Structure can be fun!

I do like sonnets. Just like drabbles, they're challenging and fun precisely because of the limitations. A set number of lines, a set number of beats, a few allowed rhyming patterns. You have to think carefully, roll the words around in your head, pick and choose which ones will both convey your meaning and fit the rules. Writing sonnets encourages precision of expression, the importance of which is too easy to forget when you're used to writing without any real rules. It also forces you to expand your vocabulary, because sometimes you just don't have the right word and you have to go looking for it.

I write sonnets every now and then, mostly for fun. They're never planned; they just kind of pop up suddenly on their own. None of mine have come out perfect. Regardless, here's a couple of sonnets I've written.

This first one I wrote a few years ago, on contemplating what it must be like to be the focus of desire for countless strangers.

( Avatar )

And these next two are a lot less serious. :)

( Ode to a Hot Dog Vendor )

( The Arsonist's Lament )