First Alzheimer’s Sonnet – Marilyn Nelson.© A wave enters the membrane labyrinth, and something mushrooms from nothing to now. Unacted on, thought disappears from sense like the vapor trail of a skeptic’s awe: Look up, no trace remains. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, once conceived of, twice forgotten in a micromill- isecond, cumulus lost on a breeze. What if for a brief moment the flame burns higher, as a thought forms of you, my dear, then passes back into oblivion? Each cloud is a face of the atmosphere, as each wave is an aspect of the sea. Forget you? Never. Not while I am me. I am supposed to read the poem above and answer the questions below. But I know nothing about sonnet poems and I need help. Could you please help/explain?
How many lines does this poem need to be considered a sonnet? Does it meet that requirement?
How many syllables are needed for iambic pentameter? Quote one line of the poem that illustrates it.
Is there a rhyme pattern? If so, what is it? Quote parts of the poem to show this rhyming pattern in action.
What do you think is the message of this sonnet, and what within the poem itself causes you to think that?
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