A Sonnet for Zoe

By Paul Roberts

I’m staying with poetry in my blog posts throughout the month, celebrating April as National Poetry Month. Last month I was sharing about daughter number one; this month, some joy to share about daughter number two: Zoe Mary Patricia Roberts.

Maybe sometime Carol can write about the name choosing process for all three of our daughters from her perspective. I get the feeling that she has much more detailed memories of those moments then I do. I know that I have always enjoyed the meaning behind names, and it was fun with Zoe to honor both of her grandmothers in her naming: Mary Idell West and Patricia Jane Taylor.

I don’t recall the occasion for writing this poem, but I thought I’d share some of my notes left over from the process of putting it together. The majority of my poetry starts with pen and paper, often with some rather random, stream of consciousness thoughts on the topic:

A sonnet for Zoe - the second to name - what’s in a name - Zoe connections - Firefly - Dr. Who - 

This often leads me into just a bit of research, when necessary:

Zoe = life Mary = wished for child Patricia = noble

what’s in a name: Juliet to Romeo? yes

Which can lead to a deeper dive, and down the internet rabbit hole I go:

Empress Zoe Porphyrogenita (born of the purple): a Byzantine empress of the 10th century A.D.

byzantine: excessively complicated

At that point, it’s time to write, and since I had already decided to stay with my typical Shakespearan sonnet format, off I go. Fourteen lines, an ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme (three quatrains and a couplet, for you poetry geeks), and five accented syllables per line for the iambic pentameter rhythm I am looking for. And yes, for me, this counts as fun.

Empress Zoe

The bard new well the struggle it would mean;

‘Tis but a name, but one that must be sweet.

A second daughter my eyes had just seen,

A chance once more for Love and I to meet.

O, what is in a name? The question lives

Within the mind of all who face the task

Of naming; for a name both takes and gives

From those who bore the title in the past.

And well we chose, I see as back I look;

A wished for child, a noble one was named;

In her live past and future, in one book.

In her, the old and new so sweetly framed.

For life she gives to all without regret,

As life she gave to me when first we met. 

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Is there a personal story behind your name? Or the name of one of your children? Tell us about it, in any format you choose.

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