The Happy Hare

I hope everyone had a great Easter!  I know it's a bit later than when I usually post but that's just because I had to finish writing this one today.  Due to the rather rushed circumstances this may not be my best work so it should provide ample opportunity for any constructive criticism you care to offer.  As far is my Easter weekend goes, it was permeated with food, family, more food, sleeping, procrastination on my homework, and my inability to concentrate long enough to write something so I'd say it was a semi-successful weekend.  I hope I'll be able to regain some semblance of a normal writing schedule this week so I won't have to do this whole last-minute business again next week.  However, the ever approaching AP tests may put a damper on my desire to write so heads up I might have to put a hold on the sonnet writing for a few weeks.  Even so, I plan to post at least a little bit about my week and perhaps some of my non-sonnet previous work.  Until then, I"ll just focus on writing as much as I can before my brain becomes more fried than a cheese stick at the Minnesota State Fair.  I hope you enjoy this week's sonnet.  I spent a whole three hours on it!

I'm not quite sure how I wrote what I did...  I guess I was sort of looking to write a spin-off of my sonnet from a couple weeks ago but it kind of turned into its own entity.  Enjoy!

The Happy Hare

Abiding laws intrinsic compass ere

Ne'er bear the faultless fleshy hare amiss.

Resilient dances round all thicket snare

Beholden hare in certain snug abyss.

Moreover dare should happy hare collide

With hapless stray. Now seeking sustenance

Whereto both boxing kindred feud aside

This teeming fount of wholesome corpulence.

Survive? the two beseech aforesaid such

Existence cheap, albeit one, indeed!

Far more than any other. Winner clutch

Subsistence such yet not in that of greed.

If hitherto I writ effect dismay

In you, let pass, tis naught but Nature's way.

Completion date: 4/11/2012

Unpublished material, ©2012 Neal Digre

If Thou Art Perfect

It's that time of week again!  I know I shouldn't make excuses for not writing much this week, but... I have been rather busy "preparing" for a large Calculus test.  I had one section today, I have another section tomorrow and then two more sections next week; so I might be rather busy... watching videos of Hitler freaking out when he gets his AP Calculus test results.  But I actually have to do some writing this week because I'm to the point where I'm writing week to week and don't have any sonnets stockpiled.  Ooo the pressures on! ...not really.  

One thing I would like to mention, though, is please, please, please leave a comment or constructive criticism for me either on this blog, the Facebook page, or you could even tweet it @nealdigre.  My main intention in creating this blog was to get a little feedback so I can get better at this whole sonnet writing thing, so any comments you have would be greatly appreciated!

I guess I don't have much to say about this sonnet other than you may have to brush up on your Greek mythology in order to catch all the allusions.  I hope you enjoy it!

If Thou Art Perfect

If thou art perfect as yon Daffodil

Affixed aside the glossy crystal pool;

If thou art perfect as set sails instill

Triumphant monarch's incidental rule;

If thou art perfect as created wings

Of Crete produced for man where gods have flown;

If thou art perfect as a thousand kings

Aligned, exalted mortals each their own;

If thou art perfect as Discordant's pet

Crown prince of Troy: the apple arbiter

Of greatest due; if thou art perfect

As gods; invoke thy thunderous harbinger.

Mere mortal art thou full of vanity?

By God! Imperfect thou wert meant to be.

Completion date: 3/28/2012

Unpublished material, ©2012 Neal Digre

A Stray

I'm sooo ready to be done with high school!  These past few weeks have gone by extremely slowly and I"m just ready to move onto the next stage of life.  I realize my blogging skills about my life are rather dry so I'm going to try and work on my life-blogging skillery.  The main focus of this blog, though, will always be the sonnets, so if you'd rather not even bother reading what I have to stay about my weekly doings you can just skip over this first paragraph. I wouldn't be offended in the slightest.  Now, on to the sonnet.

This sonnet is rather self explanatory as to how I came to write it.  Enjoy!



A Stray

A suckling cat appeared upon my porch.

A stray. I ran for fear it was aggrieved.

Her only ailment, though, now I've perceived

That trembling ember in the fading torch

Of those exhausted yellow eyes that scorch

My soul with warmth, a mother's heart bereaved...

Forgotten. Paw for pittance not received,

And she moves on – the Nature of my porch.

With utter ease my hand did slam that door

Because I did not want that cat to stay.

Oh God! Oh please! Protect her I implore!

I watched her haggard form just slip away

Beyond all sight, beyond all time. No more.

Still I leave scraps of food for Her – a stray.

Completion date: 3/17/2012

Unpublished material, ©2012 Neal Digre

Compendium

It's been a busy week for me so far.  I had a research paper due on Monday and that was a bit of a time vacuum so I didn't have too much time to write sonnets.  Even so, I got one written so I'm pleased about that!  Other than that this week has been pretty normal for me so far.  Oh! Yesterday I read a fantastic book that I highly recommend:  Marco and the Red Granny by Mur Lafferty.  She is also the host of a podcast I listen to - "I Should be Writing" - so it was fun to support her by buying her book.  She mainly discusses writing fiction (something I would like to get into a bit more).  I would like to start work on a short story some time in the near future, but for the present I'll just keep on with my sonnets.

I wrote this sonnet as a bit of a description for this blog... maybe?  I don't know, I just wrote the dang thing.  I hope you enjoy it!

Compendium

To find the place concerning sonnets look

Inside thy soul, thy heart, thy astral mind.

Therein confined discernment freed which shook

Apart somatic chains your self aligned.

