Poetry Prompt Reason2Rhyme – “2+2=Poem”: A Mathematics’ Sonnet is a Treat

kbnelson’s Poetry Prompt…  Monday, July 9, 2012    Reason 2 Rhyme – “2+2=Poem”

Choose a poetry form that involves some kind of number requirement (a 5-7-5 syllable haiku, a Shakespearean sonnet with 14 lines/10 syllables per line, a couplet form with rhymed endings, a quatrain, or any other form where you must take numbers into account).  Write on any topic of your choice, but be sure to pause and appreciate – or denigrate – the use of numbers in a poem!

A Mathematics’ Sonnet is a Treat

To serve a sonnet dinner is like math.
You’ll woo ‘em with the words but it’s all it’s wrong
With more or less than 10 words on the path
The line may be too short or be too long.

Iambic meters bounce a lithesome treat
With qua-trains three, a couplet, recipe;
The accent feet must be the second beat
A lively menu served for you and me

But if the sonnet were served up like stew
A hash of iambs minced without discern,
Like limerick, free verse, or a haiku,
Then dinner out would be our prime concern

But rest assured that wonders never cease.
We’ll cook the sonnet right and serve the piece

Randy Mazie
photo courtesy of Randy Mazie