HIGH STAKES

  A sonnet and a crossword are the same
  In that you’re counting both across and down
  To make words fit a pattern in a game
  That often furrows brows into a frown,
  Though both are different in their puzzling ways:
  The one depending all on memory,
  The other searching for a word or phrase
  Extending meaning with apt harmony—
  Which is to say, there’s more than play entailed
  In sonnetry, a game for mortal stakes,
  For one false move or note means that you’ve failed
  In your attempt and don’t have what it takes
       To demonstrate an artistry and skill
       That happily manifests your Muse’s will.

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