Thanks for visiting my blog. This blog chronicles a mostly 4-year journey of love, life, and loss. It's now time to retire. However, feel free to browse and read through the posts.
My current work/projects can be accessed at www.miriamjerotich.com

Monday, August 13, 2012

A Sonnet for My Grandfather

As a writer, I often dabble in what I call "constructed memory" - bits and pieces of memory and fiction put together to create a story, or a poem. The sonnet below is an example of that, and it's based on the story Memories of Yesterday. It's a fictional sonnet, but that doesn't make it any less true. 

In Memory of Makwar
(Who comes back to earth as a frog)


After the mourners at your grave had cleared
Away, the frog from the spirit land came;
A slimy critter we greatly endeared,
As the bearer of your ancient clan name.
Like a sentry the frog stayed by your hut,
Guarding the secrets of your warrior past;
It kept your wooden door forever shut,
So that your presence here would always last.
But clan totems can never replace you,
Nor traditions bring back the holidays,
When we sat at your feet, and looked up to
Your right hand blessing us for all our days.
Makwar, you were our life’s greatest treasure,
Our grandfather; our friend without measure.


Learn how to write a sonnet here


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