CONCINNITY

      For me the sonnet’s the epitome
      Of elegance and careful craft in verse,
      Best illustrating what the term concinnity
      Implies: well-joined, harmonious and terse.
      It’s much the same, of course, with other forms
      Of measured poetry in patterned schemes
      Of rhymes, adhering to their metric norms,
      Like artful acrobats on balance beams.
      Yet like those athletes there is something more
      A sonneteer must demonstrate to win
      Acclaim: it’s sprezzatura we adore—
      Doing with ease what we’d not dare begin,
           Making what’s classical appear like jazz—
           Spontaneous, impromptu—with pizzazz.

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