No matter which holiday you are celebrating this season, I wish you peace and light.
I am happy to host this last Poetry Friday of the year on a day when my poetry sisters and I have written to another challenge. This month, we were not locked into form, but theme, writing on the theme of peace, light, or hope.
I've been thinking of my mom lately, and all moms who deal with the chaos of the season. I wanted to write about finding peace in the midst of that chaos. I settled on the form of a sonnet. I had trouble choosing my favorite couplet to end it, so I'm sharing both.
the house becomes a stage for wild delight
the bells, the lists, the shouts of “Mom, come here!”
begin at dawn and echo through the night
The children shout, the playlist never ends
the oven groans beneath a sugared load
each hour invents three tasks it swiftly sends
to me alone, patrol of hearth and road
I crave sweet peace—a chair, a steaming cup
a door that stays untouched for sixty beats
I’d trade one present just to drink it up
in silence all alone and off my feet
Yet when night falls and all the clamor ends
I laugh—this noise is love, my loudest friend
Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2025. All rights reserved.
Here is the second couplet I wrote to end the sonnet. Which do you like better?
Yet when night falls and all the sounds depart
I miss the noise that fills my tired heart
You can read the poems my Poetry Sisters have written at the links below.
We will be writing to 12 new challenges next year. We meet in early January to make our poetry plan. As soon as we have a January challenge, we'll share it with you so you can join in the fun.I will be hitting the road before the sun comes up tomorrow to drive to western NY to visit family. That means I won't be around to visit your blogs and read your poems until late in the day or over the weekend. Rest assured that I will stop by!
Please join the Poetry Friday party by leaving your link below, and don't forget to leave a comment to let us know you're here. Happy poetry Friday, friends!
Thanks for your lively poem Tricia, it brings us right into the clamor of all. I like your first offering of the final couplet for its sounds and movement, and clamor circles us back to clanging from the first stanza. Thanks for hosting, wishing you safe travels!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the first couplet with love being your loudest friend. Bravo! Be safe on the road. Western NY? I’m from there too. It’s pretty cold up there right now. Wear your warm socks & mittens! Thanks for hosting today. I have just come down with a cold after hustling and bustling. But, I watched a silly movie about bust moms at Christmas yesterday that made me laugh. It’s, ‘Oh. What. Fun.’ on netflix.
ReplyDeleteMerry ChristmasTime, Tricia!
ReplyDelete"this noise as love, my loudest friend " made me giggle & have wet eyes at the same time, so there you go...
Untitled? how about... Sonnet for Christmas Chaos
Sending vibes for smooth travel there & back. XO
The first couplet is my favorite, too. Thanks for sharing your sonnet and for hosting today! Safe journey!
ReplyDeleteOh I love the first one with "this noise is love, my loudest friend." Perfect ending! Safe travels!
ReplyDeleteI love where you took this prompt. I think you chose the right couplet---it is funny, and poignant both.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the first couplet. It made me burst into sudden tears! It's the perfect contrast/culmination.
ReplyDeleteA sonnet! Thank you, Tricia! I think you nailed it with the first ending. Happy travels and thanks for hosting during such a busy season. xo
ReplyDeleteTricia- Thank you for hosting. This is so beautiful and captures perfectly the noisy clamor, the appreciation for quiet when the door closes, and the bittersweetness that it is over. One of my favorite poems this year! I definitely lived this over the past few days. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteI love your sonnet ending as is Tricia- my loudest friend! Thank you for hosting! Safe travels!
ReplyDeleteOh, this is perfect! Our Christmas was lovely but quiet this year, and I found myself missing a bit of the hubbub and clamor. I think your first ending nails it!
ReplyDeleteTricia, I love both endings but the second really reflects how I am feeling these days. Love the clamor that you captured so beautifully in your sonnet! Thank you and Happy New Year!
ReplyDelete