Sonnets Here, In-House

With that, I feel I can conclude "the series." And now for a sonnet I wrote just yesterday, in honor of an exchange student being hosted by my sister Randi and her husband Mark.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

To "Kathy," as she calls herself in America


Seen first in Shanghai was our friend Li Yan,
Red glasses on her face when seen on Skype.
A student for exchange? Yes, bring her on!
We'll offer her bananas, green and ripe!

She dances, and is learning madrigals:
A good excuse to go and shop for clothes.
She likes to meet and study animals,
But centipedes are something that she loathes.

The sight of a clear sky with stars at night
Caused her to let out squeals: "Oh, that's so cool!"
Now lessons in statistics come to light,
Which build on what she learned at boarding school.

These lines have given only a short gist
About a future brilliant scientist.
 
Copperfox said:
With that, I feel I can conclude "the series." And now for a sonnet I wrote just yesterday, in honor of an exchange student being hosted by my sister Randi and her husband Mark.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

To "Kathy," as she calls herself in America


Seen first in Shanghai was our friend Li Yan,
Red glasses on her face when seen on Skype.
A student for exchange? Yes, bring her on!
We'll offer her bananas, green and ripe!

She dances, and is learning madrigals:
A good excuse to go and shop for clothes.
She likes to meet and study animals,
But centipedes are something that she loathes.

The sight of a clear sky with stars at night
Caused her to let out squeals: "Oh, that's so cool!"
Now lessons in statistics come to light,
Which build on what she learned at boarding school.

These lines have given only a short gist
About a future brilliant scientist.
Click to expand...

Great sonnet, Copperfox! This is one of the only ones I have ever read in my life! The first one was during my 4th birthday, I think, about how everyone is like stars, we shine in our own little way! Speaking of birthdays, I gotta get ready for my birthday in 8 days! Uh-oh. Gotta bake cupcakes....
 
To Someone Who Didn't Want To Praise Me Too Lavishly

Someone said I use ordinary rhymes;
I question, though, my critic's paradigms.
The common rhymes you sometimes can't avoid,
Lest your main train of thought might be destroyed.

But if it's not too much self-flattery,
I'd say I often charge my battery
With combinations not so commonplace--
For sure, not known to ancient bards in Thrace.

If I did not exert myself to hunt
Outstanding rhymes, my work would be too blunt;
So give this poor old sonneteer a break,
And if your critic's thirst you wish to slake,

Then pick on modern verses written blank,
While I go study an Egyptian ankh.
 
To A Fussy And Frightened
Little Boy From Germany

Was that your first time on an airline flight?
Well, you yourself can't answer no or yes;
You don't speak English. Anyway, the sight
Of me and my place filled you with distress.

For neither house nor owner, little mouse,
Was part of your familiar universe.
The pastor's car which brought you to my house,
Though nice, might just as well have been a hearse.

You hid inside the force-field of your Dad,
Lest we eat you alive; but this will pass.
I wish it really were true, timid lad,
That parents never had to be aghast

At what could strike their children; but in truth,
A threat of evil DOES pursue our youth.
 
Thank you, Benisse. And I'm pleased to report that, after some sleep with his parents near, the little German boy is now in much better spirits.

Copperfox said:
To A Fussy And Frightened
Little Boy From Germany

Was that your first time on an airline flight?
Well, you yourself can't answer no or yes;
You don't speak English. Anyway, the sight
Of me and my place filled you with distress.

For neither house nor owner, little mouse,
Was part of your familiar universe.
The pastor's car which brought you to my house,
Though nice, might just as well have been a hearse.

You hid inside the force-field of your Dad,
Lest we eat you alive; but this will pass.
I wish it really were true, timid lad,
That parents never had to be aghast

At what could strike their children; but in truth,
A threat of evil DOES pursue our youth.
Click to expand...
 
A Mostly Silent Halloween

The Denver area was horrified
When Jessica, the soul of innocence,
Was murdered. Now, the public sentiments
Of dread are causing families to hide.

This Halloween, four families or five
Were all that came for candy in my stock.
Most parents hadn't gotten past the shock;
Their thought was wanting children still alive.

The pervert gets to hide behind his age,
But showed no pity for his victim's youth.
His gloating can't protect him from God's truth;
If unrepentant, he'll receive his wage.

When swallowed by the ever-burning dark,
He'll realize he wasn't all that smart.
 
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How sad... I appreciate your poignant imagery of ever-burning darkness...
and pray for comfort for Jessica's family and justice and redemption.
 
Wow I found this really poignant. Something I've struggled with to some extent when people I knew or people I grew up with were finding mates and getting married. This great poetical encouragement for people feeling left out, I think

Copperfox said:
With folks of teen and college age, a trick
Is being played on them by film and song:
If romance doesn't show up for you quick,
You must be doing everything all wrong.

For absolutely EVERY other youth
Has got a lover -- so the movies claim.
It must be you alone who is a goof,
Just you who is a loser; what a shame!

But no! The shame belongs upon the souls
Of those who plant this envy in your heart.
In real life, MANY miss romantic goals,
And MANY find it even hard to start.

You're not alone, so don't think you're a dweeb;
Give God some time, and don't let films deceive.
Click to expand...
 
For Glenburne:
A Contemplation Of Cheese

In Howard Pyle's account of Robin Hood,
If deer in Sherwood Forest got away,
Cheese was his other choice of protein food,
Though where he got it from, I couldn't say.

