August 28: Do You Want to Write a Sonnet?

As every English student has found out,

A sonnet can be writ by anyone-

From rhyming word pairs inspiration sprouts,

Resulting in a bit of scanning fun,

And pride in saying, “Look at what I wrote!”

Enjoying kinship with great wordsmiths past,

Since, thanks to Shakespeare, sonnets form connotes

Refinement, passion, cleverness, and class.

Now, since you know the baics of the craft,

And your successes cannot but impel

You onward, you are competent to draft

Sestinas, ballads, odes, and villanelles.

Don’t be...