Contest Description
What to Submit?
1 original, poem on the theme of ............."Open Me First"
Only Italian/Petrarchan Sonnets are acceptable
Please do not refer to the Poetry Soup definition of the form because it is totally incorrect and the example is even more incorrect. I'm looking for a rhyme scheme of abbaabbacdecde. There are alternate rhyme schemes for the sestet but I want "cdecde" to make it uniform for all and easier to verify. In this case I want true iambic pentameter (simply ten syllables will get a quick N/A). Also, even in correct meter, I'm not a fan of mid-line stops (periods), because they interrupt flow and make the write feel more like restructured prose. Enjambment is encouraged, just don't start or finish a thought mid-line. FYI, "Open Me First" was a marketing scheme introduced around 60 years ago by the Eastman Kodak company for Christmas and was very clever. Please, however, do not use the words open me first in your poem nor the word camera.
RULES
ITALIAN SONNET ONLY (14 LINES)
WRITTEN IN IAMBIC PENTAMETER
LEFT JUSTIFIED
NO DOUBLE SPACING
RHYME SCHEME abbaabba cdecde
Preparing Your Entry
Submit one copy of your poem online. Format your poem. Please make your entry easy to read — no illustrations or fancy fonts.
English Language
Poems should be in English. Poems translated from other languages are not eligible, unless you wrote both the original poem and the translation.
A Note to Poetry Contestants
You are welcome to enter this contest, whether or not you won a prize in one of my previous contests.