"Chinoiserie" by Ellis RankenSonku Poetry Challenge: Write a Sonnet-Haiku The Society February 16, 2024 Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests 53 Comments . Epic poet and poetry video maker Andrew Benson Brown created a bit of excitement with his invented sonnet-haiku or haiku-sonnet published earlier this month—what poet Michael Pietrack has coined as “the sonku.” It turns out that, unbeknownst to Benson Brown, this form was already invented by David Marshall over twenty years ago, as seen here; though it did not have the intricate and demanding rhyme scheme. At any rate, poet Paul A. Freeman invites you to try your hand at this 21st century form. Post your sonku in the comments section below. Note that there are different opinions as to what should happen in the final couplet. This is your chance to experiment and see what you think works. . EXAMPLES . The Fall of Time by Andrew Benson Brown Thinning coat of frost Whitening the ground with grief— Love forever lost Wrinkles on the leaf Yellowing a lawn undone— Beauty all too brief Spots upon the sun Reddening a field long dry— Ripeness on the run Cracks along the sky Blackened by heaven’s treasons— Bluer days gone by Why keep growing on? Sprinkles of reasons: Her smiles renew the seasons . . . What’s a Sonku? by Paul A. Freeman A sonku is a form of seasoned sonnet-haiku— a melting spring storm. Four haikus will do, a twelve-line starting quartet, with a couplet due. A rhyme scheme? You bet! Though you may need to tinker, but then you are set. If you’re a drinker, stay sober, or you might write a frightful stinker. The couplet to finish, shouldn’t be trite; pen something profound, nostalgic or light. . Post your sonku in the comments section below. . . NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. CODEC Stories:Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 53 Responses Alison Jennings February 16, 2024 Sonku for Lao Tzu (Starry Crown) So said Lao Tzu: If you’re depressed, you live in the past. Also true: If anxious, you are stuck in the future. But then wish upon a star— if you can find peace, you’re in the eternal now. All joys are released; lay your burdens down. Follow this philosopher; find the starry crown— Let’s come on down to the river to pray; go studying about that good old way. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 16, 2024 Getting Fresh Bluebells splash the ground Flooding shady glades with sky – Hints of Winter drowned Skittish lambs skip high Silky, milk-blitzed piglets squeak – Ill winds flutter by Birds flirt beak-to-beak Buds are slick with licks of dew – Violets sneak a peek Tulip noons are blue Jocund jonquils kiss and sway – Gaia’s billet-doux Sassy Spring is here to play – Seize this fresh and frisky day! Reply ABB February 19, 2024 I like this one a lot, Susan. And you have gone for the 7/7 ending as well! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 19, 2024 Andrew, thank you. I think the 7/7 ending is easy on the ear and doesn’t detract from the flow of the previous stanzas – just a personal take. Your sonku is beautiful and inspirational. I drew on your prime example. Gigi Ryan February 17, 2024 A Sonku Inspired by Psalm 150 All ye bless the Lord! In His temple ye devout Let your love be poured. Worshippers cry out! Of His power and wonders sing, Let the happy shout! Hail with trumpeting, Let the harp and psaltery sound. Timbrels jingling Join the people found Dancing, twirling with their praise. Cymbals shake the ground! Everyone, your hands now raise, Sing to God with hearts ablaze! Reply Mia February 17, 2024 Dear Gigi I really love this and I hope that you see this as a compliment but I was inspired by you to do the same with my favourite psalm, Psalm 23 Now I shall not want For the Lord is my Shepherd He comforts my soul The valley of death I do not fear, for he is near He sustains my life My enemies hate He turns to blessing, He grants Forgiveness to me I live amongst green Pastures and I long to live In His house forever Praise the Lord, for His Mercy endures forever. Reply Gigi Ryan February 17, 2024 Dear Mia, I do take it as a compliment. I loved reading your Psalm 23 Sonku. Last year I decided to assign myself to write poems for the Psalms, just for practice. It turns that it is a spiritual exercise as well since I spend a lot of time meditating on the Psalm at hand. Note – I did use 150 for this exercise because I have nearly completed my project. Haha. It just happens to be a favorite. Gigi Mia February 18, 2024 Thank you so much Gigi both for your wonderful sonku and very kind reply. What a great spiritual exercise, and to have done this with so many psalms. It must have been difficult to choose one to post as judging by this one I think all the others must be exceptional too. I think that psalm 23 was the first one I learned so remains a favourite but all the psalms are beautiful and I will keep on reading. Reply Gigi Ryan February 19, 2024 Dear Mia, I must beg your pardon! Somehow I missed a word in my reply to you. I meant to say that I have *NOT* nearly completed my “Psalms to poems” exercise. I think this is going to take me a decade to do. 