This document discusses the form and structure of the English sonnet through three sample poems: 1. "A Gentle Death" by Debbie Guzzi is a 14 line poem about death with a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. 2. "Ghost Rider In Vegas" by Andrea Dietrich is also a 14 line poem that follows the English sonnet structure of 3 quatrains and a couplet. 3. "Sonnet on my Threadbare Love" by Andrea Dietrich similarly adheres to the traditional English sonnet form of 14 lines in 3 quatrains and a couplet closing rhyme. The document then provides a brief overview of the key characteristics

1. English Sonnets
Lyric poetry

2. A Gentle Death by Debbie Guzzi
Avenge me not, for death has been a friend
And anger ill befits love's gentle wine.
All lovers true or not, must part, ascend:
Rise, or fall, as life's trials their paths assign.
Still as bone, white as winter's snow my skin
By candle light, one can almost see inside.
My hair a gossamer halo, so thin,
My eyes, my blue eyes, still contain the tide.
I am your fair Persephone, your wife, bride,
And soon I will return to you Hades
To rise born on cherry blossom tides;
When in the earth, I can no longer bide.
Bless gentle Thanatos for his death sublime
And Hypnos, as in sleep, I do recline.

3. Ghost Rider In Vegas by Andrea Dietrich
He caught a ride to somewhere going nowhere;
first hopped inside a slowed-down limousine.
The driver felt a chill and turned to stare
at someone seated in the back unseen.
A new car’s scent; the passenger smelled nothing.
The seat of luxury he could not feel.
The driver then off-key began to sing
to no one as he slowly tapped the wheel.
His passenger joined in and crooned unheard
that ancient tune “It was a very good year,”
his old blue eyes once clear becoming blurred,
and down his cheek there rolled a single tear.
Again compelled, the chauffeur turned his head –
then saw a small spot where the tear was shed.

4. Sonnet on my Threadbare Love by Andrea Dietrich
My love is like a worker's gloves grown old.
His hands are leather, roughened now with age
and years of work in weather hot and cold,
yet through the many years, he has grown sage. . .
My love is like a builder's pair of boots.
He's dusty and fatigued and still he walks
while trailing mud, but now his attributes
shine through despite life's many stumbling blocks.
My love is like a pair of jeans much worn,
a pair of socks with holes that have stayed warm.
Though time and all the trials he has borne
have left him frayed, he wishes no one harm.
To write a beaming sonnet would not do,
but threadbare love (in some ways) bests the new.

5. Kiss Mark of the Sun by Leonora Galinta
When the sun sets and says its sweet goodbye,
It leaves an immense kiss mark on the sky,
A promise that it’ll return tomorrow,
To take away all our fears and sorrow.
Its kiss mark is dappled with lavender,
Birds hover above to feel its wonder,
The silhouettes of mountains and the trees,
An art of prosperity, joy and peace.
Its kiss mark is in hue of pink and red,
A fiery love of God sent with roses,
Feel its tranquility and its warmness,
Panacea on worries that come ahead.
Crimson sky is the kiss mark of the sun,
A dazzling beauty since the world begun.

6. *14 lines: 3 quatrains
and a couplet
*10 syllables per line
*Rhyming pattern:
ABAB
CDCD
EFEF
GG
English Sonnet Rules