Monday, March 23, 2009

A Sonnet

Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the sonnet came into being. Started by Petrarch, it was taken up by English poets in the 16th and 17th century.
 This is my best attempt at a sonnet.  The subject matter is 20th century and I probably do not have the iambic pentameter right.  The rhyme scheme is questionable too but I like it.  I hope you enjoy it too.
By the way, my posting it here does not mean I give up any rights as a writer.

This Is Not Lady Chatterly's Lover

Metal beams surrounded us instead of trees,
On the day that I first beheld your torso,
And I did not fall shaken to my knees
My astonishment was all the more so.
Sadly, your skin was not alabaster white,
Cause for that you had far too much body hair,
Yet I wanted to have you to my despite,
And a fit of trembling took me then and there. 
No washtub there, no sunlight gleaming,
I did not come upon you unawares,
No water down your chest was streaming 
Yet you drew from me much more than stares.
And if I am not poet, I'll tell you what,
It's because Oliver Parkin you were not.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mmmm, Lady Chatterly's Lover eh? I did a paper in college on Hawthorne's influence on LCL. Parts of the book were borrowed heavily from The Scarlet Letter. Gosh I think I wrote that thing 30 years ago, yikes. I love your poem. I am no iambic pentameter expert but it seems fine to me. I like your rhyme scheme and phrasing. Nicely done =)

The Red Witch said...

Thanks. I had not heard that Hawthorne influenced D.H. Lawrence. I had read the Scarlet Letter.
LCL was the only novel of his that I actually liked.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed it, thank you! A nice attempt considering the fact that a sonnet is not something easy to write! I read LCL but it was too long ago to remember anything more than the bare nitty-gritty.

Bridget

Anonymous said...

Very good - now you're really making me want to re-read Lady Chatterley's Lover - my copy was a pressie from my first boyfriend after we made up following our first major row (Happy days :D )- that book definitely has sentimental value.

The Red Witch said...

I read the First Lady Chatterly. Clue being that the gamekeeper was called Oliver Parkin. He was Mellors in the other two versions. I think the first version was the best but he altered it to make it more political.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, I don't know very much about sonnets, but I still enjoyed it.

Colleen