😉 Are you familiar with Psalters? Entire hymnals of Psalms to verse with meter for singing. There are several. The Scottish Psalter, The Book of Psalms for Singing, The Book of Psalms for Worship, and no doubt others that I don’t know about yet. Of course, The Psalms are poems in the first place. Have a great day! Gigi Mia February 19, 2024 Dear Gigi, not to worry. No apology needed. I have just had to make some corrections to the sonku below. Sometimes mistakes happen. . I don’t know any of the psalms set to music although I think I may have listened to one or two in the past on YouTube. But I do try to read a few psalms regularly. I wish you all the best in all your endeavours , Mia. Reply Alan Orsborn February 17, 2024 HEART OF THE PENINSULA Varied thrush scatters The song sparrows scratching seeds. Pine squirrel chatters. And those eyes, red beads, There where the spotted towhee Crouches in the reeds. Flickers sport showy Breast medallions, and flash red. Juncos flash snowy. Red alder branches, Where chickadees flip and swing And the nuthatches. By evening, all the birds have given wing, And crooning frogs make sunken woodlands ring. Reply Cheryl Corey February 17, 2024 My favorite so far; but then, I’m always partial to bird poems. Nice rhymes with “showy” and “flash snowy”; “branches with “nuthatches”. Reply Alan Orsborn February 17, 2024 Thank you so much Cheryl for the compliments. I intentionally tried to follow what I understood to be the original traditional haiku subject of some aspect of nature. I agree that bird poems are certainly delightful, their full common names are in themselves short poems. I’m also holding out for more poems about frogs, salamanders, snakes and lizards. 😉 fred schueler February 18, 2024 here’s Varied Thrush poemlet from before I understood the 5-7-5 rule for haiku – Razor-voiced Ixoreus Slices the day Like night. – 29 May 1989, Kagan Bay, Graham Is., Haida Gwaii Reply Alan Orsborn February 18, 2024 Wow. Yes, their flute-like songs reverberating through the woods are haunting. Your poem has them transcending time, in a sense. For those who don’t know what we’re talking about, a link: https://www.bird-sounds.net/varied-thrush/ Paul A. Freeman February 17, 2024 SONKU TO FREE THOUGHT I sit on a wall, thinking, making up my mind; below me they call urging me to find substance, logic, in their views, to join at the hip either reds or blues, let my liberty slip when I should be free to take or leave it, to agree or disagree. So here I shall sit. The purpose of a wall is to divide and from both sides a fuller picture hide. Reply Mia February 17, 2024 This is very good and very well written. So the following is not a criticism , just adding to free thought.. For some reason, as soon as I read it I thought of the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty which up until now I thought of as a nonsensical nursery rhyme. But your sonku has made me see it in a different light. Thanks for that. Now I can’t understand why I did not see it before. That’s why we all love SCP. Reply Paul A. Freeman February 17, 2024 Thank you, Mia. There is indeed a lot of wisdom in nursery rhymes. Mia February 17, 2024 And thank you for this challenge. Mia February 17, 2024 Barren Ground Scanning vacancies A pile of dusty letters Tedious morning Midday sun blazing A hungry stomach growling A threadbare cupboard Dripping with syrup Sticky hands smudge white pages Afternoon napping Haunting lucid dreams Of forbidden juicy fruit Longing for summer Sleepily, spring slips away Thirsty, tender shoots search for succour. Reply Mia February 19, 2024 just a couple of changes, don’t suppose they will make much of a difference anyway but it is better to do and learn than not do at all. but you might not agree, but thank you for your patience. Barren Spring Scanning vacancies A pile of dusty letters Tedious morning Midday sun blazing A hungry stomach growling A threadbare cupboard Dripping with syrup Sticky hands smudge white pages Afternoon napping Haunting lucid dreams Of forbidden juicy fruit Longing for summer Sleepily, spring slips away Tender shoots search for succour. Reply Angel L. Villanueva February 17, 2024 Flooded rivers rise Rippling surface water roils Waiting is the sea Trees are downed as spoils Sediment follows below Estuaries fed Fish obey its flow Birds in wait begin to feed Life begins anew Water steam is freed Clouds return to wet the land Rivers gorge and flood And so have flowed the years of humankind When life begins anew, as it’s designed Reply Patrick Murtha February 17, 2024 “Haiku!” Don’t spread germs! So “Gesundheit,” I replied, Taking foreign terms For an English sneeze. Students snicker. Think me snide. Not intending tease. “Sonku!” you grumble. “Yeap.”