BUILT LIKE A BRICK SONNET
Sonnet Schemantra Construction
The Concrete Sonnet, composed of cinder blocks, set a precedent for sonnets composed with bricks. This change in scale brought more interest in individuals requesting sonnets for their backyards -- Lawn Poems.
The first brick sonnet was constructed in Killaloe, Ontario, requiring drilling into the Canadian Shield. It was long and arduous to drill, but sufficient for the necessary rebar support. This sonnet was constructed of 14 bricks, each one similar in texture and colour. The rhyme scheme was to be found in their positional placement.
The rebar was set to true and left to cure overnight. This was the spine providing security to the sonnet. Each brick needed to contain three holes to enable the centrality of its placement. The bricks were laid out on the ground in their pattern to ensure the rhyme schemantra protocol was followed as each brick was positioned into its proper place. Cement was not used as a bonding agent. A special weatherproof glue was used to bond the bricks together.
The design was very similar to the Concrete Sonnet, except for the rhyming couplet, which was set at 45 degrees from the rest of the sonnet. That gave the sonnet, not only its rhyming couplet, but also the ‘twist’ in the brick narrative that made it a volta.
This sonnet made the front cover of the intergenre journal of eloquent gardeners and poets; Better Poems and Gardens. The concept spread across the textpansive Imagine Nation of the Peoples Republic of Poetry. Poets rejoiced at the prospect of garden gnomes being replaced with garden poems, from the prosaic to the poetic.
A few years passed, and another brick sonnet was commissioned for the front garden of the headquarters of the glorious Imagine Nation of the Peoples Republic of Poetry. By this time, the Sonnet Construction Company, located in Killaloe, Ontario, was established and commissioned for the task.
This sonnet was set out to establish its rhyme schemantra. The bricks were chosen on the basis of their size, colour and textuality. There was no clear volta, but the positioning of the bricks satisfied the criteria of a Shakespearean sonnet.
The lead construction agent of the Sonnet Construction Company dug a hole three feet into the earth. A Sano Tube was placed into the hole to provide the base. Cement was poured in, and the top was shaped to provide a slight slope for water runoff; this prevented the rebar from prematurely rusting and jeopardizing the structure.
When all was cured, Poetician1 of the glorious Imagine Nation of the Peoples Republic of Poetry laid the bricks in their rhyme schemantra, using the same weatherproof glue as was done to the sonnet in Killaloe, Ontario.
Finally, the sonnet was assembled and cured, ready for poets to visit the headquarters of the glorious Imagine Nation of the Peoples Republic of Poetry.
Poetician1 posed with the latest manifestation of lawn poetry in National Poetry Month, April.
One of the first poets to bless the sonnet was retired Ontario Superior Court Judge James Clarke, while he was on a mission to provide the glorious Imagine Nation of the Peoples Republic of Poetry with the latest release of one of his many books of poetry.
The sonnet is well over ten years old and has endured many weather events. Just a few more pics of this well-celebrated Brick Sonnet.
National Poetry Month, April 15, 2015.
