In the Face of Fear

It can take so little to change so much
with a few words the course of your life veers
you'll begin to wonder about each touch
and what you've done wrong for the past few years

Bad news can set such a good path askew
it can make you question your best laid plans
you may think that you need to start anew
you make think that your life has left no chance

Yet really has anything at all changed?
you are the same as you were yesterday
the change is that your struggles have been named
it's been there all along hidden away.

You've looked in its face now that's why you fear
the terror you've already fought for years

Guest Sonnets

I am interested in guest sonnets
If you'd like to be part of this project
leave your email address as a comment
I'll write you back quickly on the subject.

You may write about anything you want
I will make no restrictions for this task
I also assure you this is no taunt
I will accept anyone who would ask.

My only rule is that you do your best
to follow the correct sonnet rhyme scheme
Iambic pentameter will impress
but a requirement would be extreme.

I hope that someone will respond to this
and that I have not judged my readers amiss!

(And yes, this is a serious call for guest sonnets!)

Love

Today I ponder the concept of love
and in what love's true opposite lies.
Some say hate is the opposite thereof
while some it as apathy would define.

If true love really centers a person
and that person's life around another
how could anyone ever be certain
that they've truly forgotten their lover?

Therefore can apathy truly exist
between people who have loved each other?
Try as we might it is hard to resist
any interest about one another.

If any love was truly there ever,
true apathy or hate can be never.

Smart Phone infection

We now live in a world so connected
everyone is a call or text away
in a way we are almost infected
by the gadgets that we turn to each day

If every you have tried to pull away
you've probably noticed how hard it is
to go without these things for just a day
Why is it so difficult to do this?

Perhaps it is because we have not been
in a world unconnected for so long
So we just accept and let the earth spin
and we pretend that there is nothing wrong

Our future bears an iPhone atop it
Is there anything left that could stop it?

Suburban Threat

In the deep darkness of suburban streets
there lingers a threat that remains unknown
people don't know of this terror they greet
whenever they venture outside alone

The threat is a terrible loneliness
that grows greater with each day and each night
these people think that they would be remiss
if they were to call out and share their fright

what the people of the suburbs don't know
is of all the others sharing their plight
so they live with this feeling and let go
of any chance of living in the light

What is the sad irony of this all
they have done this to themselves with their walls

Winter Horrorland

The weather is getting quite chilly here

Or at least compared to what we're used to

There are rumros of storms that soon draw near
If it snows nobody knows what to do

I've been stuck in my house most of the day
Ever since I got home from work at one
The sky outside was so hostile and grey
It has been a whole day without the sun

I would like so much for the ice to melt
for the sun to come out and make things warm
I admit for today that I have felt
a little bit out of my normal form

Tomorrow I hope that the roads will thaw
Working like this should be against the law

Fred

There was a magical pony named Fred.
He had long luscious locks of blond hair.
He would brush it as he laid in his bed.
He got some of his best thinking done there.

One day Fred set out on a long journey,
to lands far away and places untold
But soon enough he found himself learning
That beautiful ponies are often sold

Though he had no master and no owner,
Many claimed to be due payment for Fred.
And soon, Fred found himself quite the loner.
He feared he would be alone till the end.

Finally Fred met a friendly raven
and they ran away to find safe haven.

Nonsensonnet!

I'm writing a sonnet that makes no sense

Dolphins like to sleep on top of their cars

Cantaloupe seeds are varyingly dense

I've never seen a horse smoke a cigar.

Archeologists love to play hockey

The sky can't see where he is going now

My left sock looks a little too cocky

Hey! Look at that fish! He's eating a cow!

A spoon is a spoon only if it spoons

Cheese Nips will always try to brush their teeth

Yo momma so fat that she has two moons

coconuts won't fit in a floral wreath

The monkey was hungry, and so it died

I would like some fish that is not deep fried

Bunny Boo Boo

I so should have named her Bunny Boo Boo
I mean my dear rabbit muffins of course.
I do not mean that muffins is not cute
In fact I think her name could be much worse

Lady Grenadine she was when we met
I knew from the start, that name had to change
And I do love the name muffins-- but yet!
I feel that I've missed the opportune range.

