Sonnet

Wife to Be

I stroll along a fragrant country lane
With honeysuckle perfume on the air -
And feathered crooner's warble to revere -
Then cross a golden sea of flowing grain
In empathy - it seems to sense my pain
Of knowing all was done with my affair -
Her empty meaning now the solitaire
She cast away - betrothment all in vain.
But oceans team with many fish to catch
So I must up and hoist another sail
And seek the one that really waits for me,
For soon auspicious breezes will prevail
In guiding forth to find a truer match:
The one to take my hand as wife to be.

Mark R Slaughter

The above sonnet is an example of a Petrarchan sonnet following an ABBAABBA turn CDEDCE, a slight modification from the tradition CDECDE sestet. Characteristic of a petrarch, the poet characterizes the woman through a metaphor, in this case equating her beauty and flightiness to the scenery of his stroll. The turn shifts from him wallowing about her leaving to him with new conviction in finding a new wife.