Why Do I Write?
A terza rima sonnet inspired by an essay writing challenge issued by Ravyne Hawke in Promptly Written
Write to merge my soul and my consciousness Write for expansion of my higher self so selves integrate as one consciousness
Write so my demons remain on the shelf and even when they escape their cages I learn and know how to protect ourself
Write to express and temper my rages Else my anger can turn to resentment Progress not perfection comes in stages
Write to increase base-level contentment Not for insane pursuit of happiness and to avoid depths of self-contemptment
Write to share feelings and avoid numbness and return to state of inner youngness
The Form of Sonnet Explained
“The terza rima sonnet is named for a poetic convention called terza rima, which is a three-line stanza that uses a chain rhyme (the carrying over of the rhyme used in a previous stanza). The rhyme scheme of the terza rima sonnet is aba bcb cdc ded followed by a rhyming couplet that usually echoes the first rhyme of the poem: aa.” — Source
My poem uses aba bcb cdc dad aa. That is the scheme that Robert Frost used in the example on the website I linked. If it’s close enough for Frost it’s close enough for me.
Here is the essay writing challenge that I mention in my subtitle (all entries must be submitted to Promptly Written to be considered):
The prompt for the essay is “what drives me as a writer.” Because I am an editor in PW, and very good friends with Ravyne, who will be the sole judge of the contest, I probably will not create my own entry (too many conflicts of interest), but I am undecided. Plus, it’s a topic I have written about several times and I am not sure I would come up with a sufficiently unique entry to meet my own standards. Yet, the topic percolated in my subconscious while I slept last night and I decided I will write a series of poems that could serve as my outline for a potential entry.
Tagging friends who might want to try this different form of sonnet and/or enter the essay challenge (please see the link above for the rules): Joseph Lieungh| Kira Dawn | William J Spirdione (I wrote this one by hand too)| I. Trudie Palmer | jules | Dr Mehmet Yildiz | Dr. Preeti Singh | Maria Rattray | Claire Kelly | DMTakeshi | Amy Marley | Stuart Englander | Diana C. | Anthi Psomiadou | David Pahor| Kim Petersen | Thief | Somsubhra Banerjee| Camille Grady | Rebecca Romanelli | Carrie. A. Kelly | Carolyn F. Chryst, Ph.D. | Melanie J. | Dr. Fatima Imam | Agnes Laurens | Diana C.
In Rama I create, with soul-energy surging through my body, inspiring me and breathing wind into my sails,