In Which I Tease The Paradise Tossed Boys Just A Little Bit

My name does not seem that hard to pronounce,

But it was rendered as it is by one

Most hard to gainsay (Gladys Belle, who'd pounce

I'm sure, on John and Cameron -- no fun

To be had 'neath my grandma's glare). I'm told

It once rhymed with a British store, but now

It's with a phrase like "Hate Your God" (I hold

That as the funniest, so that is how

I tell people to say it). That is not

What I am here to sonnetize today,

However. What I really find as hot

Is listening to great big nerds at play.

The Paradise Tossed podcast with me, here,

Is live right now! Such giggling and such cheer!

In Which I Go All Meta Over My Ipod For @ParadiseTossed

Today, a brand new gadget came my way,

An iPod Touch, and so I join the rest

Of my geek fellows, all of whom will say

That most things things "i" are really quite the best

In terms of ease of use; no need to think

Too hard about exactly how one might

Accomplish what one wants to. Each night's sync

Can bring new tools, to one's complete delight,

New apps, which entertain and yes, inform,

And even which allow me to compose

New sonnets to my blog. And should a storm

Of thought come to me during my repose

No longer must I drag me out of bed;

I grab my toy, and share what's in my head.

Happy Birthday, @ParadiseTossed!

I love a guy who takes a notion to

Carve out a niche that's largely unexplored.

John Ladd has done just that, exploring through

His magazine one that might go ignored

Without his efforts. Poetry and tech

And how they interact; he's made that his

Milieu, and taken it from just a speck

Of thought into a full-blown venture. This

Is Paradise Tossed, and it's growing strong.

A podcast has been added, and it's fun.

The list of its contributors grows long.

It might just be a new thing 'neath the sun!

And yes, today is our John Ladd's birthday,

And yes, dear John, your essay's on its way!

In Which I Test Out A New Online Rhyming Dictionary

For John Ladd there's not much I wouldn't do

(Online at least), so when he asked me, Kate,

What's your take, we were won'dring, on the new

Web dictionary? How does Rhymebrain rate

Against what you are using now, since as

A formal poet you must do so lots?

I've played with it a few days now; it has

Potential to be useful, though it clots

One's screen with nonsense when asked for a rhyme

(Non-dictionary words you may weed out

Though it will list them with the rest, first time),

So much so that I'm quite inclined to doubt

It shall replace Rhymezone, though I shall try

It for a few more days to clarify.

Sonneteer's note: I shall write on this topic at great length, and in prose, soon for Paradise Tossed, the online journal of poetry and technology. I'll Tweet an alert when it is live and put a link to the article in the "Articles and Appearances" section of this web page. And yeah, this sonnet will probably be the springboard for the article, so you just got a sneak peek.

In Which I Thank My Medicine Men

It takes strange tools to patch a torn-up heart,
Takes songs and tales and poetry and play.
Comes time for me to thank those who, in part
Have made or done the things which, I may say,
Have proven the best medicine for me.
Phil Rossi wrote a song that e'en before
The hardest blow came down did help me see
A light at tunnel's end. And there is more:
For Jeremy Shipp's novel did a lot,
As did a poem by Gregory Wright
He wrote just for me, to tell me I'm not
Alone, not even in the darkest night.
Thanks too, to my White Rabbit and John Ladd:
Chess therapy is good, too, when I'm sad.

In Which A Friend Steps Up Into A New Role

John Ladd, I think I'm making a great trade

A column or two for your magazine

(I hope that what I've done do make the grade)

On our poetic, internet-ic scene,

For counseling on my misdeeds in chess!

As coaches go you're patient, funny and

You give me hope that I might blunder less

In future games! Your wish is my command

On future essays. Any you may want,

On any subject for Paradise Tossed,

Is yours! Few are the bloggers who may flaunt

A captive sonneteer so to be bossed!

My gratitude, dear John, for all your aid.

As well for all the practice games we've played!

BONUS SONNET: In Which I Consider Overstrained Emoticons

I look upon my keyboard's topmost row,
And what a strange assortment meets my eye!
A choice of numerals or marks that go
(For the most part) at the tail end of my
Long sentences -- or such was once the case
Ere email and its ilk came on the scene,
And people sought to make of them a face
To try push the words past what they mean
In dictionary senses: Sarcasm,
A gentle tease, confusion, any hue
That ears or body language could draw from
The spoken word, or eyes see as a clue
From handwriting or facial expression.
Emoticons, ubiquitous, have won.

Meta Sonnet: In Which I Consider The Role Of Technology In My Poetry For ParadiseTossed

Without the internet, they could not be,
These sonnets that I publish every day.
While, when first I did start, I thought I'd see
Some real-life inspiration in the play
Of people and events, quite soon I found
A richer vein on Twitter for ideas:
Those links and news which daily there abound
Are now essential; then, too, there's the squeeze
I sometimes put to friends there: sonnet dares.
Then, too, there is the question of research!
I am no chemist, for example. There's
No telling in what deeply horrid lurch
I'd be without those Wikis and RhymeZone.
I don't think I could write these all alone.