Wyatt Underwood

location

sonnetland
probably a dude (and dudette) ranch in Arizona
a place poets go to study spareness
rocks, dirt, gravel, sandstone cliffs
and that one arch high on a mountain pass
you can get to by burro train
or you can climb
whichever side of the arch you sit on
in this scenery, water is a memory
the ranchhouse has a well
and pumps water to each of the cabins
the sun highlights the pinks and golds in cliffs around you
and the wind
continues to carve


history

sonnetland
a pub in London
during the late 1500s
early 1600s
poets gathered there and competed
the best one for the queen
the best one for love lost
the best one for love scorned
the barkeep had an enormous budget
for parchment, quills, and ink
and claimed to make a profit selling drink
but many suspected
he drained an earl's spare change
to keep the words and lines flowing


future

sonnetland
had gotten stale to some of us
archaic, we said, worked cold
then Wanda Coleman and Lucille Clifton arrived
screwed tight flourishes of their own on an old form
and la!  it was alive again!
alive and hungry
and not for tuna fish
it wants your best beef, salmon, or pork
and a new recipe for their preparation
wander carefully now among the flashing blades
if you would study creation these days
some would tell you to watch through a telescope for safety
no, like anything worth learning, you must dare the blades