I read the scene where Robin took a sword
And cut some cheese in quarters -- also bread.
In hard times, Merry Men could still afford
These foods, while keeping down their overhead.

The same for us! With taxes high again,
We look for low-cost foods to pass our lips.
We won't be rescued by the Merry Men,
But we can melt cheese over nacho chips.

Amid societal uncertainties,
We'll hope and pray that no one moves our cheese!
 
For Sir Tom:
On Facing A Hard Future

They say that bad is good, that truth is hate,
That theft is justice, and et cetera.
The lumpen-proletariat of late
Has made a dungheap of America.

Which way is forward? This was not made clear.
At least we Christians know which way is down,
And can avoid it. Things will be severe,
But that comes with our service to the Crown.

Our King did not give us free telephones;
He gave us free salvation, and He asks
That while we live as mortal flesh and bones,
We do not chicken out on heavy tasks.

Our very faith some treat as contraband;
But we'll endure, and having done all, stand.
 
Copperfox said:
For Sir Tom:
On Facing A Hard Future

They say that bad is good, that truth is hate,
That theft is justice, and et cetera.
The lumpen-proletariat of late
Has made a dungheap of America.

Which way is forward? This was not made clear.
At least we Christians know which way is down,
And can avoid it. Things will be severe,
But that comes with our service to the Crown.

Our King did not give us free telephones;
He gave us free salvation, and He asks
That while we live as mortal flesh and bones,
We do not chicken out on heavy tasks.

Our very faith some treat as contraband;
But we'll endure, and having done all, stand.
Click to expand...

I love it, I hope many people read this and are encouraged by it. :)
 
A year ago, a couple with whom Karoliina had long been friendly generously hosted me, as well as her, for Thanksgiving. This, although Carol and I were not yet even engaged at the time. The wife of that couple was to become Carol's matron of honor at the wedding in May. This Thanksgiving, we went back; and this time, I was ready to sonnetize our hosts, as follows. Note that I refer to myself in third person here.

To Our Friends In Centennial, Colorado

Jenene has long been at insurance work,
While Jim was often called out in the snow.
Then, last year, hoping not to meet a jerk,
They hosted someone by the name of Joe.

This Navy veteran, who was endorsed
By their friend Carol, joined their turkey feast.
He found their generosity unforced,
And felt a debt to them, to say the least.

For they encouraged Joe in his pursuit
Of Carol; and in spring, they shared the joy
When, to the tune of autoharp and flute,
Their Carol signed on with her sailor boy.

On top of that, it was Jenene's advice
That let Joe find a good insurance price.
 
That's great, and it reminds me of something I've been meaning to tell you: Thank you! Not just for everything you've done for me intentionally, but even the things you had no idea would ever impact me, the things God just arranged for me and used you to accomplish by your willingness to be a good friend. One thing in particular out of the many things I'm greatful to you (and especially God) for is, believe it or not, Callie! I hope you don't mind me writing a short story here, but it's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now.

It all started when you first encouraged me after my break-up with my first girlfriend. You showed me "The Tale of Sophia Renee" and offered your words of wisdom to encourage me. I soon realised I was better off without the girl, especially because of the fact she kept trying to get me to believe in a doctrine that would have pulled me further away from God, but what I didn't know was that through my friendship with you, God would introduce me to another girl who would mean much more to me than the first one ever would.
It so happened that my family and I were going to Colorado in the summer of 2011, and we were going to be in the Larkspur area JUST IN TIME to attend the last weekend of the Colorado Renaissance Festival, which you had invited me to. I was very happy to meet you, and after we got back to our state, I friended you on Facebook. Not long after, I kept seeing this girl on your friends list named Callie, one of the fairy actresses from the renaissance festival that year. I couldn't understand it at the time, and believe it or not I tried to fight it, but I just couldn't stop thinking about that girl. I had an unctrollable desire to speak with her, though I thought it was stupid at the time because I really knew nothing about her, and I found her shockingly beautiful, in fact to this day I see her as the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. I asked you about her, you didn't know too much, but you offered to suggest us to be friends. Of course, we soon became friends, though it ended up being me who sent the friend request. She was skeptical of me at first, checking out as much as she could about me to be sure I wasn't some kind of a creep, even her mother and sister did their research on me, but soon we gradually started to talk more and more, and we soon became very close friends. Then this summer I returned to Colorado with my family, and after a very merry time at your house with you and your wife, we spent three weeks with Callie and her family and friends who had graciously invited us to stay with them. Callie and I spent a lot of quality time together every day, and it didn't take too long for me to realise we were falling in love. I still keep in contact with her, and I'm happy to say I'll be seeing her again very soon. I'm happy to say, my relationship with Callie has been better in every way than it ever was with my first girlfriend.

See how you had a hand in my falling in love with a fairy? ;)
 
To Callie, from "Archbishop Stephen"


Sweet girl, be watchful! Those who hate what's true
Desire to turn perceptions upside-down
And inside-out; their media tell you
To see a hero as a stupid clown.

They look upon a young man sworn to serve
The Savior, sworn to live by truth and faith,
And knowing they speak lies, they'll have the nerve
To say he's dangerous, and you're not safe.

They'd rather you sought refuge with some creep,
And joined that creep in scorning Jesus' blood.
But Tom the young, and I the old, will keep
Reminding you to soar above their mud.

Don't follow those who call the darkness light,
But be a Christian fairy with her knight.
 
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