Flash Stories & Poetry Day 50: Sonnet "A Christmas Sonnet"

 

Merry Christmas, everyone.

I know, I know. I'm writing this on the 26th. But, technically, today is the second day of Christmas. Christmas goes all the way until the 6th, known as the Epiphany or Three Kings' Day, so my wishes to you are not in vain.

Anyway, "today's" writing exercise is supposed to be a sonnet, and I was planning on doing a special Christmas sonnet. I tried working on it multiple times last evening and it hasn't come along very well yet. Maybe I'll write it now and share it tomorrow as I am so tired, I am dragging ass. But first, I wanted to mention some things. Because I'm still anxious about finding a job and there are other things I wanted to finish before the end of next week, I think this or the next poem I'm going to write will the last poem(s) of the year. I need to find a job and I need to distract my mind. And since I haven't been keeping good track of this little project, now would be the time for a break. I'm sorry to disappoint you. But maybe if this project goes rare for a while, I'll make a case for myself as to why people should support me on Patreon, not to mention, I'd like to turn out higher quality poems, short stories, and creative non-fiction posts. But if I have a major windfall, I will try to keep this up for as long as I possibly can.

Anyway, today's style is sonnet.

This day is the feast of Christ's advent,
The day of sinners' reclamation;
On this morn, let hatred and sin be rent
In the Name of our needed redemption.

At His Mass, His spirit we shall spread,
Every knee shall bend before the King;
He came to call everyone, living and dead,
Unto Him, every bell shall toll and ring.

Let us go forth and bear glad tidings,
And may the world come to Him and rejoice;
His message to our souls shall be guiding,
Blessings mighty to them who hear His voice.

Now, let us go forth and spread His cheer,
With family, dinner, gifts, and drinking beer.

***

 

I have no idea how long that actually took, but it must've been around a half hour. Anyway, I didn't mean to make the poem so religious at first. It was originally going to be about all the traditions and activities we do at Christmas and the twist at the end was going to be about how we can't do that anymore because of how snowed in we are. We got a buttload of snow here in Michigan. A true white Christmas.

But then, I was listening to all the really religious Christmas carols and it became one giant poem of worship with a slight sarcastic twist ending. I'm not attacking the commercialism or the other nonreligious things we do at Christmas, I just needed a twist because that's what sonnets are about in the last two lines. But besides that, this poem is alright. It did suck, but I changed some of the lines, and the timing is better.

 

But anyway, that's it for today. If you want to use the wheel I made, you should be able to access it here. And if you have the time, please check out my books for sale on Amazon which you can find through my author page. The link is below. Also, I reworked my Patreon page, so why not give it a look and consider becoming my patron. I would appreciate it.

Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel, Fröhliche Weihnachten, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia, and Mele Kalikimaka.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:

My Works:

Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar

Flash Stories & Poetry Day 17: Shakespearean Sonnet "Humors"

Hey, everyone.

So, today's Thanksgiving Eve and marks three days until my HS reunion, so as you can imagine, I have a hard time focusing and I have bunch of stuff to do, but because today is also a work out day and I've been pushing myself past 11 on a scale that only goes up to 10, it's better I get today's writing exercise out of way ASAP. Let's crack on.

Wheel of Genres, turn, turn, turn! Tell me the genre I will discern!





Today's topic is... Sonnet! Oh, boy! A sonnet. Now, I'm a student of Shakespeare and I was an English major so I've studied Petrarch (which is hilarious because he's Italian), but as you can imagine, I know all about the sonnet. I wrote my first one when I was Sophomore in HS, and I've written few others since due to the fact that I want to honor my main man Shakespeare every time I write one, hence I don't write many because of the effort and skill involved.

Now, there is a new movement these days in sonnet writing where the focus is to just write something fourteen lines long and there's no requirement on line length. I once took an avant-garde poetry class (by mistake!) and saw some really strange (and terrible!) sonnets. So, what am I going to do here? Do I take the lazy, modern way out, or do I try to do homage to my Mentore (Italian for "mentor")? Well, Shakespeare did once write a play in two weeks (The Merry Wives of Windsor), so the least I can do for the Bard is attempt to write a sonnet in a half hour.

Thirty minutes on the clock: 30:00. And... go!

Let me not deny what my heart desires
And be a betrayer to my passions.
Within my bosom, there burns awesome fires,
To chart a course of daring, new actions.

Regarding me, I am not just my past,
No, I also possess a future bright;
I shall write enduring works that shall last
And not go silently into the night.

But what of those humors that led me here?
They too are susceptible to great change.
Think me not mystic to search a new tier
To make comrades with those I did estrange.

--For in my past there is much to regret,
--A brighter future, I hope to beget.

***

 

Stop the clock! I have a little more than eight minutes left. Booyah! Did you see that, Mentore?! Now, I just need to write a five act play in two weeks seeing as how I've already written a five act, Shakespearean play. I will admit that I did steal my opening from Shakespeare though, and my couplet isn't quite a twist like you're supposed to have in Shakespearean sonnet, but it does refer back to the beginning. And before you ask, yes, I did have my high school reunion on my mind. Hopefully I don't sound like a broken record.

But anyway, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed it. If you want to use the wheel I made, you should be able to access it here. And if you have the time, please check out my books for sale on Amazon which you can find through my author page. The link is below. Also, I reworked my Patreon page, so why not give it a look and consider becoming my patron. I would appreciate it.

Keep writing, my friends.

More About Bryan C. Laesch:

My Works:

Amazon: My Author Page, My Influencer Page
Facebook: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar
Patreon: Bryan C. Laesch
Twitter: BryanofallTrade
Youtube: Bryan C. Laesch, Bawdy Scholar