Thomas the Guitar Player

I have written several haiku, but this is my first attempt at a sonnet. Since it is a rainy day and my dad is having health problems, I have chosen to write a sonnet about him. Writing is a way of release; sometimes; it helps to write things down.  There are things people want to remember, and creative writing is a way to help a person remember life events.  A sonnet is a type of poetry that originated in Europe. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was one of the most famous sonnet authors; he wrote one hundred and fifty-four of them (William Shakespeare Sonnets, 2005). Other sonnets that William Shakespeare wrote appear in his plays. A sonnet has fourteen lines and ten syllables in each line.

  Seamus Heaney is a present day Irish author who is famous for his Glanmore Sonnets, about his childhood growing up in Castledawson, County Derry, Northern Ireland (Seamus Hesney, 2011). Being born and raised in Northern Ireland greatly affected Heaney's work and made him an award winning author.

Thomas the Guitar Player

Born in Boonville, Mississippi in early June

A youngster of the great depression era

Thomas cherishes his guitar and a tune

Delighted making music in a southern area

Orphaned in boyhood but never was gloomy

Working from an early age in cotton fields

Always worked hard to support his family

The white rows of cotton were his to till

Music gave him power and inspiration

His guitar sheltered him from desperation

Played guitar and sang in church on Sunday

Farming was not his chosen occupation

Back to work he always went on Monday

Until he could play his guitar at liberation