—You’re welcome, I implied. Another fumble. “Sonnet-like haiku!”— So Basho and Bill collide.— “So you said sonku?” A fourteen-lined haiku? Is that the fuss? Multiculti words nonplus. Reply ABB February 19, 2024 I think this is my fave so far—hilarious way of using the form to poke fun. Like the ‘Basho and Bill’ phrase especially. Reply Patrick Murtha February 19, 2024 ABB, thank you. It was fun, and meant in good humor. It was also harder than I thought it was going to be. Stuart Jay Silverman February 18, 2024 leaves fight the noon heat a clover petal looks up something in the grass sounds of rain repeat the sounds of rain yesterday had given a pass the dog worries meat even the crows do not touch what will it excrete? dusk welcomes the sheet lighting to be expected the sky looking beat darkness wakes up, as expected a touch later than yesterday Reply Roy Eugene Peterson February 18, 2024 IN MY FIELDS OF SNOW In my fields of snow Luminescent afterglow When the moon is low. Tracks made by a bunny That look like liquid honey. Night scenes are funny. Big bird on the prowl. Perhaps it is a night owl. Not a friendly fowl. Flying without fear, Since the nighttime air is clear. No sound can I hear. Soaring by the creek Alas I hear a loud shriek. Talons and a beak. Some seek sweet serenity in a snowy scene. Others opportunities senses contravene. Reply Mia February 20, 2024 Golden leaves tremble, Turn crimson as icy gale Whispers of freedom. The song of the free So soon detached from the tree It knows it must sing. A leaf on its own Wrenched from its life giving hold Flotsam and jetsam. The song of the leaf Drifts to the tune of the wind Poignant and lilting, A song well sang, it succumbs To the hum of the rooted tree. Reply E Kraft February 22, 2024 Smelly Dog Mud clings to his fur, Fragrance filled with earthy musk, My dog wears with pride. Yet love still endures, Though odor follows his stride, Forever my friend. Reply Linda Marie Hilton February 22, 2024 A Groundhog’s View winter is still here full of lovely snow so sheer birds eat at feeders. snow reflects sunlight moon adds its glow: earth stays cold deer eat the tree bark. flora sleeps away during the year’s shortest days mammals gestate young. tilting more the earth shifts seasons tween north and south snowdrops do delight. so winter will release its hold for spring will be a’ cumin’ in. Reply Carolyn Mack February 23, 2024 Of Zahori To fondle warmly like many another day I call you sweetly so light to the touch back from the field of sweet grass, dandelions blown. Such as you, small, soft, smooth then fall onto the duff couch. Those mirrors of the azabache stone dark as your eyes, Zahori yours and yours alone Like magical black onyx, at night the mythic Strix. Reply ABB February 24, 2024 Thanks to Paul for issuing this challenge, to Evan for sponsoring, and to everyone participating and submitting their excellent pieces. It is heartening when one’s creative projects find resonance with others. Reply kathy bahr February 24, 2024 Dip down hanging last Heavy tones left alone An hour fell to pass Don’t know where they are. undertones moaned in the past. Stars know where they are. Rain falls, the night calls. Splayed to the earth, undertones. Stars lost in the vast. Rain thousand moon blast, heavy heartbeat lulling fast, darkening tone blast. Brought lulling thousand miles just ahead, where dreams and memories are spread. Reply Erin B March 1, 2024 Three Weeks in Summer Oma’s omelets left For my mother’s waking. Salt and pepper, deft. Legs of a poor sort, Shakier now. The postman Meets us at the porch. She’s walking softly. Plink. Pass–before he sees. At Opa’s plate his coffee. “The dinner–real nice!” Said distinct for dulling ears. Compliments said twice. Sunday sees me sitting. The priest telling tales– Yes Father. I know. Love never fails. Reply kathy bahr March 1, 2024 enjoyed Reply ROYAL W RHODES March 1, 2024 Art is as strong as death Spring arrived once more orchids love such paradise like Eden’s days of yore. Snow returned just twice interrupting as you paint flowers free from ice. Brush strokes were left faint, outlines like the melted stone of a garden saint. Now our flesh and bone model how you can derive loveliness alone. Friends you paint remain alive. Art we see makes them revive. Reply leo March 2, 2024 [may showers] gentle night in may the summer showers lighten, zinnia in sway if the moonlight danced like a ripple across skies with you, i’m entranced light drizzle, loose