Five's The Count

This one's a little weird. I was thinking about what goes through my head when I'm writing sonnets, and just sort of idly tapping out lines when this one started to form itself. Don't think of it as an instructional... it's more of a stream-of-consciousness thing. Anyone who engages in any sort of creative activity - think about what's running through your head when you're in the thick of it. Maybe you'll understand what I mean.


Five's The Count

Five's the count (each count's a foot), and measure.
What's been said - then think what follows next.
What steers the thought? Now, steady. Guide the text.
Careful. Easy. Let each line be leisure.
Entwine the lines, but let not lines be vexed
for lining's sake. Remember. Free the thought.
Let it breathe, let it be shaped and wrought.
Forge it. An idea. See it flexed
against itself. Keep the meaning taut.
Make it tight. Guide it, unperplexed.
Keep it honest. Let the lines be pleasure.
Steady-hand it home. The flowered thought
will breathe and bloom. Ideas steer the text,
but five's the count. Count it well, and measure.