The End

Today I've done what I'd set out to do:
I've written a sonnet each day this year
I'm kind of surprised that I made it through
and I look backward as the end draws near

This year has brought hardships I've overcome
as well as hilarious anecdotes
I compare what was to what I've become
I'm proud of course, but I don't mean to gloat

This year has brought pain, but also love;
reminders of death, but also new life,
some friendships that seem to fit like a glove,
and others that seem to bring only strife

This year has been better than those before
I can't wait for what next year has in store!

Landmark Decision

As two thousand thirteen draws to a close
I meet a decision that I must face
as larger my sonnet collection grows
is there a time that I should slow my pace?

My goal was to write each day for a year
and I must say it's been a success
but now that the new year is almost here
shall I continue my sonnet progress?

I must admit writing has been great fun
but oft it has taken much of my time
I hate to think that I am really done...
Maybe I can just write less frequent rhymes?

Tomorrow is the last day I must write
the question is: will it be my last night?

Shakespeare Sunday: Sonnet Nine

Why do you try to live life all alone?
You've taken no wife and fathered no sons
Do you worry they'll miss you when you're gone?
But the world will cry for you when you're done!

The whole world will be left behind to mourn
Without some reminder of who you were
For at least a widow's child takes the form
of the late husband no longer with her.

Sure you may enjoy your life in this world
and make no impact on those in your life
but if none of your beauty is transferred
you will have destroyed a resource so rife

There truly is no love within your heart
if with this beauty you readily part

Original:
Is it for fear to wet a widow's eye
That thou consumest thyself in single life?
Ah! if thou issueless shalt hap to die,
The world will wail thee, like a makeless wife;
The world will be thy widow and still weep
That thou no form of thee hast left behind,
When every private widow well may keep
By children's eyes her husband's shape in mind.
Look what an unthrift in the world doth spend
Shifts but his place, for still the world enjoys it;
But beauty's waste hath in the world an end,
And kept unused, the user so destroys it.
     No love toward others in that bosom sits
     That on himself such murderous shame commits.

Tuffet Revisited

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet--

Wait what is a tuffet anyway??

Only a seat for Little Miss Muffet,

or do others sit to eat curds and whey?

And then what of the spider beside her?

Why was she so quick to run away?

Maybe he was a really nice spider

who wanted to ask Miss Muffet to play

Finally, what did she do with the whey?

Did she throw them and the curds out when she ran?

Just throwing perfectly good food away?

Now of Miss Muffet I grow less a fan

We've only heard her side of the story

Maybe Miss Muffet was seeking glory

Hero

Lurking in the dark shadows he is there
watching out for any sign of trouble
Will it be dangerous? He doesn't care!
He's ready to step in on the double

My hero is always there to save me

From my stress and sadness or loneliness

Whatever my difficulty may be

He can fix anything with just a kiss 

What did I do to deserve this hero?
The answer is absolutely nothing 

He reassures me I'm more than zero 

And says things that are truly touching

I suppose I'll just give him all I can

That's why he holds my heart in his hand 

Christmas On

This Christmas was great, spent with family
eating, then laughing, then eating some more
between all was wonderful amity
and not a single second was a bore

First with my parents was a Christmas brunch
we ate waffles then opened our presents
we shook each gift and sometimes had a hunch
that we might know something of its contents

After we went over to Grandma's house
there steak for dinner was sure to please all
even shoving cardboard into our mouths
all of the participants had a ball

When I got home, I did not need count sheep
as it took me no time to fall asleep

Christmas Off

I woke up early on Christmas morning
and I went over to my parents' house
soon it did seem that time was soaring
and I noticed my sonnet time was out

I guess I just took the holiday off
don't we all deserve a day to relax?
for time is something that cannot be bought
and some more time is all that I can ask

So dear readers, please forgive my great sin
I hope you did not sit waiting at home
waiting for a new sonnet to begin
I'll write an extra sonnet to atone

I do promise that I will do my best
to warn ahead next time I need some rest...

The Night Before Boxing Day Eve

It was the night before Boxing Day eve

And there was excitement all through the house

Holiday spirit hung from ev'ry eave

All creatures were stirring-even a mouse 

There were oh so many things to get done 

And last minute details to attend to

No one was ready for holiday fun

They needed some more time-- now was too soon 

So into their vehicles they all piled

To the store for last minute merriment 

They stood in a line which stretched on for miles

Then rushed home for their Christmas excitement 

At last they were home and ready to rest!

