“Write me a love poem,” she said she said, “One
Of those sonnets.” Just like that. “Sure, sometime,”
I lied, unsure of structure, meter, rhyme –
Mostly of love itself. I’d been alone
Most of my life and hadn’t a notion
Of what love required. Its paradigm
I’d seen, but when pressed I could barely mime
Its performance. “I’ll get right on it, hon.”
So I started, certain I’d scrap the damn
Thing in a few days or a week. Love poems
Have traditions only lovers could know.
I could follow rules and pass her exam,
Assemble a sonnet, keep peace at home,
But I never did. She left long ago.
© 2015 Robert Glover
Jim Mc
Congratulations, Bob. I like your poem a lot. Do you know what poems won first and second, and what it was the judges favored in those over yours?
Robert
Thanks, Jimbo. I’m not sure what they were looking for, and I haven’t read the other poems either. It was for a Petrarchan sonnet. I submitted a few other poems to other contests, but struck out on those. Bummer.