Dear Mr. Gwynn,
When I began working on this poem, I made a decision to include at least one metrical substitution in each line . . . a deliberate attempt to "loosen up" the sonnet form. If I went back now to rid the poem of its pesky anapests and, thus, "metrically tightened" the poem . . . well, let's just say that I wouldn't be able to say that I'd taught my old dog a new trick. ;-}
As for punctuation after the word "chill" in Line 4, I'm considering a semi-colon rather than a period. Would that work for you? [You are, BTW, the second person who questioned my use of a period after "chill".]
All best,
Patricia
Thus poetry was tamed, content to trail
Behind the god, dog-like, with lowered tail,
Its meter trained and broken to the page,
A muzzle cast about its lupine rage,
A good companion and a loyal pet
So docile that its owner may forget
That hidden somewhere in the head he pats
Still lurks the wolf who would chase more than cats.
<blockqoute>
from The Narcissiad by R. S. Gwynn
[/indent]
;-}
[This message has been edited by Patricia A. Marsh (edited February 08, 2003).]