But now it was time to begin their fest

Chaotic Zoo

Today I didn't have to go to work
but I figured that ev'ryone else would
maybe the stores wouldn't be so berserk
all others would be at work as they should

I drove up to Walmart... boy was I wrong
the parking lot was a chaotic zoo
I hoped that the lines would not be too long
as I became part of the chaos too

I filled my cart and pushed it to the front
and I soon started to regret my choice
I rolled my eyes and let out a small grunt
glad that I wasn't trying to buy toys

After twenty minutes I was checked out
wishing I'd listened to my early doubts

Shakespeare Sunday: Sonnet Eight

Why do you tear up at life's symphony?
and love only that which seeks to hurt you?
Beautiful music should yield more beauty
not a delight in emotions so blue

When you hear sweet harmonies ringing out
Is their great unison so hard to hear?
Do they make you want to give a great shout
to get this nuisance away from your ear?

Listen to each note ringing through the air
and how they each dance with one another
a happy parent and child are each pair
each chord a singing sister and brother

You may sing out your note the whole day long,
but without others it will make no song


Original:
Music to hear, why hear'st thou music sadly?
Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy.
Why lovest thou that which thou receivest not gladly,
Or else receivest with pleasure thine annoy?
 If the true concord of well-tuned sounds,
 By unions married, do offend thine ear,
They do but sweetly chide thee, who confounds
In singleness the parts that thou shouldst bear.
 Mark how one string, sweet husband to another,
Strikes each in each by mutual ordering,
Resembling sire and child and happy mother
Who all in one, one pleasing note do sing:
     Whose speechless song, being many, seeming one,
     Sings this to thee: 'thou single wilt prove none.'

Time Flies

I look to the calendar and the date
and I can't believe what's before my eyes
Oh how could it already be so late?
... I guess I really shouldn't be surprised

Each year has three hundred sixty five days
although a few DO have three sixty six
the speed of this time does always amaze
and I fear that there'll never be a fix

I will wake up on January first
After a blink it will be September
all of the times fly, the best and the worst
and somehow it's already December

Yet as the time flies, life does settle in
and for the first time, I feel I might win

Extravaganza

Tonight is a night that I've waited for
I'm so excited for the things to come
we did this last year and the year before,
and as always I know it will be fun!

The cookie baking extravaganza!
Our annual party of food and fun
In life's song its a favorite stanza
we'll laugh and eat cookies till the night's done

And when all of the cookies are eaten,
we'll watch Christmas movies and sit and talk
Sharing our lives and the season's greetings
then maybe later we'll go for a walk

I don't know exactly what we will do
but life's better with good friends around you

Break Time

Tomorrow I'll wake up and drive to work
it'll be mostly the same as always
but around the corner something new lurks
I won't see the students for many days

It is the last day before Christmas break
we'll have two weeks off before we return
No longer at 5 AM must I wake
(though I don't think I can sleep past the sun)

Yes! 8 hours of class are all that remain
between me and some deep relaxation
right as I thought that I might go insane
the time's come for a mental vacation

I'd fear I'm too excited to sleep,
but I know I'll nod off without a peep

Graduation Day

In full regalia he walked down the row
happy that this day was finally here
He looked up and scanned the crowd from below
smiling as he found his loved ones so dear

He grinned up at me as he found my face
I grinned right back as he mouthed "I love you"
it felt like between us there was no space
as I mouthed back the words "I love you too"

Then they called his name and he crossed the stage
My love graduated; I am so proud!
I showed him his name on the program page
It seemed like just us; vanished was the crowd.

Today was amazing: bright, never grim
but that is what all days are like with him

Stop Watch

"Ms. Curtis, can I go to the bathroom?"
is a question that I hear quite often
yet I know that they never come back soon
a ten minute break or so is common

So one day with me, I brought a stop watch
so I could time how long the kids were gone
but today we kicked the watch up a notch
as I won this battle with brains not brawn

The first kid I timed just as usual
but I shared with the class his sprint like pace
and though it may be a bit juvenile,
each trip to the bathroom became a race

And while this activity was quite fun
all the long bathroom breaks were also done!

Escape Plan

Tonight I went to go see Escape Plan
it definitely was an action film
Sylvester Stallone is the leading man
but the plot is kind of out on a limb

Sylvester Stallone is stuck in prison
and there he meets Arnold Schwarzenegger
The pair quickly sets out on a mission
to escape regardless of the effort

But then Stallone MacGyvers a sextant
out of stuff he finds on the prison-boat
I knew the plot was no longer extant
really... does the writer know what he wrote??

