Homework September 2023 - Onslaught of Spring

[Shelley Hansen]

Greetings All

Well, it seems that September has been and gone without me noticing! We've been away on a caravan trip for a number of weeks, followed by a houseguest - and here it is, October!

So I've missed the September homework deadline - but that won't stop me! Coincidentally, I've just written a poem about Spring - so, even though it doesn't specifically include the prompts, I'm submitting it as my homework anyway. It is a Spenserian sonnet - that intriguing interlocking rhyme scheme ABABBCBCCDCDEE, written in iambic pentameter, with a change of thought at the ninth line, and a final "clincher" couplet. Named for Edmund Spenser (Shakespeare's contemporary).

As to the subject - well, with an explosive start to Spring here (storms, cold, heat, wind), I'm setting a cat among the pigeons in my lament for what I remember as the gentler Springs of my youth (or is my memory deceiving me??)

ONSLAUGHT OF SPRING
(c) Shelley Hansen 2023

When I was young, the Spring brought rhythmic flow
of warmth to banish Winter’s dreary cold.
The days grew longer, pausing to bestow
their blessing on the fields of green and gold.
In nests above, new living would unfold
as parent birds made music in the trees.
And so it was, before my eyes grew old.
I cherished breaths of Spring on days like these.
But now it seems no pleading may appease
the anger of the season’s sudden storms,
when bursts of heat are followed by a freeze
and grass, attacked by drying winds, transforms.
The earth is restless. Gentleness departs
and mirrors turbulence of human hearts.

[Terry]

Very Cleverly Written Shelley

And I really enjoyed your sonnet,
a sort of nature's road map of the changing seasons.
leading up to the magic that is spring and then to see it slowly fade away.

Well, that's how I see it anyway.

Terry

[Ron]

Beautiful sonnet Shelley, and I wouldn't be concerned about the deadline, that was worth waiting for!
I agree with Terry, very clever! and in particular the rhyming pattern you have used.
And, 'mirrors turbulence of human hearts' what a perfect ending line!
I know what you mean in recalling memories of past seasons of our youth, I too wonder sometimes if we look at things with tinted glasses.
Cheers
Ron.

[Catherine Lee]

It seems you have done it again yourself, Shelley, and no surprises there! A beautiful sonnet, and I too love that last line.