Faith - Melanie Ellison Sonnet

Our lives are filled with trials and much care,

Which on our own cannot be overcome.

Their prevalence tends to tempt us to despair,

And so to hopelessness we oft succumb.

An answer to the bleak, persistent facts,

Is nowhere near, nor is a change in sight.

A bitter heart in dissonance reacts,

With, “How could faith be succor for my plight?”

Now faith is being sure of the unseen,

Without it, it's impossible to please

God, Who is competent to intervene.

By trusting, what He promised we shall seize.

The Scriptures call for faith in our great God,

Who blesses those who in faith daily plod.

Reply To Katherine - Beth Siemon

Oh sisters mine, you stand with downcast eyes:
You've been enslaved and withheld rightful pride.
You have buckled under to please the guys,
an echo of the day the serpent lied.

You've always thought you were the tool of men
Since the fall, man has gained the upper hand;
You believe that your gender is a sin
If you were Beatrice you could understand.

Oh sisters mine, uplift your pretty eyes:
Let your heart be free and behold the theme.
Don't hold your spirits back, but let them rise,
And take your place amid God's glorious scene.

When God made women He didn't make them weak
Strength controlled is the beauty of the meek.

Katherine Czerwinski - The Pains of Being Weak and Evil: An Amateur Sonnet About Being A Woman

If you have ever been a woman, then

My dilemma will be known to you:

I cannot do what most of the men can

Yes, I'm weak and evil, it is too true.

Lack of strength and sinful desires

All too often dominate my life,

Like an unwanted beast from mires

Of control and unrelenting strife.

But hope's discovered in the little things;

The self sacrifice and acceptance

Of my condition, oh, joy it brings.

No constant hold to this evil trance!

These things I cannot change, not on my own,

But through Him who sits upon the throne.

Walt Hackney Sonnet

Even though there are oceans, seas

Refusing my true love and I

Lord, kneeling down on humbled knees

Do I beseech you bring her nigh

And someday soon we meet again

Dear Lord, please keep her always true

To this lowly man among men

And I the same, and never do

A thing that I should now regret

For now I'll think of days gone past

Remember times I'll not forget

And love this one girl to the last

For there is but one girl for me

Together soon we'll ever be

Anna Andrews Sonnet

My fear is not that life will seem too short

Nor is my angst that love will break my heart

I do not pain that men my words contort

Nor do I dread my worldly wealth depart

I see behind All, time in shapes and forms

Existing on the wings of place and past

What worth has instant lost in rains and storms

When light concealed by cloud's forgotten fast.

My fright is that the sun will set on days

Without our purpose glimpsed like Winter's breath

For God has called for each to win His ways

This world to know their hope outlasting death

For moments gained are worth a thousand's cost

Christ's truth displayed, alone, is life not lost

Of Blood, Grace, And New Songs - Roni Olson

What do I know of redemption's story?

Its concept embedded within my soul.

Yet my fallen mind refutes its glory;

I yearn to be free, I yearn to be whole.

The spilling of blood a fitting ransom.

Blood availed for me I often do doubt.

Embodiment of beauty, though not handsome; *

Paradoxes ask what love is about.

Yet the substance of things hoped for, the things

I've not seen, are those upon which faith rests. *

While my mouth remains closed, my soul still sings

Of grace undeserved, no longer a quest.

The divine with the human did collide,

And I live through the life of Him who died.

Robert Stargel - Dr. Pepper

There is a poison that I love to drink

It has a way of controlling my thoughts

If I don't have it then I start to think

My brain will slow down while my body rots

 

The pain raises my senses when I sip

Then pours them searing right back off a cliff

Then I must reach back for another drip

So that my best muscle does not go stiff.

To beat this issue is to beat my mind

Through splitting pain and curing of the soul

I will lose some pounds and yet be more whole

This fizzy issue will be left behind

When I don't have it I will start to think

There is a poison that I love to drink

Rachel Yelton Sonnet

Within the walls of tree hewn lumber sleeps
The noise of laughter sweetly lost in dreams.
Bound and warmed by flickering flames of heat
Untroubled by the cares of worldly themes
Yet warm without, my restless heart does pace
Stirred by the call of lands left unexplored
Behind the mists which shroud the mountain's face
To go, to stay, my thoughts within me torn

My heart does yearn to walk the paths untamed
To seek a world beyond the mountains view
Still, bond by chains of comfort I remain
Inside the sheltered walls of golden hue
One day I know that path my feet will tread
But for today my feet shall rest instead.