So when everything is said and done,
this movie should be called "Old Men with Guns"

Shakespeare Sunday: Sonnet Seven

Each morning the sun rises in the East
and slowly goes where all below can see
they rise with respect for this firy beast
as out from the darkness they are now freed

After the sun has climbed high in the sky
it looks as bright as it did in the morn
all those below still do watch as he flies
watching with awe each time he is reborn

But all days at some time must come to end
as the sun sets below the horizon
and so from the sun, watcher's gaze does bend
in the direction of another one

And so as you set and fade into night
you must leave an heir to carry your light

Original:
Lo, in the Orient when the gracious light
Lifts up his burning head, each under eye
Doth homage to his new-appearing sight,
Serving with looks his sacred majesty;
And having climbed the steep-up heavenly hill,
Resembling strong youth in his middle age,
Yet mortal looks adore his beauty still,
Attending on his golden pilgrimage;
But when from highmost pitch, with weary car,
Like feeble age he reeleth from the day,
The eyes, 'fore duteous, now converted are
From his low tract and look another way:
     So thou, thyself outgoing in thy noon,
     Unlooked on and diest unless thou get a son.

Progressive

Tonight was once more babysitting night

I arrived at the house at six o'clock

While I knew that it all be all right

Strange circumstances were soon at the dock

Tonight there was a progressive dinner 

And the parents would be just down the street

And while this plan would be quite a winner

Others would soon be at the house to greet 

As I put down their child to sleep at 8

Many voices started to fill the air

So I slipped off to a bedroom to wait

Until the guests had all left from downstairs

They said I could join them, but I declined

For these were friends of the parents, not mine

DONE

Now it's official: I'm done with grad school
I have now finally graduated
and now I am sure that I'm really cool
my confidence has been reinstated

I've been in school for the past eighteen years
but now I am a student no longer
I have no clue what I'm doing I fear
but each day my sureness does get stronger

One day I know I'll know what I'm doing
Alas! that day has not quite arrived yet
Am I a pot of pure genius stewing?
or just a pot of pure unfiltered mess?

I know there's only one way to find out
... but I admit I do not have much doubt

Laundry Mountain Revisited

I felt like I was on top of the world
I would get so much laundry done today!
but soon all the folded up clothes unfurled
and I saw this great task now in my way

I climb laundry mountain and sort the pile
and I carry each load to the washer
I forget that the machine takes a while
and I start to sweat under the pressure

So many clothes and yet so little time
I'll be up all night if I wash them all!
I sit and wait for the alarm to chime
a hopeless victim of this laundry brawl

But alas defeated I do collapse
maybe tomorrow I'll finish at last...

In the Garden of Olives

I was meeting a friend for dinner
and she told me that I should make the choice
I thought no one would come out a winner
and I would have no opinion to voice

"How does Olive Garden sound?" I asked her
"That sounds quite delicious" she did reply
I was very glad to hear her concur
and I waited as time slowly ticked by

Finally the time came for us to meet
and soon we had breadsticks in front of us
quickly we started to scarf down and eat
I felt like my belt was about to bust

Just when I thought "that's enough for today"
The waiter came out holding my entree

Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater

It would just be oh so easy to cheat

and would anybody even notice?

just a few simple clicks made from my seat

and it looks like I have met my quota

Is there anyone paying attention?

will cheating really hurt anybody?

will a single soul bother to mention

actions that are so lowdown and shoddy?

Yet I will take notice of this of course

and deep in my heart I know it is wrong

at my conscience eats away great remorse

and a cold bitterness infects my song

Alas! Though the effort may not be light

I know that truly I must do what's right.

Master Curtis

Every paper has been written
each and every form has been turned in
all my assignments have been submitted
Wait... didn't graduate school just begin??

All that's left is my graduation day
but other than that, I have finished school.
Now graduation's just 4 days away
I find this last bit of waiting cruel!

"Master Curtis" will soon be my title...
I think I'll make my students call me that!
C'mon... I mean... their respect is vital
and "Master" is just a great thing to add...

I can't stop thinking as I lay in bed
about this brand new road that lies ahead...

Shakespeare Sunday: Sonnet Six

Therefore do not let yourself be weathered

From prime to shriveled shell of yourself

Rather you should let yourself be tethered 

Don't leave your potential dead on a shelf

To charge great interest would seem unfair,

But many women gladly pay this fee

As they gladly another you would bear

Or perhaps even ten-- wait and see 

Yes! As happy as you are, think of ten!

Oh ten whole times happier that should be

Yes, you will still die, but what then?

Just imagine how great a legacy!

Don't be greedy and try beauty to save,

Or your sole legacy will be your grave.

Original:

Then let not winter's ragged hand deface

In thee thy summer, ere thou be distill'd

Make sweet some vial; treasure thou some place

With beauty's treasure, ere it be self-kill'd.

That use is not forbidden usury,

Which happies those that pay the willing loan;

That's for thyself to breed another thee,

Or ten times happier, be it ten for one;

Ten times thyself were happier than thou art,

If ten of thine ten times refigured thee:

Then what could death do, if thou shouldst depart,

Leaving thee living in Posterity?

