By Definition (Poetry)
21st September 2025
Is this a sonnet?
The jury’s still out
though it’s fourteen lines long
there is serious doubt
that it quite fits the bill
in the literary sense
for it’s not the full pound
by at least fifty pence
while ignoring tradition
might class as a sin
words tend to weigh more
when the wrapping is thin
All sonnets born equal, fair judgement should be
to stretch definition — lean liberally
The jury’s still out
though it’s fourteen lines long
there is serious doubt
that it quite fits the bill
in the literary sense
for it’s not the full pound
by at least fifty pence
while ignoring tradition
might class as a sin
words tend to weigh more
when the wrapping is thin
All sonnets born equal, fair judgement should be
to stretch definition — lean liberally