soil may breaks the ground and the sky we plant figs, we toil few years down the line i wish to see your fingers fig-red in a shine more mays, figs and summer-end may we stay together, friend! Reply Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 I’ll post four Sonku separately, each created from a previously published sonnet. The Politely Politic Bard or How to Respond to the Demand in the Doug Savage Chicken Cartoon: “Write me a sonnet or I’ll blow your damn head off.” I prefer to keep a sonnet in my bonnet, awake or asleep. You might wonder why. I have a ready answer, so here’s my reply. Should villains demand an instant sonnet from me, I’ll have one on hand. My life or my verse. Which one would I rather lose? It could be much worse. Yet etiquette demands its ease— I’ll ask politely, “Please, say ‘Please.’” Reply Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 The new, improved volta: Yet etiquette demands ease— I’ll ask politely, “Say ‘Please.’” Reply Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 The second of four Sonku based on a previously published sonnet. Understanding Ampersanding Often in demand, just what is the “&”? Is it out of hand? Used instead of “and,” an accident poorly planned? Should its use be banned? It’s an “and” that’s canned, yet some desire to command the ampersand brand. More readily scanned, it’s my preference to expand, to help understand. And yet, its placement, like a cat, may be stealthily where it’s @. Reply Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 I noticed a typo in the last line, where “stealthily” should be “stealthy.” However, an improved couplet would be: And yet, when placed like a cat, may be stealthy where it’s at. Reply Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 The third of four Sonku based on previously published Sonnets. Bardleby Sonnetry A sonnet askew— meter, form, and rhyme subprime? I’d prefer not to! Flow and rhythm scarred, slant rhyme tread by broken feet bring tears to a bard. Stanza counts flaunted, Iambic pentameter grievously taunted. Call it what you will, but calling Hades Heaven only brings a chill. The fault is not cured by the name. A thorn and rose are not the same. Reply Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 Six hours later, I changed the volta: These faults aren’t cured by its name. Thorns and roses aren’t the same. Reply Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 The fourth of four Sonku based on previously published Sonnets. Verbena by Any Other Scent Would Smell as Sweet (from Guy de Maupassant’s story “A Bad Error”) Her maid fully clothed, though in her mistress’s gown, serving my betrothed, I gently crept in, stealthily and unannounced, conscious of my sin. Standing near the bed I approached with due care where angels fear to tread. Lifting skirts to plant a gentle kiss—surprised by ravings of a rant! Instead of verbena, my betrothed’s perfume filled the room where my fate met its doom. Reply Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 Aha! An improved volta: Not verbena, the perfume of my betrothed sealed my doom. Reply Vince Gotera March 15, 2024 I actually invented the terza rima haiku sonnet around 1978. Here’s one I wrote in 2013 (published 2015 in the Philippines, so available in the US). “After Dashing Home Through a Rainshower Thirty Years Ago” —a terza rima haiku sonnet Rainy light filtered through those gauzy, sheer curtains. Kath, when you entered the bedroom, wearing only rainwater sheen, I fell in love again. Such a cliché, my bookish mind says, but it’s true. You slipped me a shy glance with those green-blue eyes, slid into bed with me. In rain-streaked light, you closed my eyes, kissed each one. We live there still . . . fragile memory. https://vincegotera.blogspot.com/2013/04/day-15-napowrimo-poem-day-2013.html Reply Vince Gotera March 15, 2024 By the way, the poet Tom Hunley has also been writing haiku sonnets since about 2002. Reply Vince Gotera March 15, 2024 “Remembering You Laying Out on the Eigenmann Dorm Roof” . —terza rima haiku sonnet Hello bikini. I’m ashamed to say that’s all I recall: teeny knit, jade, halter style. Jade green so aflame your eyes would match. And freckle galaxy! — that was your body. I admired you but couldn’t say — hush. So slim I called you, like it was fifth grade again, chicken legs. But you know, I loved your legs, so tan. All of you sun-drenched, golden. Reply Vince Gotera March 15, 2024 Oops. That one’s also published, in 2018. I’ll have to write a new one. Reply Jennifer March 25, 2024 Sonku-When Winter Offends Spring You are a mean one A cold-hearted icy guy Just go home winter Time to hit the road It’s another season’s show Spring wants her abode She’s fierce in her way So, don’t tempt her by staying Wise to fly away Spring isn’t as tame