Greetings! I've missed the last few challenges, so I'm glad to be back...even if it's to side-eye the confusing mashup that is the haiku sonnet. (No one does side-eye quite like the Highland "coo." Although the one below was a bull. A very friendly fellow.) 
The form is defined by four three-line haikus, and an ending couplet, for a total of the sonnet's traditional fourteen lines. Sounds straightforward enough, but could two things be more opposite? Haiku doesn't use a rhyme scheme, celebrates brevity and images, and is rarely narrative. Sonnets have a myriad of rhyme schemes, and while not epic, are much longer, and written in iambic pentameter or other meter. I suppose they do have imagery in common, so I decided to focus on that, drawing on memories of my recent trip to Scotland.
The form is defined by four three-line haikus, and an ending couplet, for a total of the sonnet's traditional fourteen lines. Sounds straightforward enough, but could two things be more opposite? Haiku doesn't use a rhyme scheme, celebrates brevity and images, and is rarely narrative. Sonnets have a myriad of rhyme schemes, and while not epic, are much longer, and written in iambic pentameter or other meter. I suppose they do have imagery in common, so I decided to focus on that, drawing on memories of my recent trip to Scotland.
Lichen fuzz beards rocks,their caved cheeks sharp underfootwe dodge, dip and twistBlack slugs share the trailwhile we talk of unicorns,not white, but mist-greyFords laid yesterdayare now rain-swallowed crossingswe must haul new stonesA roofless sheltersinking in gathering cloudsbirths reedy saplingsWe pause for tomato soup,hot and red, it is our sun.----Sara Lewis Holmes (all rights reserved)
Gosh, this takes me RIGHT to Scotland. I extra love the misty-grey unicorn. And I misread this line, "we must haul new stones," as "we must haul new stories," and I feel like that's what you did.
ReplyDeleteSee, you got the slugs and the unicorns in there perfectly - all things bright and beautiful, all under the banner of soup. Tomato soup as the sun is BEAUTIFUL. That's DEFINITELY true-to-life how I survived Scotland; dreariness punctuated by beauty, being drenched in half-remembered dreams, punctuated by hot drinks or broth.
ReplyDeleteOof, this is so deliciously atmospheric. Those last two lines! I can feel/taste/see it all.
ReplyDelete"haul new stones" Oh, that's good. And unicorns and fuzz beard...all of it so good!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking me right back to Scotland! (Outer Hebrides?) I think your sonnet leans way further haiku-wise than mine. And that ending couplet...swoon!
ReplyDeleteSara, while I have never been to Scotland, I enjoyed your descriptive poem. The last line shares the reality of hearty Scottish soup in bright red. It is good to mention this linking it to the sun. Unfortunately, I see no sun in the photo, Is it always like that? These lines, :"A roofless shelter/sinking in gathering clouds", is a vivid description.
ReplyDeleteI love the pics and the words, Sara! It is wonderful to see the animals & read your poem that includes tomato soup as our sun! Thanks for taking us there with you!
ReplyDeleteSara, lovely haiku sonnet. I felt I was on the trail with you. My favorite image is the lichen beards on the boulders.
ReplyDeleteWow this is beautiful. The images are perfection. I feel like I'm there.
ReplyDeleteOK, PERFECT -- and ending with that soup????? I'm sending to Willa, who walked the West Highland Way with me and oh, we DREAMED of soup as we walked!!
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