Skinny Sinner Sonnet Trio

1. Shadow, Form, and Inspiration

In my early twenties,
When poetry was news to me,
I did a lot of tinkering
With content as a kind of form,

Content as shadow of form.
It was my inspiration,
My elementary thing.

We are a series of scenes
Whose connections are unclear.
The crosshatching draws me in,

A glow of incredible
Well-being described by light,
Hard in spite of blazoned lines,
Informal but contented.


2. Baal Refused to Allow the Installation of a Window

Ancient urbanites believed
Death enters through a window.
My mother, who liked howlers,
So long as they weren’t dirty,

Used to repeat a dark pun
From the days of Spanish flu:
“Someone opened a window
And in flew Enza.”

That was forever ago
And was only yesterday.
In New Zealand, it’s strange, but
Despite the biting sandflies,

People live so unafraid,
No one installs window screens.


3.  Quick, Write that Down

Insights make a fine hobby.
Collect them like bottle caps.
Heap them like beach glass
On windowsills. They’re worthless,

Every last one, but they’re fun,
They’re a pleasure to collect.
Each small foolishness delights
Wisdom, sparkling in the light,

Bright as a gem in the sun
Each one, including this one.
An idea is an object,
Not a life, cracked or correct.

Objects can’t help perfect life,
And perfection can’t be helped.