But I wonder: would that still be funny?
Next year will anyone even still care?
In a year I'd be stuck with a bunny
Whose name I would regret; That is my fear.

I now think I'm happy with Muffins' name
She is perfect and she should stay the same.

Barbie's New Boyfriend

I saw a man driving aggressively
A Volkswagen Beetle was what he drove
His little car looked so adorably
As through lanes of heavy traffic he wove

I thought it a little bit odd to see
the car that Barbie drives driving like this
then I had a thought that occurred to me
Is this sense of urgency really his?

Maybe this guy is Barbie's new boyfriend?
Maybe that's why he is driving her car?
Maybe she sent him out to run errands?
And if he is late he knows that they'll spar!

On pondering this, I think it likely
he simply was not driving politely

Forced Silence

It seems that I have misplaced my dear voice
I find myself quite unable to talk
I'll open my mouth to make any noise
but all that will come out is a small squawk

I don't feel sick, but I sound like I am
I'm glad that I don't have to go to work
I can stay alone silent as a clam
No one will think that I'm being a jerk

I don't know what I have done to deserve
the loss of my voice and option to speak
I guess yesterday I should have conserved
what voice I had left but my will was weak

All I can hope is that when I have class
My voice will return so that I can pass

The Mexican Food Dilemma

Mexican food is so tasty and cheap
It's too easy to order too much food
You can wolf it all down with out a peep
But after that things will not be so good

In just a short time you will start to feel
the slightest bubble from deep within you
You'll be thinking that you had a great meal
as your stomach contents begin to stew

A while later you'll hope you're alone
as you now make flatulent emissions
you will make your room your own stinky zone
you will foster non-humane conditions

and though you will greatly regret this sin
it is certain that you'll do it again

Note: After writing this I'm not sure if anyone has written a sonnet about farts before. Even if I'm the first, I'm not convinced I should be proud of that accomplishment.

Wet Shoes

Today it is raining and moist outside
I wish that I would have worn other shoes
I stepped in a puddle only to find
that one of my soles has become worn through

I found that my foot had become quite wet
and with the chilly wind it was so cold
I just wanted to take my shoes off yet
I was now at work! Would I be so bold?

I stepped in the room with a squishing sound
I started to lose feeling in my toes
Surely not one of these children around
would really care if my feet were exposed.

And so, I just did it; I took them off.
My feet were freed from that soaking wet cloth.

What's Up?

You ask "what's up" you really want to know?
I'm sitting on a couch watching TV
The weatherman is saying it might snow
great! now there won't be eggs left in Raleigh...

I could tell you that I'm brushing my teeth
or reading a book that will make me cry
I could be meeting a new guy named Leith
And then maybe... oh wait that's TMI

I'm writing a sonnet what did you think?
That I would be going out to a club?
Or maybe I'm mixing up a new drink
Who knows? maybe I am making a sub?

Oh? All you wanted to hear was "Not much?"
Then why did you ask me "what's up" as such?

Put a Sonnet on... a Sonnet

How can you put a sonnet upon it?
Does that really mean anything at all?
don't get me wrong-- I like writing sonnets
Even this blog so far has been a ball

But in this context what does upon mean?
am I literally writing on top?
Or maybe I'm just writing in between?
Or could I buy one from the sonnet shop?

Maybe "upon" just tells us the subject?
I've written about so many strange things,
but in this sonnet here the clear object:
determining what my sonnets will bring.

I suppose that it could be said that this
sonnet about sonnets has gone amiss.

The Sunday Procrastinator

This morning I wrote a nice to-do list
I planned all the things that I need to do
I looked at the clock and learned I had missed
All the time in the day where did it go??

