TAKING A SONNET FOR A SPIN
Come on, hop in—let’s see where this will go,
a sonnet, after all’s a vehicle;
let’s test it out and drive it row by row
making it swift and snappy, nothing dull.
Thing is, with this form you can never tell
where you’ll end up—a magic mystery tour
begins and puts you in a kind of spell,
but where you’ll go or stop you’re never sure.
Just past midway you turn, right on a dime:
perhaps just now you have a notion how
you’ll find the finish line, and in good time
complete your narrative and take your bow.
Then like a victory lap your couplet’s ride
rounds out your triumph while it vaunts your pride.
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