     Be not self will'd, for thou art much too fair,

     To be death's conquest and make worms thine heir

Just Dance

I had ordered Just Dance a week ago
but alas! I was not home to play it
finally I've moved back into my home
and to not play would be to betray it!

I turned on my Wii and put the disc in
soon I had many choices before me
so I chose to take "World Stage" for a spin
(it was far more fun than I did foresee)

For each song I was told to choose a team
and the teams did compete for the most stars
then soon with a sweat I did start to gleam
as I danced my best through all the song's bars

Soon I saw it had been an hour
and that I needed to take a shower...

One More Night

My room has been sprayed and it is all clear
now I can return home at any time
of bed bugs I no longer live in fear
over are their short lives of itchy crime

I guess I can leave my grandmother's house
since my own is no longer quarantined
no longer will I be with free food doused
and no longer live in a house so clean

Well... I guess I can stay for one more night
to wait for the spray to settle and such
I will slip away with the morning light
oh but until then my life with be lush

While I can't wait to see my bed again
I will kind of miss this new home domain

Inconspicuous

Late I got an email from UPS
saying a package for me had arrived
I read more and soon I became distressed
as I saw they'd left the package outside

Alas! I was sleeping at grandma's house
the package would have to wait until dawn
so in the morning, early I did rouse
so I could get the package from my lawn

I got there and saw that the box so small
was placed between the front door and screen door
yet doormat was propped up agains the wall
as if to say "something is here for sure!!"

I don't know what UPS was thinking
I can only guess they had been drinking...

Last Day

Tomorrow's the last day I student teach
I can't believe it's already over
It seemed so far away and out of reach
but now it has passed; it's time for closure

I don't really know how I'll say goodbye
I just can't believe that it's time to go
I've touched my students' lives and they've touched mine
and that means more than they could ever know

There is a silver lining in all this
See... I'm not really going anywhere
So I guess there's really not much to miss
for they'll go next door, and I will be there

I will be working within the same school
and I have to say... that will be so cool!

Fountain of Words

My pen is a fountain flowing with ink
like water, words bubble up from within
onto the page spill the thoughts that I think
a river flows with each tale that I spin

I remove the cap; life water spills forth
cascading across this great empty page
then as the words fill it, the page gains worth
and soon more of these dancers fill the stage

Silent ideas are soon forgotten
cursed to fade away without a record
but there to preserve them is the great pen
it seeks to let no dream become deferred

So let this great fountain spell out great thoughts
it lends satisfaction that can't be bought

Ghost Bugs

I sit in a chair and feel something crawl
even though I know there is nothing there
I see a ghost movement upon the wall
I feel a small tickle under my hair

"I'm covered in bugs" I think to myself
and soon my entire body starts to itch
I closely inspect to search for a welt,
and soon I'm not wearing a single stitch

I soon confirm what I've known all along
that I have left all the bugs back at home
but still a small part of me thinks I'm wrong
and thinks I'm cursed fore'er with them to roam

I keep looking for something I don't see
but not seeing it doesn't comfort me

Shakespeare Sunday: Sonnet Five

So far along time has been good to you
it has brought a soft glow upon your face
but time that matures does age us too
what began as a stroll becomes a race.

For once you did beg for more time to pass
yet the same time soon takes a speedy gait;
the seasons begin to change far to fast
and all signs of beauty soon fade away

When a beautiful flower has been drained
and its sweet essence has been stored away
none of that flower's beauty remains
not even memory sees light of day

Human and flower may both beauty lose
but even after this do both have use

Original:

Those hours, that with gentle work did frame
The lovely gaze where every eye doth dwell,
Will play the tyrants to the very same
And that unfair which fairly doth excel;
For never-resting time leads summer on
To hideous winter, and confounds him there;
Sap checked with frost, and lusty leaves quite gone,
Beauty o'er-snowed and bareness every where:
Then were not summer's distillation left,
A liquid prisoner pent in walls of glass,
Beauty's effect with beauty were bereft,
Nor it, nor no remembrance what it was:
   But flowers distilled, though they with winter meet,
   Leese but their show; their substance still lives sweet.

Guest Sonnet: Kairos

When I’ve become a corpse in the ground

skin all filled with holes and rotting,

centipedes will scuttle in and out

of the lump of flesh once called my body

My lungs will stutter and my heart

will seize, my limbs will all go still

my flesh will grow icy and hard

my face hollow and pale

You should touch me while I’m still full

of life, grasp my shoulders while I’m still warm

bite my neck while it still has a pulse

explore cavities uninfested with worms

distract me from mortal pains and fears

we could have minutes, we could have years