Poetry Friday - Cutting a Swath, Sonnet #3

By now you've heard that the crown sonnet proposed by Liz Garton Scanlon way back in November is finally finished. The project is fully described and shared in its entirety there, so do stop by and read about it. It's been an amazing ride, and one I'm so glad to have taken.

Here's my contribution to the crown.

Flying through life's grand chaos, bright and vast,
the tide of days leads down a path unknown.
I know not who I'll be when I am grown,
but want to live a life that's unsurpassed.
I wish to speak in words both true and fast
(when sideways glances make me feel alone
or handsome smiles imply I've won the throne),
while keeping every secret to the last.
But I commit my heart with pen to page,
my feet to races not yet known or run,
my life to every opportunity.
These dreams I hold are bound to come of age,
cannot be stopped and will not be undone,
because they live and breathe to be set free.

The crown made it's way to me on December 12th. When a message with the subject Crown Sonnet #2 arrived in my mailbox, I felt my stomach drop to the floor. All I could think was, "Oh no. It's my turn and I can't back out now." Why was I so nervous? Well, at 42, I'd never written a sonnet before. That thought alone was terrifying. Sure, I'd read plenty of sonnets, but never attempted on myself before Liz's invitation. I immediately planned a poetry stretch on sonnets (Italian form) and got to work. The results were nothing to write home about.

I took by far the longest to complete my sonnet. Between final exams, the Christmas holiday, Cybils work, and preparation for my department's accreditation review, I stole precious time each day to escape my office and wander the campus. I often passed students who, I'm sure, wondered what this crazy woman was doing walking in a fog, counting on her fingers, and stopping sporadically to scribble words in a notebook. I'm sure from behind I could be seen bouncing as I walked, "ta-DUM, ta-DUM, ta-DUM, ta-Dum, ta-DUM." (Hey, I bounce anyway. Why not walk in iambic pentameter?!)

What I learned while writing my sonnet was that a great deal of what I write is just junk, but when an idea starts to come together, it just "feels" right. I've never been one to trust that intuition, but now I know that this is exactly what I must do. I was relatively satisfied with my sonnet by the time I let it go and shared it with the group. I was glad to be rid of it for a while and let someone else begin the process. When all 7 poets were done, we spent some time on a group revision. This was the most amazing part of the experience for me. In a supportive and collaborative environment, folks asked questions, offered feedback, and helped me revise in ways that made my contribution to the crown much stronger than it originally was. Though we never met, we were connected by our love for writing and poetry. Perhaps this motley crew with more than 250 years among us (258 to be exact!), and many, many miles separating us (from the midwest, to the south, to the east coast, and a short hop across the pond), can one day meet and write together. Wouldn't THAT be amazing? I certainly think so.

I hope you'll take some time to read the contributions of each poet, as well as the final crown in its entirety at Liz in Ink. Here is where you'll find the posts by each participant in the crown, in the order they wrote.

• Sara Lewis Holmes
• Laura Purdie Salas
• Me!
• Liz Garton Scanlon
• TadMack
• Andromeda Jazmon (cloudscome)
• Kelly Fineman

The round up this week is being hosted by cloudscome at a Wrung Sponge. Andi participated in the crown as well, so you can read a bit more about it, as well as find even more great poetry this week. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday, all!