just bad

Shakespearean sonnet during a Shakespearean Sonnet Discussion
By Amanda Ramsey

A boy, fresh as the dawn and sweet as a shining green pear,
And blonde, the color of my Dream Baby fake hair, and a face
that’s flecked in freckles, like tossed small rocks, a hop and a scotch.

He gargles and spits out answers, swan-dives into the
Shallow-end, bless his tender, merry heart,
He jots notes with the furious, flapping vigor of a kid blue-jay,
Finally free from his brothers and sisters’ messy nest.
The Jay praises the sky, kissing and crying in the mirth of it all.
His new liberty, a holy union with the soft air.
Tears squeeze out of the Jay’s eyes, blessed, as he squints
into the blurry and beautiful blue.

The boy then squints, hiding that blue, as he peers at my paper,
The question asks: “What is raising love’s banner?” The answer—
It’s the rising tide of love that lifts the heart to the face, a blush.