Nicolea Ronald - Sonnet 1

Thundering water rushes quickly past,

Once strong souls are now lost in its current,

In past days they fearlessly led the rest,

But now are dragged with the torrent,

Following the way it chooses to go,

There is doubt that they will ever fight back,

Limited hope remains for those who know

The river should have no hold on their track.

Then from an old, majestic craft called ‘Church’

An oar comes forth; a strong thrust digs down deep

A strength they did not have pulls with a lurch

Their course this time is intended to keep

To hold their path they need strength more than theirs

Found in a mighty God who deeply cares.

Laura Oliver's Sonnet

For time is something that cannot be controlled

It steals life that should be more than memory
The good times rot and turn to history

Like bread left uneaten will turn to mold

Time shapes what life we have, scorching our joy

As life is the match, so time is the flame

At your death you’ve only got your own name

A blaze, a flash, then time will destroy

Take each moment and make it the finest,

Experience the best in everything new

Embrace the things you know to be true

It is your life to live to the fullest

God gives you every moment of your life

Trust Him in the good times and through the strife

Josh Litwiller Sonnet

There is a wall that forms in front of me;
A massive wall that hides me from the Cross;
Across the wall a place for what is free;
And this the place of death forth hence my loss.

The land under my foot is not but dry,
The grass so thin, so scarce and not but there;
No warmth, no hope, all happy thought shall die;
This must not be, I need to breathe new air.

So go I must to conquer what is seen;
I climb with grace that from thy God above
Over the wall and to the land of green,
Away from sin and into God's own Love.

Because the wall now behind, grass and dew
I see and now I'm free and made anew.

John Mitchem Sonnet

My jeep is broken for it caught on fire

And now it sets surrounded by more dead

Forgotten cars that make my mom desire

To let our mess drive her out of her head

I would have liked repairing it this Fall

As soon as money came my way but this

Semester, Summit took away it all

To teach me truth, but Jeeping I still miss.

My father's a mechanical man though

He needs some power since he broke his truck

My jeep has more than he can even know

So think about it: my fantastic luck

Instead of fixing it when I get home

He'll fix it, killing two birds with one stone

Jessica Wedel Sonnet

Can God forgive my lack of gratitude-
Who made the sun, the moon, the stars, the sea,
Who guides the storms and tiny honey bee,
Who filled the earth and by whose love subdued,

Who made the mountains high, the sky protrude,
Who wrote the sweet song of the chickadee,
Who formed the man in the image of Thee,
Who orchestrates the laws of the etude?

I thank the Lord who made, who wrote, who filled.
My gratitude, His mercy does demand,
Because of grace I raise this thankful hand.
The blood of Christ, instead of mine He spilled.

This fallen man my God does not abhor.
His steadfast love endures forever more.

Ellen Whaley - Paths Before Me

So many are the paths mine eye can see,

How shall I lead my hes'tant feet along?

Perchance my muse the scientist shall be,

My mind from the great minds of old made strong

As seeking knowledge I their footsteps trace.

Or is my life for diff'rent purpose meant?

Shall “mother” be the cry, from darling face

In sweetest tones, that makes my heart content?

One thing I know and it shall e'er be true:

A greater hand than mine doth guide my way.

No treach'rous wave or sky of darkest hue

Shall ever make Him cast the helm away.

Whatever tale my Lord should write for me,

I shall His faithful servant always be.

Elizabeth Larson Sonnet

Before the sun broke o'er the mountain tops

Shadowy figures striding side by side

A steady cadence of footsteps striding

Rhythmic breaths of air breaking the still dawn.

Perhaps a new route will be seen this morn

Or the old and familiar will be worn

Familiar yes, but not always the same

The ambiance has changed since last I came.

Mornings repast of these I do so miss

Tries to fill with other things have all failed

Soon these days shall occur without remiss

Though when these days shall reappear is veiled.

Until then, I'll learn the skill of repose

And take time to stop and smell a rose.

Caitlin Hendon - Trial Sonnet 1 (1/2)

His mind remembers truth, through clouded thought,

Of youth: that fell from him as day to dark.

The hours he spent for love when love was naught

Have left upon his soul a callused mark.

For birth was bare as he, and none would tell

What hand, or hell, or thought had brought him here.

Or from which cosmic moon or star he fell

Or why the darkness, as the light, brought fear.