This modest quest commenced by those who dare

Disgorge the thoughts concealed and locked away;

Assemble purpose mid these lines to share

And ne'er apply the black and white to gray.

Although innate prismatic turns inflame

The misty path, the trail thus chosen, scribes

Alike know not from whence Ideas came -

The spring that spouts elixir you imbibe.

Unearth this place; so write of gods, of queens,

Of slugs, of man, and all that's in between.

Completion date: 3/4/2012

Unpublished material, ©2012 Neal Digre

Broken Backspace Key

It's Wednesday and I had a short day of school! What could be better?  Well, maybe better if I had actually written a little bit this week, but due to the substantial amount of homework I had... that didn't happen.  I've also just had the general feeling of laziness which isn't conducive to writing sonnets, either.  Thankfully I have a few more sonnets in reserve.

A couple weeks ago my backspace key broke.  It pissed me off so much I had to write about it.  Enjoy!

Broken Backspace Key

O backspace key, convenient there you rest
Within my reach - one move abrupt - my hand
Then hammers down; deletion I demand.
The tainted words to which we all attest,
O blesséd backspace key you did arrest;
And all derision else-ways they'd withstand
Is nothing more than thought in our command.
O backspace key, too much we did request.
O broken backspace key - abused, devoured,
Engulfed in humankind's calamity -
Expose the caustic core. Your wreckage scours
Acidic sludge; reveals our basest plea
Afflicted neath impressions thus gone sour,

Compressed upon you broken backspace key.

Completion date: 2/29/2012

Unpublished material, ©2012 Neal Digre

One-hundred Words

I'll just get right to the sonnet this week.
When I finished the two sonnets before this one I noticed that the word count was hovering around one-hundred, so I decided I wanted to try and write something with exactly one-hundred words.  This is the result:

One-hundred words

One-hundred pleasant words in silence spoke

Among dear treasured friends. One-hundred truths

That faintly yell of chords they may invoke;

No ballad soft e'er dim the eyes of youth.

One-hundred discordant reflections: each invent

Their own. The mirrored souls of all compose

This garden God has sown; discern the scent

Of florid blossoms wan in their repose.

One-hundred senses Earthly bound nest high

Above all time and space. Amid this place

Still buried deep, so deep beneath the sky,

Unearthing injured figures – your embrace.

My love for thee as free as soaring birds,

I dare not limit these one-hundred words.

Completion date: 2/25/2012
Unpublished material, ©2012 Neal Digre

Concerning Sonnets, Et cetera

Two posts in one week? Whoa!  Well, I thought it would be a good idea to kick off my first week of blogging with a bang! Also, I'm posting again today because I want to dwindle down my stockpile of sonnets.  I've decided I'd like to keep my posts a little more recent so there's not an entire month between when I finish a sonnet and when I post it, so this should help with that.

This sonnet is one that I wrote in response to finishing my first sonnet.  I don't really want to give too much of my intended meaning away because I feel that takes away from allowing you to interpret it in the way you choose; but I must mention that with this sonnet I wanted to capture the process of writing a sonnet (at least for me).  You probably already noticed this but I based the name of my blog on this sonnet.  Enjoy!

Concerning Sonnets, Et cetera

I chose persistent battle locked amidst

Fermented words. Dismember judgement; hack

And mangle every prized appendage. Black

Repugnant blotches splattered outward didst

Obscure the pure quixotic view betwixt

The portal's lustrous pulse. Oh flee this fact:

Without a key my way shall ever lack

Admittance through this passage ere affixed.

Ye evil tendril wrapped around my quill,

I have no fear if thou lead me askew.

For solely through the writhing wretched will

The gleaming gate be opened up anew.

To pass, to see, to be; in me instil

A fervour felt by only those who flew.

Completion date: 2/22/2012

Unpublished Material, ©2012 Neal Digre

As this august gem strikes the briny sea

The first post!  Most importantly, thank you for reading this!  This is something I've had a lot of fun with so far and I hope you get as much enjoyment from reading my poems as I get from writing them.  Secondly, I want to use this first post to outline what each blog will contain.  I will always try and start out like this - just talking about my week, the poem, the inspiration that went into the poem, and anything else I feel like talking about.  Then, of course, will be the sonnet.  Following each sonnet I will put the date I completed it.  I'm planning on writing each sonnet three or four weeks ahead of when I post it, so I think posting the completion date will be helpful.  I was a bit anxious to get this first post out there so I'm posting it today, but in the future I will try and post every Wednesday.  If you have any questions, suggestions, or just want to let me know if you enjoyed the week's sonnet PLEASE feel free to leave a comment.  I've rambled on about this long enough.  Now to my description of this week's sonnet.

The week before Valentine's Day in my AP Lit class we studied the love sonnets of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.  As something fun, I wanted to write my own love sonnet to share with the class.  What started out as just something fun to do for a few extra points has turned into so much more than that.  And now, without further delay, I present to you my first sonnet of many.



As this august gem strikes the briny sea

As this august gem strikes the briny sea,
Enveloped, constant churning, frantic! - lost;
As loathsome, trifling, freakish blights accost
Almighty men encouraged well to flee.
As frightened children conquer vile debris;
As crimson sunrise reaches out to most
Who feel the lurid, icy sting of frost;
As those amended shed light unto me.
As fallible as I may be - oh Stay!
A many mortal thing amid us may ensue
Yet salty tears we spill are washed away.
No woe nor rime shall ever more subdue
This feeling causing two in one to say,
With all my being, always, I love you.


Completion date: 2/12/2012
Unpublished Material, ©2012 Neal Digre