In the last newsletter I explained The Rose of Ardennes. That was a Shakespearean Sonnet with a rhyme scheme borrowed from a Petrarchan sonnet that described the method with which I often use in writing.
This is a stand alone Octet. I actually wrote it four days before The Rose of Ardennes. This Octet is made of four rhyming Couplets with the additional aspect of being an acrostic. Writing an acrostic into a poem throws yet another rule into the mix. The lead letters of each line spell something (usually related to the topic of the poem itself, but not always) when read downwards. However, this is not a sonnet and is not written in iambic pentameter either. I’ll present acrostic sonnets later though. I will often challenge myself in my writing from a technical standpoint. I even found a website to generate random words and used that to write an odd sonnet (#103 on July 28, 2022) with the 14 words I asked it for.
My favorite spice is cinnamon, so the fragrance in question here is the French translation, Cannelle. My favorite savory seasoning is garlic but I’ve yet to write an “Ode to Garlic”. Since garlic has six letters, maybe I can join the two to make up the 14 lines required in a sonnet, except that garlic in French is Ail which would short the sonnet by 3 lines. Since I’m probably the only person who literally will mix cinnamon and garlic in one dish, maybe I’ll just forget that one.
As in the Rose of Ardennes, this little piece describes my personal writing process. I actually set this to music as a bit of a joke.
A Fragrant Octet Can you imagine, a moment in time? Attention to detail, determined to rhyme. Not speaking nor hearing, simply to feel, Nascent conjecture on a spiritual wheel. Effortless words pour forth all at once, Lucrative harvest of desperate hunts. Languishing there, awaiting your pen, Enveloping all and filling your ken. Frank Garnick © Copyright The Archer's March 23 December 2021
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Have a wonderful day.