On Being Olde-School: Part 2

By Paul Roberts

A month ago in my blog I wrote about being old-school, and the pleasure I find at times when I realize I’ve dated myself somewhat by some of my behavior. I mentioned that all I was really trying to do was find a vehicle, a reason, for sharing some of my more personal writing. Specifically, in that January 10th blog post, it was a sonnet I had written for my mother. I mentioned to Carol at the time that when Valentine’s Day rolled around, I would be sharing my first ever sonnet, the one I’d written for her long, long ago.

I can imagine some of you thinking, “Man, he really has a thing for sonnets.” True, true, but I think of it more like I have a thing for puzzles. Especially word puzzles. Some might then think “Ah, he’s a fan of Wordle.” Nope. Heard of it for the first time this weekend, and I felt the same buzz I had felt when I heard about online Scrabble. Which was…none. Remember, I tend to be old-school. Or, if you’d like, olde-school.  Isn’t it funny what adding that “e” does to the feel of the word?

I like crossword puzzles, and working on one with a real writing utensil in my hand. I like in person Scrabble at the dining room table. And I like the puzzle of playing with the rhythm and rhyme in poetry. Searching for, and finding, the perfect word for a line. Reading my work over and over before choosing just the right punctuation to (hopefully) allow the reader to hear it how I hear it. When writing sonnets, I’m not frightened off by “olde-school” word usage like o’er and e’er for the sake of the right rhythm, or “thee” in place of “you” for the sake of rhyme. I grew up with the King James version.

And there you have it. One more piece of prose just so you will read my poetry.

Happy Valentine’s Day Carol! 

Click here to read Paul's Valentine's Day Sonnet to Carol.

 Have you ever attempted to write any kind of poetry?  What was your experience?  Share about it in the comments below.

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