October 2021
Bio Note: I’ve been writing poetry for an alarmingly long time, and ordinarily there’s practically nothing I’d rather be doing. But every once in a while a recalcitrant poem tries to trip me up— an annoying situation that I’ve attempted to elaborate upon in the sonnet below. (Ironically—considering the subject-matter—this poem was selected as a Laureate’s Choice in the 2021 Maria Faust Sonnet Contest.)
Block That Trope
They used to flow so easily— the poems,
the syllables—like seed-pearls slipping down
a strand of disconnected chromosomes
for some unwritten sonnet. Every noun
would quickly find the quintessential verb
to lean against, quatrains would ebb and flow,
and nothing whatsoever would disturb
the equilibrium. Off they’d go
into that lyric wild blue yonder,
picking up some adjectives as needed,
working hard in tandem toward the wonder
of it all, sublimely unimpeded.
But nowadays—like pigeons on the wing—
disorder comes, and wrecks the whole damn thing.
©2021 Marilyn Taylor
Editor's Note: If this poem(s) moves you please consider writing to the
author (email address above) to tell her or him. You might say what it is about the poem that moves you. Writing to the author is what builds the community at Verse Virtual.
It is very important. -JL