Have I spent the whole day doing nothing
but surfing the web and watching TV?
and to show for it I don't have a thing
except this messy floor surrounding me

How I meant to pick up my dirty clothes
How I meant to get ready for the week
alas, my progress was not even close
the future of my room is looking bleak

I seem to always spend my Sundays so...
Maybe next week I'll be better... Who knows?

Trust

Why is oneself so very hard to trust?
It's easy to think you've let yourself down
Today I feared I'd left things in a rush
I was certain they would never be found

Surely I'd left by blowdryer at home
I could not have remembered my towel
I thought I'd forgotten to bring a comb
Surely this shower would leave my look foul

I was surprised when I opened my bag
That all of these things were sitting inside
Not missing a thing, not even a rag
for my paranoid brain to me had lied

I must trust myself to do what I should
also trust that my results will be good

Five Hundred Fifty

I bought all my textbooks for class today
I had underestimated the cost
and for my efforts all I have to say
is five hundred fifty dollars was lost

Granted, I needed to buy fifteen books
So the price for each one was not TOO bad
and I'd hate to see my professors' looks
if not to buy them decided I had

I'm sure that these books will be helpful to me
In learning and later teaching alike
I just wish it did not have to cost me
As much as a fully loaded new bike

I know I'll get over it but for now
I look at my budget and wonder how

I'm back

I finally got a computer cord
I'm so happy my laptop can be on
I was starting to get a little bored
I was so sad when my laptop was gone

I don't sit in front of it all the time
But I missed surfing the web in my bed
and now that this whole thing is back in line
I'm happy that this is filling my head

My sonnet reserve started to run low
I had only one more day pre-written
And now that I'm back I'm not sure I know
what sort of a sonnet would be fitting

I just need to get back into this trend
and I'll start to write about life and friends

A Fish's Tale

A small yellow fish swam in a great lake
He flipped his small fins all around to move
He swam carefully without any mistake
He swam as though he had something to prove

One day, he found his way to a small creek
he started to swim away from the lake
he did not know that his future was bleak
he did not know that he'd made a mistake

For this creek was no ordinary creek
it flowed far away from his lakeside home
but after he'd swam for about a week
he found himself surrounded by strange foam

He found his way to a soap factory
and had to work there for two years or three

Annabelle

There once was a lady named Annabelle
and she lived in a great castle tower
she climbed a thousand stairs but never fell
to reach her garden and pick a flower

She loved to wear gown of yellow and red
and she oft braided her long golden hair
Each morning she rose from slumber in bed
and the whole room smiled to know she was there

But something was missing; she wanted more
To see the world and all of it's wonder
as life in the castle started to bore
she wished to be free like rolling thunder

She ran off alone and into the night
And never once did she regret her flight

I Wish You Would Read My Blog

I wish that more people would read this blog
I am putting so much work into it
Writing sonnets until I'm in a fog
but not getting a single new hit

I understand sonnets are not in style
and that people have other things to do
but please would you stay and read for a while?
I would probably do the same for you

Actually I can't blame anyone
There are plenty of better things to do
Or you could just waste time on your iPhone
That is a choice really left up to you

I've started this blog and I will not stop
until this great sonnet blog is on top

Lots of Sonnets

I'm not so sure why I signed up for this
To write a new sonnet for each new day
I thought not about how much work it is
And thought not about that it doesn't pay

I must admit I'm enjoying myself
writing out each of these daily rhyme schemes
but soon there will be much more on my shelf
and I fear that these may take more sad themes

I do enjoy rhyming and writing words
I have been happy with all that I write
The pen may be mightier than the sword
but how will I wield if I'm up all night?

