Glass Heart Sonnet

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

once you pity the fig tree because its roots 

keep it moored in this unfortunate place

twice you are jealous when you know its branches

take joy in stroking strands of longhaired wind

she is a wild woman, cool and hip and tripping

on acid jazz, loose lipped and adlibbing, freestyle mix

just breathe he says, just drive he says to the fields

the painting is really bodily fluids, life of the artist

as is music and poetry, the amniotic, the vomit 

lymph, blood and ejaculate of their spirit, such inspiration

can feel unpalatable, yet truth does not require your appetite

someone sings to the siren across the lake, it is France

birds be dub, be good to me and I won’t bend this heart

it’s made of glass, and facetted like freedom, and reflects 

…

Saffron 2024

Prompt 27th April 2024

Write an “American sonnet.” What’s that? Well, it’s like a regular sonnet but . . . fewer rules? Like a traditional Spencerian or Shakespearean sonnet, an American sonnet is shortish (generally 14 lines, but not necessarily!), discursive, and tends to end with a bang, but there’s no need to have a rhyme scheme or even a specific meter.