As many suppose, it’s true But she’s not to blame Winter offered doom But Spring really doesn’t care She’s burst into bloom Do the seasons show up regularly? Of course, we know it’s true. Every season has its position with colors of different hues. Reply Vince Gotera March 26, 2024 Jennifer: interesting that you added another haiku stanza so that the lines add up to 17 lines rather than the usual 14 for a sonnet. A bit like the stretched sonnet, which has 16 lines. Reply Kathy Bahr March 28, 2024 White Sea Fallen like Symphony Invite play Unannounced Frantic rain Scattered sun Misty stars Falling stars Disquiet. Reply Ruddy Gordon April 16, 2024 Yesterday The morning sun bright Like a light in the dark sky Turns the sky dark blue And in the midday You can feel the summer haze Floating through the day And when that night strikes You are eased into the still State where your brain plays And in that morning You wake and have forgotten What you had to say Of the trials and tribulations That you faced yesterday Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Captcha loading...In order to pass the CAPTCHA please enable JavaScript. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. 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Alison Jennings February 16, 2024 Sonku for Lao Tzu (Starry Crown) So said Lao Tzu: If you’re depressed, you live in the past. Also true: If anxious, you are stuck in the future. But then wish upon a star— if you can find peace, you’re in the eternal now. All joys are released; lay your burdens down. Follow this philosopher; find the starry crown— Let’s come on down to the river to pray; go studying about that good old way. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 16, 2024 Getting Fresh Bluebells splash the ground Flooding shady glades with sky – Hints of Winter drowned Skittish lambs skip high Silky, milk-blitzed piglets squeak – Ill winds flutter by Birds flirt beak-to-beak Buds are slick with licks of dew – Violets sneak a peek Tulip noons are blue Jocund jonquils kiss and sway – Gaia’s billet-doux Sassy Spring is here to play – Seize this fresh and frisky day! Reply
ABB February 19, 2024 I like this one a lot, Susan. And you have gone for the 7/7 ending as well! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 19, 2024 Andrew, thank you. I think the 7/7 ending is easy on the ear and doesn’t detract from the flow of the previous stanzas – just a personal take. Your sonku is beautiful and inspirational. I drew on your prime example.
Gigi Ryan February 17, 2024 A Sonku Inspired by Psalm 150 All ye bless the Lord! In His temple ye devout Let your love be poured. Worshippers cry out! Of His power and wonders sing, Let the happy shout! Hail with trumpeting, Let the harp and psaltery sound. Timbrels jingling Join the people found Dancing, twirling with their praise. Cymbals shake the ground! Everyone, your hands now raise, Sing to God with hearts ablaze! Reply
Mia February 17, 2024 Dear Gigi I really love this and I hope that you see this as a compliment but I was inspired by you to do the same with my favourite psalm, Psalm 23 Now I shall not want For the Lord is my Shepherd He comforts my soul The valley of death I do not fear, for he is near He sustains my life My enemies hate He turns to blessing, He grants Forgiveness to me I live amongst green Pastures and I long to live In His house forever Praise the Lord, for His Mercy endures forever. Reply
Gigi Ryan February 17, 2024 Dear Mia, I do take it as a compliment. I loved reading your Psalm 23 Sonku. Last year I decided to assign myself to write poems for the Psalms, just for practice. It turns that it is a spiritual exercise as well since I spend a lot of time meditating on the Psalm at hand. Note – I did use 150 for this exercise because I have nearly completed my project. Haha. It just happens to be a favorite. Gigi
Mia February 18, 2024 Thank you so much Gigi both for your wonderful sonku and very kind reply. What a great spiritual exercise, and to have done this with so many psalms. It must have been difficult to choose one to post as judging by this one I think all the others must be exceptional too. I think that psalm 23 was the first one I learned so remains a favourite but all the psalms are beautiful and I will keep on reading. Reply
Gigi Ryan February 19, 2024 Dear Mia, I must beg your pardon! Somehow I missed a word in my reply to you. I meant to say that I have *NOT* nearly completed my “Psalms to poems” exercise. I think this is going to take me a decade to do. 😉 Are you familiar with Psalters? Entire hymnals of Psalms to verse with meter for singing. There are several. The Scottish Psalter, The Book of Psalms for Singing, The Book of Psalms for Worship, and no doubt others that I don’t know about yet. Of course, The Psalms are poems in the first place. Have a great day! Gigi
