My last semester of high school, I studied Shakespeare’s tragedies (Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear) and various sonnets. One of my assignments was to write my own English sonnet.

I was inspired by the Irish tune “The Foggy Dew.” It’s beautifully haunting and one of my favorite pieces to play on my flute.

 

 

Midsummer’s day looked over war,
And now the soft shadow of night doth fall
Where long grass once rolled with heath of the moor.
Now death’s gentle cry rings out a chill call.
The haunting pipes long since ceased weeping,
Éire’s bold colors no longer sway proud.
And yet the fog comes quietly creeping
As if its dew could become the dead’s shroud.
Some hardly men from mother’s hearts torn,
Young they were, yet this world undeserving,
For many more dark nights their lovers mourn,
For true courage is always unswerving.
The dead have left this trembling jar of clay,
To live, to fight, to face another day.

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Next week, I’ll be at a writing conference! When I return, I’ll share some photos and things I learned while there.

 

 

Where’s Glendale?