Sonnet challenge

[badger11]

1. 14 lines to be written!

 

 

I'll begin and hopefully others will add (if not I'll write another line in a few days)

 

 

Line1

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall

[tonyv]

Great idea, Badge. :D I tried hard last night to come up with a line but couldn't. I'll post one tonight no matter what!

[tonyv]

Well, here's L1 followed by L2 which I came up with last night but was reluctant to post for its reliance on adjectives. But okay, it's really what I wanted to say, and perhaps this is a first draft?

 

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall

to the dark edge of the vast wilderness

[badger11]

definitely a first draft - hopefully others will join in!

 

L3:

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall
to the dark edge of the vast wilderness;
at nightfall wolves gathered at her call

[tonyv]

Here's L4:

 

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall
to the dark edge of the vast wilderness
by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call

beneath the vault decked out in evening dress.

 

 

(I tweaked L3 for the IP -- hope that's okay ... )

hmmm ... or perhaps "adorned in evening dress" ...

What do you think?

[badger11]

 

(I tweaked L3 for the IP -- hope that's okay ... )

hmmm ... or perhaps "adorned in evening dress" ...

What do you think?

 

Sure, there may be a few more future tweaks No preference on adorned or decked out: one is elevated, one is grounded.

[tonyv]

 

 

(I tweaked L3 for the IP -- hope that's okay ... )

hmmm ... or perhaps "adorned in evening dress" ...

What do you think?

 

Sure, there may be a few more future tweaks No preference on adorned or decked out: one is elevated, one is grounded.

 

 

Well, in that case let's go elevated:

 

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall

to the dark edge of the vast wilderness

by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call

beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.

 

 

I also changed "the" in L4 to "a."

[badger11]

L5

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall
to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,
by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call

beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.

A great gray owl swoops low over the steppes

 

 

 

I've dropped in a comma after L2, a semi-colon or full-stop could be other options?

[tonyv]

I've dropped in a comma after L2, a semi-colon or full-stop could be other options?

 

It's one sentence. I don't know for sure whether a comma is called for, but I would venture to guess, if anything, at most a comma is in order.

 

 

L6:

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall

to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,

by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call

beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.

A great gray owl swoops low over the steppes

as a black he-goat takes the lead in dance.

 

 

 

I'm going to suggest we finish out the second quatrain line for line as we have been, that we each do two consecutive lines in the third quatrain, and that we each do a line in the couplet. You take L7, I'll take L8, you take L9 & L10, I'll take L11 & L12, and then we each take one in the couplet. How's that sound?

[badger11]

 

I've dropped in a comma after L2, a semi-colon or full-stop could be other options?

 

It's one sentence. I don't know for sure whether a comma is called for, but I would venture to guess, if anything, at most a comma is in order.

 

 

L6:

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall

to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,

by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call

beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.

A great gray owl swoops low over the steppes

as a black he-goat takes the lead in dance.

 

 

 

I'm going to suggest we finish out the second quatrain line for line as we have been, that we each do two consecutive lines in the third quatrain, and that we each do a line in the couplet. You take L7, I'll take L8, you take L9 & L10, I'll take L11 & L12, and then we each take one in the couplet. How's that sound?

 

 

 

Ok Tony. Unless, of course, others want to participate. I'm walking in West Wales for the next eight days, but will resume again on my return!

 

best

 

badge

[badger11]

L7

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall
to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,
by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call
beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.
A great gray owl swoops low over the steppes
as a black he-goat takes the lead in dance.
Into blue flames the moon-racked pack all leapt

[David W. Parsley]

L8

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall
to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,
by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call
beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.
A great gray owl swoops low over the steppes
as a black he-goat takes the lead in dance.
Into blue flames the moon-racked pack all leapt

in pan flute augury, now lithe, now stanced

​

[badger11]

Another sonneteer :0) Well done David. Tony? Would you like to start the 'turn'?

[badger11]

Or should I?

[tonyv]

Or should I?

 

 

Badge, thank you very much for offering it to me. I can't see myself getting to it till the end of the week anyways, and there's no need the poem or anyone should wait, so please ... By all means, carry on.

 

Tony

 

PS -- I loved Dave's line also.

[badger11]

L9-L10

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall
to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,
by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call
beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.
A great gray owl swoops low over the steppes
as a black he-goat takes the lead in dance.
Into blue flames the moon-racked pack all leapt

in pan flute augury, now lithe, now stanced.

I turn to ask my Gran for another page,
but hursite hands now grasp the manuscript.

[Tinker]

Can I play? L11

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall

to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,

by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call

beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.

A great gray owl swoops low over the steppes

as a black he-goat takes the lead in dance.

Into blue flames the moon-racked pack all leapt

in pan flute augury, now lithe, now stanced.

I turn to ask my Gran for another page,

but hirsute hands now grasp the manuscript.

My eyes averted, too afraid to engage

[badger11]

Excellent Tink. The tension building...L12 anyone?

[badger11]

Tink? Dave? Tony? Marti? Barry?

