“Okay, you asked for it! This was my first quatrain,
after which I read those damnable rules at Sonnet
Central, and edited it into this with a little more
tweaking as I just transcribed it to Word.”

Gentle, there, upon the land, winter’s pride,
plush sweeping hand. Stay, see chills breath’s pastel
puff, vapor clouds; laugh aloud! Abide
on scenic depth, forego warmth, cold excels.

“So, I decided it was too ‘illustrative’, didn’t have a
clear and adequate beginning, was too exclamatory, the
word positioning wasn’t very precise and it lacked
pizzazz. Then, I spent another hour squaring my
thoughts and trying to semi-stay within the ‘rules’
as I wrestled into this pretzel!. “

Fast! Stay inside; icy storm wields its cage.
Heart of home shivers, hearth of home, assured
and protected, flayed by shuddering rage.
Hold fast, outside sleek sizzle can be heard,

like sleet gray arctic shadows, becoming
armor, aspirating to thicken bones,
horizon coated with rime, breath numbing,
leaving behind shatterings, creaks and moans.

Careful, walking land, winter chill-laced road
welcomes no man. Beware the frozen cast,
dexterity proceeds to slip. Behold,
inset within fragile time sloughing past,

fairy castle realms; pine branches held fast
to frigid ground, illusion unsurpassed!

Erin Elizabeth Kelly-Moen
© Copyright 11/14/03+