Writing a Sonnet

Sonnets are tricky customers, and not easy to write. But why not have a go? Sonnets were first written around five hundred years ago and made famous by such poets as Milton, Wordsworth and Shakespeare. You may have heard Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet – How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Sonnets should have 14 lines. Each line should have the following rhythm –
di dum di dum di dum di dum di dum (There are five pairs of syllables in each line -a soft syllable followed by an accented one) and either of the following rhyme schemes –
a b b a c d d c e f g e f g or

a b a b c d c d e f e f g g 

Back in 2001 we set this as a challenge. These were the best entries

Ode To My Love by Nicole Anne Braganza

My dear, if once I could but hold your hand…
And lead you gently, by the rhythmic sea
And ‘neath the solitary moon, like love birds, we
Shall walk upon these grains of golden sand
The moon smiles down upon us, ever beaming
Your tender heart beats in perfect accord
Those waves, they break the silence like a gallant’s sword
Then they caress the shore, like love beams streaming
I sing to you a ballad, just for old time’s sake
Of lovers, on a summer’s starry night
So innocent are words as beautiful as this
They drift into my mind, as it awakes
Amidst the sands of time, two lovers reunite
Our souls are sealed as one with but a single kiss.

Change by Katy Mcalpin

To be able to see a rainbow shine,
you’ve got to stand a little bit of rain.
But to see one you must wait for its time,
when it comes nothing else could be the same.
like a fair rainbow friendship comes and goes,
and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.
Whether it is wise to love no one knows,
So the candle of love never stays lit.
Life is a gamble, nothings ever sure,
People always change and friendship’s severe.
But if you take a small little picture,
you can hold on to that friendship forever.
Someone will change and you cannot stop that.
Or someone will die, you can’t get them back.

Several people sent poems that were almost sonnets. Dana’s poem was very close. It just needs two more lines and regular 10 beat lines. It is a lovely poem, though.

Horse Dream by Dana (aged 10)

My dream is to have a black horse.
Its fur will be very soft and shiny.
The horse will not be really whiny.
My black horse will be as sweet as can be.
My horse will have ears that seem to flicker.
When my friend comes over he will lick her.
He will love me so much that he and I are one.
His name will be so cute it will be Dream.
My black horse will travel into magic.
If my horse has trust he can have the sun.
When my horse smiles it will have a gleam.
Me and my horse will never be sad or tragic.