His mind remembers truth through clouded thought

Of old age: poisoning a bitter heart

As he began to hate the truth he sought

He sentenced life to death and truth to part.

A man can never know the truth he seeks

Of life or love, unless Truth Himself speaks.

Caitlin Burke - Sonnet 1

Self-focused and tumultuous unrest

Defines the mode in which life is appraised.

Against each minute blossom's sure behest

The locomotive clatters past. Unraised

Are worthy accolades. Neglect abates

A sense of wonderment once had at and.

Man praises man for that which he creates

Yet fails to heed Him who is in command.

Resplendent shafts of light spill forth to touch

The earth and vast green canopies that stroke

The sky and burrow deep. These urge as much

Acclaim as man is able to evoke.

So keep a rightful stance of praise. Make rife

His name. Exalt the Architect of life.

Allissa Dominowski Sonnet

They’ve always said to hide my heart - not wear

it on my sleeve - but bury it in a shelf

kept safe and warm and wanting no repair

as hearts do guard a woman's greatest wealth.

but men did come my heart they sought to steal

with gifts and words so quick to make me fall

for tricks and games that I mistook as real

devotion though it heeded not my call.

these wounds so painful still do mar my heart

which seeks its freedom from the noiseless brawl.

my Father's arms I found I did depart

back to His grace I once again must crawl

He held my heart secure before I strayed

so in His arms again it must be laid.

Alex Barnato Sonnet

Do you know whom that I have sought to find?

In grace I realize that I am lost.

The Christ is ever present on my mind,

To seek Him is to seek at any cost.

Do you know what it's like to feel ashamed,

To struggle along Life's road every day?

To feel as by the Devil's hands I'm slain,

My hope and joy burned up like chaff and hay.

Now things may not be as bad as they seem,

I feel a return of my confidence.

In him, through great Love, I have been redeemed,

And now have no excuse to be hopeless.

Praise be to Him who washed away my sins,

In my heart His Love truly always wins.

Roadmap To This Blog

A short description of this blog and why it exists.
Over the course of the next 30 weeks, beginning Jan. 1st, 2011, you will be taking part in the varied and dynamic blogs of 2010's Summit Semester class. These 30 students entered into a program for learning to learn. We lived like monks, minus the robes and shaved spots atop our heads. We honed our skills as readers, writers, thinkers, and artists.
It was for Dr. Michael Bauman, professor of Theology at Hillsdale College in southern Michigan, that these sonnets were birthed. Many of us never before had the opportunity to write a sonnet. It was an assignment we were given three weeks to complete. For some, it took many hours to craft each line to their satisfaction. For others, they completed their sonnets in five minutes the day before they were due. The sonnets, many of them, were read aloud to the rest of the class and in front of Dr. Bauman. Each sonnet was then turned in for critique. They are as unique as the artists who constructed them.
The rules for sonnets followed:

• 14 lines
• 8 (Octave) consisting of a stated issue or question
• 6 (Sextet) consisting of the resolution or answer to the octave, including final two lines which summarize the sextet
• Each line must consist of equal syllable count
• Lines must be in form of Iambic Pentameter - meaning every second syllable must be stressed and there must be 5 movements of stress within the line.
• Octave and Sextet must follow a similar rhyme scheme, with the last word in the line being the key rhyme word. Examples:
• ABBA CDDC EFFE GG
• ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
• AABB CCDD EEFF GG

After the 30 weeks, I will open the blog up to additional writings by Semester 2010 students. So keep on coming back.
The purpose of this blog is to showcase the artistry, imagination, and skill of our class. It is also to bring attention to an increasingly dying art. Poetry - good poetry - is going the way of the Mammoth. Poetry has, over the last hundred years or so, bowed to the secular humanist's claim that all is relative, including words and their meaning. Poetry has held an incredible place in the history of language and expression. Such robust thought can be conveyed in only a few short lines of poetry. Sonnets in particular are of a dying breed. They are highly structured and packed with meaning and purpose. Each line encompasses well-thought intention and care, allowing for a beautiful semblance of thought and sound. We, as responsible Christians, must interject the beauty and grace of the gospel into all spheres of the culture. This is one humble attempt to add to that goal. 
Read sonnets aloud, as poetry was meant to be heard. 

Please comment on posts, as artists appreciate affirmation and constructive criticism.
Thanks for checking this blog out. And remember to check back on Jan. 1st.