I accidentally wrote an Italian one instead, so I tried again. The second time I got the structure I was after, but the direction of the poem shifted from the original.

You can read them here if you want.

Oh, and I should probably take the opportunity to warn you: sonnets are one of those things about which you shouldn't let me start talking. They sit in the same category as Superman and the history of bicycles as "things Sharon knows too much about, and insists on sharing..."