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Hello September Poets,
Sing with me, Try to Remember from the Fantastiks. It's such a lovely ballad.
It is September and Molly from Nix the Comfort Zone gave this prompt to our Inklings:
I've been wanting to write a sonnet for a while. Sonnets are not fun for me to write. They take a long, long time! I draft, put away, read aloud & tinker, put away and repeat until I'm satisfied enough with words and syllable counts to call a sonnet finished. But, it's a great exercise of the brain. A sonnet is what came to mind with Molly's words, I'm aiming to look at the world through a lens of love these days. I just loved her words as a prompt.
email from Molly: These days, I
aim to see our world through a lens of love,
as bees buzz around the waking flowers
wooing us and some cooing mourning doves.
Such dawn-soaked drunks can serenade for hours.
Summer mornings such as this are pure joy.
Coffee cup nearby — no shoes required.
If I could save this splendor to enjoy
I’d fill right up with love—stay inspired.
Above, a red September maple leaf
reminds me that there will soon come a pain
of mortality, and unyielding grief
that my besotted state cannot sustain. For now, my lens of love can only see
honeyed moments with these romantic bees.
Linda Mitchell 9/5/25
Thank you, Margaret at Reflections on the Teche for hosting this week's round up. She's got a response to this prompt too!
To read how other Inklings responded to Molly's prompt check-in with:
Catherine Flynn @ Reading to the Core
Molly Hogan @ Nix the Comfort Zone
Heidi Mordhorst @ my juicy little universe
Well done, Linda! I agree that sonnets can be tricky. I especially love that last line/stanza that brings it all together. "honeyed moments " is perfect.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, this is a wonderful sonnet. I’ve only written one or two. They defeat me. I love how Molly’s words lead into this peaceful, joy-filled poem that does not deny that pain will come, but allows us to sit with honeyed moments.
ReplyDeleteJust wonderful!! Sigh . . . the sentiment reminds me a little of Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay." Love the "honeyed moments" too. *brava*
ReplyDeleteWonderful work, Linda. It is beautiful. I have never completed a sonnet. Maybe I should put it on my winter list of things to try. I'm sure I'll have trouble, though. Thanks for reminding us to look through a lens of love. ~ Carol Labuzzetta ~
ReplyDeleteNo shoes required! Nice bit of barefootedness. "Besotted" is such a lovely word. Congrats on your sonnet success! That's still a dream for me.
ReplyDeleteOh those "honeyed moments" ....ahhhh! You have some lovely word choice throughout your sonnet, Linda! I agree that they're very satisfying to write, and that they take a lot of time and tinkering! Yours works so well. It's an especially noticeable accomplishment at the beginning of a new school year!
ReplyDeleteWell, despite some high-school-deep reaction against sonnets, you have succeeded in making me want to try one again! My favorite line is a diffeerent one:
ReplyDelete"Such dawn-soaked drunks can serenade for hours." Maybe if I engineer a dawn-soaked drunk I'll be able to sustain a sonnet...
Linda, I am swept away with your lens of love sonnet. You capture summer through honeyed moments. Each line is filled with precise word choice. I feel inspired to check out my butterfly bushes and its buzzing bee visitors.
ReplyDeleteReally love this! With the eeee's in see, honeyed, and bees. And the "dawn-soaked drunks." Nice job. I always find sonnets and some other forms as like word puzzles. :)
ReplyDeleteSonnets are my nemesis, too! Yours is wonderful. Those "honeyed moments" are worth savoring.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely sonnet, Linda! It's an intimidating form to me. Huzzah on pulling it off! I love these lines:
ReplyDeleteAbove, a red September maple leaf
reminds me that there will soon come a pain
of mortality, and unyielding grief
that my besotted state cannot sustain.
And of course, the honeyed moments with romantic bees. Love!