[Jim Ramsey]

Hi Ralph,

My sense of the narrative gets lost a little bit in the wordplay that occurs throughout but that seems part of the fun. You give us clues for the wordplay of words within words with the way you use italics and bold type. it takes a reread or two to start appreciating the trickiness. Also, I am not familiar enough with "Sense and Sensibility" to know whether that first wordplay in the title is a one-off or ties in again within the poem. Let me see if I am getting close to your narrative intent though. The first stanza is simple enough until the last line, "that I consider sentimental ’s mental!"

I read it as the fiancee is asking that her mental or emotional state receive due consideration. S2 starts out by saying N did give her wishes due consideration. While at first I think the N is finding intellect and pure emotions within his betrothed, he is actually finding it within himself for he says next "...I thought: let each half help me comprehend her sentimentality,..." The N is actually finding the sentience and feeling within himself to understand the sentimentality of the fiancee. Then when reading "...for its truth (etym) is incremental." the N is saying that his understanding grew stronger over time.

S3 shifts to present tense, so I assume the N is talking about the relationship, ostensibly marriage, having moved to a later time and reckoning:

"So, while I labor to renew my love,
memories of hers bring back warm feeling,
and I confess: A convert, I’m not above
the hope that we’ll be truest when commingling—"

I read this stanza as saying the N is hoping to rekindle the romance in the marriage and that he is willing to admit that though he's a convert to the "feeling" side of things he must admit he would like to commingle, and I assume he means commingle flesh. The last couplet:

"mating freshened sentience with the mental
in joyous love that’s fully sentimental."

reads to me as the N saying that such commingling will help mate the N's awakened sensibilities to fully appreciate the sentimental side of things even
more. "Sentimental" is in italics to give it a little coy tongue-in-cheek flavor.

For me, you've managed to use love and sentiment in a sonnet in homage to the form yet give them new blood. I'll come back if I come up with any suggestions.

All the best,
Jim