Mia February 19, 2024 Dear Gigi, not to worry. No apology needed. I have just had to make some corrections to the sonku below. Sometimes mistakes happen. . I don’t know any of the psalms set to music although I think I may have listened to one or two in the past on YouTube. But I do try to read a few psalms regularly. I wish you all the best in all your endeavours , Mia. Reply
Alan Orsborn February 17, 2024 HEART OF THE PENINSULA Varied thrush scatters The song sparrows scratching seeds. Pine squirrel chatters. And those eyes, red beads, There where the spotted towhee Crouches in the reeds. Flickers sport showy Breast medallions, and flash red. Juncos flash snowy. Red alder branches, Where chickadees flip and swing And the nuthatches. By evening, all the birds have given wing, And crooning frogs make sunken woodlands ring. Reply
Cheryl Corey February 17, 2024 My favorite so far; but then, I’m always partial to bird poems. Nice rhymes with “showy” and “flash snowy”; “branches with “nuthatches”. Reply
Alan Orsborn February 17, 2024 Thank you so much Cheryl for the compliments. I intentionally tried to follow what I understood to be the original traditional haiku subject of some aspect of nature. I agree that bird poems are certainly delightful, their full common names are in themselves short poems. I’m also holding out for more poems about frogs, salamanders, snakes and lizards. 😉
fred schueler February 18, 2024 here’s Varied Thrush poemlet from before I understood the 5-7-5 rule for haiku – Razor-voiced Ixoreus Slices the day Like night. – 29 May 1989, Kagan Bay, Graham Is., Haida Gwaii Reply
Alan Orsborn February 18, 2024 Wow. Yes, their flute-like songs reverberating through the woods are haunting. Your poem has them transcending time, in a sense. For those who don’t know what we’re talking about, a link: https://www.bird-sounds.net/varied-thrush/
Paul A. Freeman February 17, 2024 SONKU TO FREE THOUGHT I sit on a wall, thinking, making up my mind; below me they call urging me to find substance, logic, in their views, to join at the hip either reds or blues, let my liberty slip when I should be free to take or leave it, to agree or disagree. So here I shall sit. The purpose of a wall is to divide and from both sides a fuller picture hide. Reply
Mia February 17, 2024 This is very good and very well written. So the following is not a criticism , just adding to free thought.. For some reason, as soon as I read it I thought of the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty which up until now I thought of as a nonsensical nursery rhyme. But your sonku has made me see it in a different light. Thanks for that. Now I can’t understand why I did not see it before. That’s why we all love SCP. Reply
Mia February 17, 2024 Barren Ground Scanning vacancies A pile of dusty letters Tedious morning Midday sun blazing A hungry stomach growling A threadbare cupboard Dripping with syrup Sticky hands smudge white pages Afternoon napping Haunting lucid dreams Of forbidden juicy fruit Longing for summer Sleepily, spring slips away Thirsty, tender shoots search for succour. Reply
Mia February 19, 2024 just a couple of changes, don’t suppose they will make much of a difference anyway but it is better to do and learn than not do at all. but you might not agree, but thank you for your patience. Barren Spring Scanning vacancies A pile of dusty letters Tedious morning Midday sun blazing A hungry stomach growling A threadbare cupboard Dripping with syrup Sticky hands smudge white pages Afternoon napping Haunting lucid dreams Of forbidden juicy fruit Longing for summer Sleepily, spring slips away Tender shoots search for succour. Reply
Angel L. Villanueva February 17, 2024 Flooded rivers rise Rippling surface water roils Waiting is the sea Trees are downed as spoils Sediment follows below Estuaries fed Fish obey its flow Birds in wait begin to feed Life begins anew Water steam is freed Clouds return to wet the land Rivers gorge and flood And so have flowed the years of humankind When life begins anew, as it’s designed Reply
Patrick Murtha February 17, 2024 “Haiku!” Don’t spread germs! So “Gesundheit,” I replied, Taking foreign terms For an English sneeze. Students snicker. Think me snide. Not intending tease. “Sonku!” you grumble. “Yeap.”—You’re welcome, I implied. Another fumble. “Sonnet-like haiku!”— So Basho and Bill collide.— “So you said sonku?” A fourteen-lined haiku? Is that the fuss? Multiculti words nonplus. Reply
ABB February 19, 2024 I think this is my fave so far—hilarious way of using the form to poke fun. Like the ‘Basho and Bill’ phrase especially. Reply
Patrick Murtha February 19, 2024 ABB, thank you. It was fun, and meant in good humor. It was also harder than I thought it was going to be.
