ManicDDaily

Blank Page and Sock

The 14th day of National Poetry Month, sigh.  The draft sonnet I wrote today is intended to illustrate the principle that a poem can be written with no inspiration whatsoever!  In other words,  don’t wait for the muse.

The draft below follows the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet; although I do keep to certain syllabic limits (approximately 10 or 11 syllables per line), I’m not sure that these exactly correspond to iambic pentameter.   For more on sonnet structures, check here, (or check out the poetry category form the home page of this blog).  For more on writer’s block, check out the writer’s block category.

Writer’s Block Sonnet

A blank page is not like a plain white sock.
It will do nothing for a cold foot at night,
and fits poorly into a shoe; you can’t tuck
your pants into it as part of a fight
against Lyme’s Disease; it won’t put you at ease
in any way; won’t cushion the impact
of concrete; won’t even give you release
from the itch of sand or pine needle, the tact
of the blank page so much less than the sock,
though also white and cheap and omnipresent.
The page won’t be worn quietly, it will talk
to you, it will talk at you; it will resent
any effort to shush its voice, cap its sound.
You won’t listen?  Then, it will stare you down.

This entry was posted on April 14, 2010 at 9:46 pm and is filed under poetry, Uncategorized, writer's block, writing exercises. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: 14th day of National Poetry Month, don't wait for the muse, manicddaily, ManicDDaily poetry, ManicDDaily watercolor, silly sonnet, sonnet about blank page, watercolor of blank page and sock, writer's block sonnet, writing exercise