Sonnet #18: special thanks to Joy and Paul Burwell
I once declared that God was funny and
found evidence in large and distant lands
I once declared that God was faithful then
saw proof in faces Joy-full and well sent
In common wisdom and in Pauline wit
and generosity to match it I would sit
in awe with thoughts of thankfulness and pray
that we would be united face to face
and when my world decayed into abyss
malevolent enforcers raged and hissed
from far the voice of humor and of trust
comforted like a hot day’s windy gust
O, thanks to those whose words do always tell
of love, and Ode to Joy and Paul Burwell
Rhyme scheme is a simple aabb ccdd eeffgg
Other additions to this sonnet: The combination of wisdom and humor is highlighted using their names “Joy-full”, and “Pauline.” Of course I could not help being quaintly silly and referencing Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” At the end of lines 9 and 12, I set up the following lines (10 and 13) to crete hidden words matching the ongoing theme: “abyss…mal…”, and “gust…O.” One word to match my own struggles and another the zeal Joy and Paul bring to life. The large a distant land is a reference to Texas, where the Burwells live.
Phil Wyman: Dim Saesneg 