The poppy bleeds forgetfulness. I lie
inhaling flimsy wisps of former days.
As through a veil, the fleeting shadows sigh;
their joyless whispers add to my malaise.
I wear my tasselled cap and velvet gown,
one languid hand is raised to cool my brow.
the hubble-bubble soothes. I slowly drown
in lethargy and leave the here-and-now.
Yet echoes still persist that keep in mind
your siren songs, their silken swish and sway,
most elegant and artfully designed
to lull my sense and steal my heart away.
I'm shipwrecked, on the rocks, washed up by guile,
but you could save my life with just one smile.
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Author Notes
The Shakespearean, or English, sonnet consists of 14 lines, each line containing ten syllables and written in iambic pentameter, in which a pattern of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable is repeated five times. Its rhyme scheme is a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g; the last two lines are a rhyming couplet.
The argument builds like this:
First quatrain: An exposition of the main theme and main metaphor.
Second quatrain: Theme and metaphor extended or complicated; often, some imaginative example is given.
Third quatrain: Peripeteia (a twist or conflict), often introduced by a "but" (very often leading off the ninth line).
Couplet: Summarizes and leaves the reader with a new, concluding image.
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