I will do my best but I can't promise
That soon this blog will not become a mess

The Clown Who Was Afraid of Balloons

There once was a clown afraid of balloons
She couldn't stand waiting for them to pop
You could ask her some dance or sing some tunes
You wouldn't be able to make her stop

She wore her red nose like all good clowns did
She could juggle and ride like no other
but with the sight of a balloon she hid
and would only come out for her mother

The other clowns teased her and taunted so
"you'll never be a real clown" they would say
She would cry, haunted by each of their blows
each day she wished more she could run away

She took ten thousand of those that she feared
And flew away, no more to be scared

New Beginning

Today is the day it all starts again
I am barely awake but I made it
Waking was the hard part; I now begin
Looking head on at this day I face it

I worry the children will miss their moms
that they will not remember our faces
It is a long while that they have been gone
I suppose I would cry in their places

We will hold them and soothe them  to make calm
We'll assure them their parents are coming
We will hold tiny hands in our own palm
And certainly there will be some humming

But when they stop crying and grin at us
That grin will have been worth all of the fuss

Woe to Tomorrow

Today's the last day that I can sleep in

Tomorrow the clock tolls at six thirty

I'm happy to start to get paid again

I don't mind if I have to get dirty

I'm ready to see familiar faces

I am ready to laugh and play again

But I'm not ready for what is coming

for being ready and there at seven

I've taken a new babysitting job

Each morn I'll get the children on the bus

I fear so much that my sleep will be robbed

I wonder if it is worth all the fuss

This is the true price of not having cash
terrible jobs get a yes in a dash

Ode to Muffins

I feel I should tell you about myself
I wonder just what you would like to know
Should I share what is on my tall bookshelf?
or tell you about my favorite show?

I think I will start with my pet bunny
Small fluffy and white, Muffins is her name
I'll put in a picture so you can see
being so cute is the name of her game

She is always cute, but not always good
She likes to eat things which she shouldn't eat
I say "Muffins, those wires are not food!"
(Electric cords are her favorite treat)

Alas! Muffins ate my computer cord.
My computer is off, and I am bored.

The Graduate Student's Lament

This is my last day off from work and class
next week they will both start back up again
three weeks is a long enough break-- alas
I feel like I could use another ten

I miss my coworkers, don't get me wrong
and I miss the children I see each day
in that aspect, this break has been too long
I want so much again to laugh and play

What I do not look forward to next week
is an evil which I must face each day
its voice is alarming, its outlook bleak
and nothing I do makes it go away

I speak of none other than my alarm
it would do me pleasure to do it harm

Ladybug

I have to note that this is actually an old sonnet, I wrote it for an entomology class I took a few years ago, but I think it's worth sharing again so here it is!


A Ladybug sat up in a tall tree
And looked down at the big world below her
She wanted to fly like a buzzy bee
But how? Her mother had never shown her

"I'll teach you some other day" mother said
She promised every day since her birth
"I'll teach you to fly with your wings, bright red"
"To fly up in the air above the earth"

She stood on the edge of the branch up high
She lifted her wings and prepared to jump
This lady was surely ready to fly
She jumped and she gave her wings a great pump

Along came a car, and with a great SPLAT!
Ladybug had flown, but now she was flat

Norse Sonnet

Today is the day that we call Thursday,
but sometimes I find myself wondering
how would the Norse feel about it today?
Would they think we're mocking their thunder king?

How would they feel about The Avengers?
Are we praising or just mocking their God?
Would they follow all of Thor's adventures?
Or would they just think that the whole thing's odd?

Would they go see the movies in IMAX?
Would they catch a late show or matinee?
Would they try to sneak in their store-bought snack?
Or would they, for popcorn, ten dollars pay?

I'm thinking these thoughts and lying in bed
I don't think it matters; they are all dead.

January 2nd 2012

For some reason I'm writing a sonnet
And for some reason I'm starting a blog
I'm not so sure how long I'll stay on it
But I will try my best... Oh look a frog!

I will try to write a new post each day
In iambic pentameter I'll write,
and with each new post I will try to say
how I am or what things have come to light

I'll keep this blog up as I can
As I begin this new year of my life
to write for at least one year is my plan
but I cannot pretend there is no strife

You see, I am a graduate student
at times, other things may be more prudent