I moved to another Italian form for this sonnet. The sestet has a CDE CED structure. It looks unnatural and not at all poetic for English, and at first it feels that way as well. Yet once I read the lines out loud, there was a certain fanciful yet organized meandering to the scheme, as though a poem in this form intends to follow a more symmetrical structure, digresses for a moment, and then remembers to right itself in the end. I wrote two in this pattern, but I think this one is the better of the two, even though I make use of a sort of unreliable narrator. I don't know if that is generally done with sonnets, but I did it with this one.
*
A tragic circumstance is not fair game
To contemplate new ways to woo and win.
I know the sort of pain she must be in,
But something stirs within me all the same.
Of all the selfish actions I could name,
The one I'm thinking of would be a sin.
I'm sure I'll get disowned by all my kin.
Such punishment is equal to my shame.
I don't enjoy the prospect of her pain!
And I could never cause it on my own.
Yet being there I cannot wish it gone...
I know the notion may appear profane,
That I appear to move her like a pawn.
But when I comfort her, I'm not alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment