Vincent Seeger: Sonnet for a Summer’s Love

Skin so smooth beneath questing fingers,

the lush grass of summer, our love nest.

There is a slow rumble to the north,

resisting our hurried breathing… yet,

somehow it all seems to be in tune.

Lightning sets the horizon ablaze

reflecting the fire within our hearts.

The breeze before the oncoming storm

moves slowly over our fevered flesh.

It is a sweet torture as nails rake a path.

Then the rain cools our fervent passions,

our wits return slowly, our limbs shake.

I don’t let you see but I hold your face,

this moment, this love, now and forever.

Brittany's Sonnet #2

Alcohol and Weed - Brittany Lehman

You’re a strong glass of aged whiskey

or a decadent bourbon on the rocks.

Something hard, full of rich flavours

that get me drunk every. single. time.

When you ask me for a drink,

I’ll drown you in sweet wine,

or a tall glass of my finest fruit cider.

We’ll finish off with double hits of marijuana

back to back.

Strong liquor and fruit drinks don’t mix,

but I forget to remember,

and the weed just makes me hungry for more.

Tomorrow, I know I’ll regret.
You are my greatest high, and my worst hangover.

Louise's sonnet

Mother’s hands

Smooth, soft caressing, fingers tangle the hair

into braids so tight, straight.

Beading colourful belts, moccasins and hair ties

natural, light aroma of leather, soft.

slipping tassels through holes

knotted below embroidered flowers, beautiful.

A shawl, that will twirl and fly

Mountains of canvas, stiff, musty.

Only visible is mother

No guidance needed, teepee or tent?

To sleep on her laps,

She strokes your hair, smooth

Wrinkled, soft caressing, but with unconditional love.

love, love, love, love, love, love.

 Louise Omeasoo

Jess's Sonnet

Wish You Were Here

One day I’ll move to warmer climes,

devote myself to sea-filled coves,

brush sand and sunlight from my hair

and sleep wrapped in your arms.

You’ll pick flowers as a gift,

find quiet spots where we can swim,

carry me across the rocks,

with laughter in our eyes.

The snow still has us trapped, for now,

its chill has seeped into your heart,

too far in for me to reach it.

That’s why your words taste like poison.

Your hands have been hardened by the frost

and I am not enough to thaw them.

Rikki's sonnet

Nightmare


I spend most of my time running

through a mysterious unknown land.

I see shadows watch me

everywhere I stand.

Under the facade of restorative rest,

how can something so peaceful leave?

I am trapped in this nightmare

realizing there’s no relief.

There is no light to save me,

Only monsters that creep in the night

Every fear of mine inflated

and hope is far out of sight.

Only one thing will bring me back home:

The moment before falling on hard stone.

Keely's Sonnet

Distress

Tell me now, do you have a heart to give

Do you feel pain and sadness as we do

Do you not think you need such things to live

Or are you dead and emotionless too?

Tell me, do you want to know who I am

Do you want to know that you aren’t alone

Did you not want to let go of this sham

Or is your head filled with drugs and patrone?

Tell me now, did you ever want to care

Did you lash out on purpose, just for fun

Do you believe that love’s only a dare

A thing you could lose, a thing to be won?

Tell me now, do you not know who you are

If life’s a journey you’re not getting far

Ashley's First Sonnet (Draft 2 of Remember Her)

Remember Her 

I remember her energetic and soft graces:

She saw the world through a clear, new glass;

one without smudges or scratches to limit her view.

Through her eyes, everyone was equal, all things had value;

no matter how she looked through the glass, everything looked the same.

People were people, age and race did not make a difference,

houses were houses, size and location were not a concern,

Fun was fun, there was no reason to have limitations.

But each experience left a smudge on her glass or a scratch in her view;

the more aware she became of the world, the less clear it became.

Each scratch cut something from her, every smudge made her forget;

she struggled against blindness, from the black hole pushing her down.

She battled, she looked death in the face, until I came, and I took her place.

She disappeared, she became lost; she did it so I could exist but at what cost?

By Ashley Smith

Ashley's Sonnet (A Pirate's Life)

A Pirate’s Life

His hair is in dreads, his moustache is curled,

his hygiene is lacking and his skin itches.

He travels along the edge of the world,

bringing back plenty of gold and riches.

He likes his women just as he likes his ships:

Shapely and well-built in every aspect.

His ship’s sails have battle tales within its’ rips;

its’ reputation for speed, an asset.

He wings everything, never with a plan;

his fears drive him most, namely the kraken.

Jack is a lying, cheating, selfish man,

but he is no fool, don’t be mistaken.

Best pirate anyone ever did see!

He is Captain Jack Sparrow, you savvy?

By Ashley Smith

Andrew's sonnet

The Gallows

I envied the crowd, before which I stood

charged with refusing to bow my head.

Of the crime I was guilty, so guilty I pled,

to seek forgiveness would do no good.

The gallows gleamed of death stains on wood.

I scanned the crowd while my verdict was read:

“You are to be hung by the neck until dead.”

Then the man approached with the hood.

The hood took me from the light to the shadows.

My bravery escaped me as I heard my mother:

“He’s being killed for pride, not even for violence.”

I screamed to the crowd: “save me from the gallows!”

They hung me. I died. They called on another.

The crowd looked on in hunger and silence.

Keely's Sonnet

Kristoff to Sven: We’re Both Frozen

Dear buddy of mine with long tufted ears

Your patchy old coat that’s falling apart,

Your nose and bad breath that’s got me in tears

There’s no one that’d call you a work of art

You’re too clumsy and your gigantic feet

Have the tendency to stamp on my toes,

You’re very tone deaf and can’t hold a beat

When we sing our lullaby to the snows

You’re smelly and gross and most of all rude

You’re not careful where your antlers are put,

You’re lazy and fat and overall crude

—Oh my god will you get off my foot!—

But you know I’ll always love you the best

My reindeer pal, you’re not really a pest

Critical Sentences

Dear students, remember that I asked you to give me a critical sentence on one of the sonnets: here are some very good examples—longer than one sentence is all right too. Please post yours (or email it to me for posting).

Sentence of critical appreciation for Jane Hirshfield's "The Supple Deer":

In Hirshfield's description of such elegant fluidity it is hard to understand her motives in that she envies the fence not the deer, which, in being a surprise to the reader, becomes unconventional even as the poem pretends otherwise.

Keely

I love Billy Collins’ “Sonnet”, partly because I’m already familiar with it, but mostly for the gentle return from extravagant courtly romance to everyday love in the last three lines. I love the implicit message that it’s all very well to write about love but it must also be lived. Several of the lines are used entirely are saying how many lines are left, but those last three win me over every time, with the abandonment for the moment of trying to explain it perfectly, but just to love instead. Collins uses a discussion of form within his poem to discuss the idea of trying to fit a concept like love into an exacted fourteen lines, with kindly-meant humour towards its masters and an admonishment to perhaps not take it so seriously.

Jess

Andrew's Sonnet 1

I was born a mason, carving stone and erecting walls

around my scared being until my limbs grew weary.

You breached the walls, brought them down upon us

leaving one soul to rise from the rubble, naked and proud.

Life was ushered forth from the heap, growing

as wild and tangled as our bodies in the sun.

We championed nature, blamed it for our struggles

healed wounds with its perfection, masking weakness.

When we’re dancing, toe to toe, making modest steps,

is that distance fleeting, or is it there to keep?

When we’re standing, hand in hand, bowing center stage,

be it heart in throat, or be it tongue in cheek?

When we’re lying, side by side, tasting desired flesh,

is it fear defeated, or is it fear complete?

Andrew Evans

Ashley's Sonnet: Remember Her

I remember her energetic and soft graces:

inspired by everything, nothing could stop

her carefree spirit from reaching the top

of any mountain with magical bases.

Strong intuition directed her path; uncomplicated was life.

Her world was black and white; decisions were simple.

Looks were not her worry; she was cute as a dimple.

She contained a sense of wonder; ignorant of strife.

Once her presence was gone and innocence forgotten,

I gained awareness of opportunities that opened doors

but also of the world’s problems that often ended in wars.

After she left me, my ties to the real world began to tauten.

Her qualities disappeared, she became lost.

She did it so I could exist, but at what cost?

Ashley Smith

Coleman Miller's Sonnet: Ode to a Bastard

Ode to a Bastard

There! Shadow-cloaked sat the elegant fool,

he’s handsome, lazy, and utterly cool.

He bedded your wife and then pinched her purse,

he’s burden-incarnate, a living curse!

Look! His be-twinkled eyes spell disaster.

You’ve heard he charmed the pants off a nun?

He challenges cripples to see who’s faster,

the foolish fiend contends it’s quite fun.

Exploit? No, nothing could be more absurd!

He had enough courage to let you down,

he’d cut your throat rather than see you drown.

Our anti-saviour, this bastard’s bastard.

Fear strikes, and you admit you always knew:
when the world ends, he’ll survive, not you.

Alice's Sonnet: Sonnet to Writer's Block

Sonnet to Writer's Block

O Inspiration, why hath thou forsaken me?

What have I done to receive such scorn?

If I have caused offence, forgiveness I beg of thee

I require your aid - the paper's due in the morn

I care not how you come, so long as you do

For your pains I am willing to pay

I have means to supply thee with a coffee or two

Or if thou preferest, some chai or earl grey.

Time trickles on

The due date grows nigh

The chance of sucess is all but forgone

Shaking my head, I let out a sigh

O, 'tis no use, I can't pay attention

Maybe I'll try to get an extension...

Brittany's Sonnet: The Fire

The Fire – Brittany Lehman

His kisses fall like embers on my skin,

igniting a roaring fire deep inside.

These emotions cannot ever be denied;

he is my favourite type of sin.

No other man could ever begin

to make me burn, even if he tried,

the same way I do in his hazel eyes;

a passion that scorches deep within.

A blanket of snow falls when he is gone,

my heart labours through drifts just to beat.

My frozen lips attempt a fire song,

but the winter ice covers in thick sheets.

I hear his sizzling voice and the snow melts away,
the flames of his embrace engulf me whole; here I stay.

Louise Omeasoo's sonnet: In the Distance

The feet softly touching

the flattened grass.

Smell of fires, the

arena director making announcements.

Babies crying, children laughing, teenagers stalking,

adults teaching, and Elders observing.

Mothers cooking over the open fires.

Colourful regalias overflowing;

of jingle, grass, fancy and chicken dancers

and others, of all ages.

Best of all is in the teepee.

The fire embers keeping us warm in the center

while mother covers us up with blankets,

powwow singers still drumming in the distance.

Louise Omeasoo

Anton Paszek's Sonnet of a Tired Student

Trapped night long in a lamp lit room,
pouring over pages in an uncomfortable gloom.
Computer screen glow burns into my eyes
and my thoughts are from my my work.
The side of my hand blackened by ink,
as the night wears on it gets harder to think.
My creativity and inspiration have all but run dry,
and instead now tempting thoughts lurk.
My bed, warm and soft, just a few feet away
and I, its master, now becoming the prey.
Oh how I long for its licentious embrace,
my task and responsibilities I soon shirk.
Regret falls away as my head hits the feathers,
my hopes and decent grades are sure to follow together. 

Vincent Seeger, Sonnet to the B Movie

Life can be so dull, so painful to endure,

how can it be survived by a man alone?

All that is wanted is a feeling so pure,

Will such elation be forever unknown?

Must the timeworn evil of grades, money or

the heinous isolation of the outcast

rule our lives so completely, must it be a chore?

Is there anything that can give some contrast?

Then there you are, ending my melancholy.

Creating new worlds of imagination

upon the screen cannot be a felony.

All the grief of my problems face cessation.

Zombies, aliens, chainsaws and even love,

although critics may think you unworthy of.

Vincent Seeger

Jess Govier: Sonnet

I’ll wear rainbow socks under blue sheets,

and make myself a sky.

I’ll wear a green shirt for the earth,

whistle for the birds, and tap

my fingers for the pad of paws.

I can form towns with a few inches of fabric,

make an ocean with my pillow,

and turn myself into a mountain range.

I’ll mark the passing of days with pencil

on the walls, for you if you’re watching.

I’ll see my old world only as red light

under my eyelids, a soft glow that is

all I can withstand from the place

marked to me by your absence.