Stuart Jay Silverman February 18, 2024 leaves fight the noon heat a clover petal looks up something in the grass sounds of rain repeat the sounds of rain yesterday had given a pass the dog worries meat even the crows do not touch what will it excrete? dusk welcomes the sheet lighting to be expected the sky looking beat darkness wakes up, as expected a touch later than yesterday Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson February 18, 2024 IN MY FIELDS OF SNOW In my fields of snow Luminescent afterglow When the moon is low. Tracks made by a bunny That look like liquid honey. Night scenes are funny. Big bird on the prowl. Perhaps it is a night owl. Not a friendly fowl. Flying without fear, Since the nighttime air is clear. No sound can I hear. Soaring by the creek Alas I hear a loud shriek. Talons and a beak. Some seek sweet serenity in a snowy scene. Others opportunities senses contravene. Reply
Mia February 20, 2024 Golden leaves tremble, Turn crimson as icy gale Whispers of freedom. The song of the free So soon detached from the tree It knows it must sing. A leaf on its own Wrenched from its life giving hold Flotsam and jetsam. The song of the leaf Drifts to the tune of the wind Poignant and lilting, A song well sang, it succumbs To the hum of the rooted tree. Reply
E Kraft February 22, 2024 Smelly Dog Mud clings to his fur, Fragrance filled with earthy musk, My dog wears with pride. Yet love still endures, Though odor follows his stride, Forever my friend. Reply
Linda Marie Hilton February 22, 2024 A Groundhog’s View winter is still here full of lovely snow so sheer birds eat at feeders. snow reflects sunlight moon adds its glow: earth stays cold deer eat the tree bark. flora sleeps away during the year’s shortest days mammals gestate young. tilting more the earth shifts seasons tween north and south snowdrops do delight. so winter will release its hold for spring will be a’ cumin’ in. Reply
Carolyn Mack February 23, 2024 Of Zahori To fondle warmly like many another day I call you sweetly so light to the touch back from the field of sweet grass, dandelions blown. Such as you, small, soft, smooth then fall onto the duff couch. Those mirrors of the azabache stone dark as your eyes, Zahori yours and yours alone Like magical black onyx, at night the mythic Strix. Reply
ABB February 24, 2024 Thanks to Paul for issuing this challenge, to Evan for sponsoring, and to everyone participating and submitting their excellent pieces. It is heartening when one’s creative projects find resonance with others. Reply
kathy bahr February 24, 2024 Dip down hanging last Heavy tones left alone An hour fell to pass Don’t know where they are. undertones moaned in the past. Stars know where they are. Rain falls, the night calls. Splayed to the earth, undertones. Stars lost in the vast. Rain thousand moon blast, heavy heartbeat lulling fast, darkening tone blast. Brought lulling thousand miles just ahead, where dreams and memories are spread. Reply
Erin B March 1, 2024 Three Weeks in Summer Oma’s omelets left For my mother’s waking. Salt and pepper, deft. Legs of a poor sort, Shakier now. The postman Meets us at the porch. She’s walking softly. Plink. Pass–before he sees. At Opa’s plate his coffee. “The dinner–real nice!” Said distinct for dulling ears. Compliments said twice. Sunday sees me sitting. The priest telling tales– Yes Father. I know. Love never fails. Reply
ROYAL W RHODES March 1, 2024 Art is as strong as death Spring arrived once more orchids love such paradise like Eden’s days of yore. Snow returned just twice interrupting as you paint flowers free from ice. Brush strokes were left faint, outlines like the melted stone of a garden saint. Now our flesh and bone model how you can derive loveliness alone. Friends you paint remain alive. Art we see makes them revive. Reply
leo March 2, 2024 [may showers] gentle night in may the summer showers lighten, zinnia in sway if the moonlight danced like a ripple across skies with you, i’m entranced light drizzle, loose soil may breaks the ground and the sky we plant figs, we toil few years down the line i wish to see your fingers fig-red in a shine more mays, figs and summer-end may we stay together, friend! Reply
Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 I’ll post four Sonku separately, each created from a previously published sonnet. The Politely Politic Bard or How to Respond to the Demand in the Doug Savage Chicken Cartoon: “Write me a sonnet or I’ll blow your damn head off.” I prefer to keep a sonnet in my bonnet, awake or asleep. You might wonder why. I have a ready answer, so here’s my reply. Should villains demand an instant sonnet from me, I’ll have one on hand. My life or my verse. Which one would I rather lose? It could be much worse. Yet etiquette demands its ease— I’ll ask politely, “Please, say ‘Please.’” Reply
Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 The new, improved volta: Yet etiquette demands ease— I’ll ask politely, “Say ‘Please.’” Reply
Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 The second of four Sonku based on a previously published sonnet. Understanding Ampersanding Often in demand, just what is the “&”? Is it out of hand? Used instead of “and,” an accident poorly planned? Should its use be banned? It’s an “and” that’s canned, yet some desire to command the ampersand brand. More readily scanned, it’s my preference to expand, to help understand. And yet, its placement, like a cat, may be stealthily where it’s @. Reply
Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 I noticed a typo in the last line, where “stealthily” should be “stealthy.” However, an improved couplet would be: And yet, when placed like a cat, may be stealthy where it’s at. Reply
Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 The third of four Sonku based on previously published Sonnets. Bardleby Sonnetry A sonnet askew— meter, form, and rhyme subprime? I’d prefer not to! Flow and rhythm scarred, slant rhyme tread by broken feet bring tears to a bard. Stanza counts flaunted, Iambic pentameter grievously taunted. Call it what you will, but calling Hades Heaven only brings a chill. The fault is not cured by the name. A thorn and rose are not the same. Reply
Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 Six hours later, I changed the volta: These faults aren’t cured by its name. Thorns and roses aren’t the same. Reply
Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 The fourth of four Sonku based on previously published Sonnets. Verbena by Any Other Scent Would Smell as Sweet (from Guy de Maupassant’s story “A Bad Error”) Her maid fully clothed, though in her mistress’s gown, serving my betrothed, I gently crept in, stealthily and unannounced, conscious of my sin. Standing near the bed I approached with due care where angels fear to tread. Lifting skirts to plant a gentle kiss—surprised by ravings of a rant! Instead of verbena, my betrothed’s perfume filled the room where my fate met its doom. Reply
Ken Gosse March 3, 2024 Aha! An improved volta: Not verbena, the perfume of my betrothed sealed my doom. Reply
Vince Gotera March 15, 2024 I actually invented the terza rima haiku sonnet around 1978. Here’s one I wrote in 2013 (published 2015 in the Philippines, so available in the US). “After Dashing Home Through a Rainshower Thirty Years Ago” —a terza rima haiku sonnet Rainy light filtered through those gauzy, sheer curtains. Kath, when you entered the bedroom, wearing only rainwater sheen, I fell in love again. Such a cliché, my bookish mind says, but it’s true. You slipped me a shy glance with those green-blue eyes, slid into bed with me. In rain-streaked light, you closed my eyes, kissed each one. We live there still . . . fragile memory. https://vincegotera.blogspot.com/2013/04/day-15-napowrimo-poem-day-2013.html Reply
Vince Gotera March 15, 2024 By the way, the poet Tom Hunley has also been writing haiku sonnets since about 2002. Reply
Vince Gotera March 15, 2024 “Remembering You Laying Out on the Eigenmann Dorm Roof” . —terza rima haiku sonnet Hello bikini. I’m ashamed to say that’s all I recall: teeny knit, jade, halter style. Jade green so aflame your eyes would match. And freckle galaxy! — that was your body. I admired you but couldn’t say — hush. So slim I called you, like it was fifth grade again, chicken legs. But you know, I loved your legs, so tan. All of you sun-drenched, golden. Reply
Vince Gotera March 15, 2024 Oops. That one’s also published, in 2018. I’ll have to write a new one. Reply
Jennifer March 25, 2024 Sonku-When Winter Offends Spring You are a mean one A cold-hearted icy guy Just go home winter Time to hit the road It’s another season’s show Spring wants her abode She’s fierce in her way So, don’t tempt her by staying Wise to fly away Spring isn’t as tame As many suppose, it’s true But she’s not to blame Winter offered doom But Spring really doesn’t care She’s burst into bloom Do the seasons show up regularly? Of course, we know it’s true. Every season has its position with colors of different hues. Reply
Vince Gotera March 26, 2024 Jennifer: interesting that you added another haiku stanza so that the lines add up to 17 lines rather than the usual 14 for a sonnet. A bit like the stretched sonnet, which has 16 lines. Reply
Kathy Bahr March 28, 2024 White Sea Fallen like Symphony Invite play Unannounced Frantic rain Scattered sun Misty stars Falling stars Disquiet. Reply
Ruddy Gordon April 16, 2024 Yesterday The morning sun bright Like a light in the dark sky Turns the sky dark blue And in the midday You can feel the summer haze Floating through the day And when that night strikes You are eased into the still State where your brain plays And in that morning You wake and have forgotten What you had to say Of the trials and tribulations That you faced yesterday Reply
