Writes Robert Wynne: The Sonnetoum is, as you might have been able to guess, a cross between a Sonnet and a Pantoum. The form is 14 lines with 10 syllables per line, like a Sonnet. And it uses 7 repeating lines, similar to a Pantoum. The line repetition pattern is as follows: ABCD BEDF EGF CGA. Stanza breaks are optional, and the expected Sonnet rhyme scheme occurs simply because of the repeated lines rhyming with each other. Punctuation can vary in the repeated lines, but the words should stay the same (though homonyms can be employed). It’s a tight form, and below are two very different examples.
Power Outage
By Robert Wynne
Flames lick glass clean to keep the candle lit
in the rush of breath which escapes the lungs.
This is how the lonely night makes its case:
quietly focusing on just small things.
In the rush of breath which escapes the lungs
a whole body can be surprised into
quietly focusing on just small things.
The toe throbs its discovery because
a whole body can be surprised into
seeing the world in such flickering light.
The toe throbs its discovery because
this is how the lonely night makes its case:
seeing the world in such flickering light,
flames lick glass clean to keep the candle lit.
Requiem for Another Invented Religion
By Robert Wynne
I’m pretty sure Salvador Dali died
for my sins, though it was meant to be a surprise.
I keep cursing Gala apples’ crispness
still Spain sings no rebuke, and ants just dance.
For my sins, though it was meant to be a surprise,
I have chosen a theme of acid wash.
Still Spain sings no rebuke, and ants just dance
in the faceless moon’s swollen light, for which
I have chosen a theme of acid wash.
Nothing looks like the future’s long lean legs
in the faceless moon’s swollen light, for which
I keep cursing Gala apples’ crispness.
Nothing looks like the future’s long lean legs.
I’m pretty sure Salvador Dali died.
Leave a Reply