[tonyv]

Excellent Tink. The tension building...L12 anyone?

 

Tink? Dave? Tony? Marti? Barry?

 

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall

to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,

by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call

beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.

A great gray owl swoops low over the steppes

as a black he-goat takes the lead in dance.

Into blue flames the moon-racked pack all leapt

in pan flute augury, now lithe, now stanced.

I turn to ask my Gran for another page,

but hirsute hands now grasp the manuscript.

My eyes averted, too afraid to engage

a mind that has slipped -- nor is my soul equipped

[badger11]

Great Tony. The ending of the PMO sonnet...

[tonyv]

Great Tony. The ending of the PMO sonnet...

 

Take it, Badge ... Give us the couplet!

[badger11]

...I'll leave it for a couple of days...I'm hopeful inspiration for the couplet will come to others...perhaps a sharing of the final lines

[dcmarti1]

Some alliteration and near rhyme. The best I can do for now.

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall
to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,
by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call
beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.
A great gray owl swoops low over the steppes
as a black he-goat takes the lead in dance.
Into blue flames the moon-racked pack all leapt
in pan flute augury, now lithe, now stanced.
I turn to ask my Gran for another page,
but hirsute hands now grasp the manuscript.
My eyes averted, too afraid to engage

a mind that has slipped -- nor is my soul equipped

 

To face the fate mere words, in vain, encrypt.

[dcmarti1]

Do our words mean what we say? Is there more truth in our silence? History IS a lie if it is truly "written" by the winners. 2016 elections (the lies, the vulgarity, the "stoopidity", the slanders) and Michel Foucault (with some Zinn and Camus) have me not wanting to wake up. No worry, as I always say, "I am too inherently lazy to be self destructive, and too cheap to become an addict."

 

RIP, Frank.

[tonyv]

L14:

 

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall

to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,

by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call

beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.

A great gray owl swoops low over the steppes

as a black he-goat takes the lead in dance.

Into blue flames the moon-racked pack all leapt

in pan flute augury, now lithe, now stanced.

I turn to ask my Gran for another page,

but hirsute hands now grasp the manuscript.

My eyes averted, too afraid to engage

a mind that has slipped -- nor is my soul equipped

to face the fate mere words, in vain, encrypt

from seed to womb till ash with life-force stripped.

Soliciting a title ...

[tonyv]

Playing around with the tense(s):

 

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall

to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,

by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call

beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.

A great gray owl swooped low over the steppes

as a black he-goat took the lead in dance.

Into blue flames the moon-racked pack all leapt

in pan flute augury, now lithe, now stanced.

I turn to ask my Gran for another page,

but hirsute hands now grasp the manuscript.

My eyes averted, too afraid to engage

a mind that has slipped -- my soul is ill-equipped

to face a fate mere words, in vain, encrypt

from seed to womb till ash with life-force stripped.

How do all y'all feel about using the past tense for the first two quatrains with a shift to the present tense to mark a turn at the third quatrain and couplet?

[badger11]

 

Playing around with the tense(s):

 

 

That day she chose to ride beyond the wall

to the dark edge of the vast wilderness,

by nightfall wolves had gathered at her call

beneath a vault adorned in evening dress.

A great gray owl swooped low over the steppes

as a black he-goat took the lead in dance.

Into blue flames the moon-racked pack all leapt

in pan flute augury, now lithe, now stanced.

I turn to ask my Gran for another page,

but hirsute hands now grasp the manuscript.

My eyes averted, too afraid to engage

a mind that has slipped -- my soul is ill-equipped

to face a fate mere words, in vain, encrypt

from seed to womb till ash with life-force stripped.

How do all y'all feel about using the past tense for the first two quatrains with a shift to the present tense to mark a turn at the third quatrain and couplet?

 

 

sounds good to me

[Tinker]

Me too

[badger11]

A poll for title suggestions?

[badger11]

A suggestion from each contributor for a title and then a vote?

 

My suggestion: Samhain

[badger11]

No further offers of a title? Either way great to have a PMO sonnet!

 

best

 

badge

[tonyv]

Badge, I'm liking "Samhain." It certainly fits the motif. I haven't had a chance to give it much thought, but I will this week. In addition to the obvious eerie elements, I also see this poem touching upon matters of mental illness, losing one's mind de to aging, dementia, etc.

 

Also, thank you very much for this sonnet prompt. I've enjoyed the collaboration a lot. When we have a title and completed poem we'll cross-post it in the Member Poetry and Collaborative Works forums.

 

Tony :)

[Tinker]

My internet access has been down for the last week. I'd love to get cable up here, it comes within a mile of my home but it is not financially conducive to go any further up the mountain so satellite internet is better than dial up. Samhain sounds good but I haven't a clue what it means and right now I'm too tired to google it. With no internet I had to entertain myself somehow so I have been painting my dining room and den for the past 2 days and Tuesday I painted my front door red. Love it.

[badger11]

Life without the internet...sounds real