My Medusa – Petrarchan sonnet

· by · in poetry, sonnet. ·


Your dark temptations are like fireflies
your sweet electrified pulsations sting
entangled tresses of your hair that cling
ensnare me like Odysseus’ sirens lie
your dresses vary – unexpected guise
but always something sinister you bring
like snakes awoken in the sun of spring
whatever that you touch with darkness dies

you’re my Medusa, but I love you so
as summer’s rose is sweet but still has thorns
as pirate’s ship in storm is safe at shore
please stay with me. I’ll never let you go
so silently I will accept your scorn
as long as you’ll pretend – I’ll you adore

medusa
On Thursday Tony guided us in writing sonnets, and I did a Shakesperean and a Spenserean, but I never had the time to do a Petrarchean – so this one I post for Poetry Pantry instead.

28 responses to “My Medusa – Petrarchan sonnet”

  1. Bjorn, this is a beautiful poem. I can’t help thinking that if you could take the two similes, as in the opening and metaphorize them the piece would have so much more power. Best>KB

  3. smiles… danger and passion seem to be close neighbors at time… cool on tackling the petrarchan/italian sonnet… it’s my fav sonnet form

  7. heh…though she’s a medusa you love her so…i like the contrast and tension in that…its a good bit of reality too…we want what we can not have….smiles.

  8. How funny:
    Pot calling the kettle black?
    You’re one line short too 🙂
    Your second 4-liner needs another -a- rhyme.
    Just as well that the sestet can be any old how, as long as it isn’t 4+2.
    c d e
    c d e

    c d c
    d c d

    c d d
    c d d

    c d d
    e c e

    c d d
    c c d

    All very confusing, but what does it matter? As long as it sounds and looks pleasant.
    Like your Medusa story.

  12. ‘you’re my Medusa, but I love you so’.. wow! I really love the similies and metaphors you used, and this is such a beautiful, dark poem.. just my type 🙂 I love it a lot!

  14. Why!? O, maybe you’re being sarcastic? Sounds like obsession, my friend, sounds like masochism. I’d say the same hing to a woman, really. Everyone deserves more! You have captured a certain kind of romanticism here that deifies pain and unrequited love.

  15. You make form almost invisible–and for me, that is a very good thing–I was just talking to a student about Medusa today—she is singing Music for a While by Henry Purcell–and he chose a text with references to Medusa and Alecto—

  18. I was going to call you the master of the sonnets until I saw Jo-hanna’s comment… *smile* But as far as I’m concerned you still rule! By the way, didn’t Medusa turn those who looked at her into stone? That makes loving her even more interesting…

      • Ah, OK! Well, you know I’d find it hard to know a correct sonnet if it jumped up and bit me… But the stoned narrator bit made me laugh! *smile*

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