• November 2023
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Fireflies light mind-and-heart reminiscence,
nightlife aglow with wonder at Grammy
and Pop-Pop’s countryside abode — condense
dazzling amazement in solitary
sonnet? Impossible — yet let’s still try:
Chasing the lightning in one-acre yard,
catching the bright mites by crook as they fly —
place brilliant critters in punctured Ball jar
to be luminous sentries (while sleeping
in dark dreaming of stars) like radiant
angel-bards standing wordless guard — keeping
homestead safe, no chance creature accident —
oh, let these blinking beacons somehow be
Your hope-signal for me and my family •
© Bruce William Deckert 2023
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POETRY NOTES
• Sonnet Definition
This is an English aka Shakespearean sonnet — a 14-line poem with 10 syllables per line, comprised of three four-line stanzas and a closing couplet, with the following rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg
• Sports Association
This blog focuses on sports-and-faith topics, so each FAST Sonnet in Cyberspace has a sports connection. I see at least two oblique sports themes here — chasing and catching suggest sports like football and soccer and basketball that sometimes require players to chase opponents and/or a ball.
• Storyworth Transplant
The above sonnet was first shared on the Storyworth website platform — my son and daughter gave me a Father’s Day gift last year that offers an opportunity to record stories and share them with family and friends — to those who read this poem first on Storyworth: can you identify the minor revisions in the above sonnet?
• Questions + Story-Answers
Storyworth sends a question prompt weekly to inspire the storyteller — most of my story-answers have been in the form of short poems. The question that inspired the above poem: What is one of your fondest childhood memories? Catching fireflies at my grandparents’ home in the countryside of western New Jersey — yes, this memory came to mind quickly.
• Sonnet Succinctness
The sonnet is perhaps the best poem structure for the smartphone-distracted citizens of the 21st century — avoiding lengthy free verse, the sonnet offers a power-packed short-and-sweet reading experience — thanks for stopping by, and by the way: what’s your take on who Your refers to in the last line? •
A Slow Life in the FAST Lane 