[Scott Miller]

Beautifully executed. The detail carries subdued but dignified emotion. A clear front-runner for me as well.

[Cyn Neely]

A clear favorite of mine - so far
This is stunning IMO

[Edward Zuk]

I like this, too. I found the repetition of “here” to be surprisingly effective.

[William Conelly]

my favorite up to the moment previous, I am struck deeply by #6. Well done indeed. And as much a pleasure to re-read as to read...

[Christine Whittemore]

I admire this very much, especially the sense of control, the language that is perfectly natural and yet falls--or rather seems to fall!--easily and without effort or forcing into the pattern of a sonnet.

It seems churlish to express any nits after all that's been said, but I find line 4, "and meant the words the TV actors said," too vague.
The TV actors--since the shows or even types of shows are unspecified-- will have said all kinds of words, homicidal, lunatic, the whole gamut, and I'm not sure in what way this couple "meant" those words or how this enhances the poem.

Also, without the title, we wouldn't know the feelings of these two from the poem itself...then I start wondering if the title means what it seems to mean...

The last two lines are brilliant. I love the held/hold echo.
But---I wonder why "the child they'd never hold" is something "they thought they had to fear." All the other things are normal fears of aging, or of life gone wrong.....but the child seems a different kind of fear. And yet again, what is more terrifying, when one thinks about it, than having a child.

But is the poem saying that in fact there was something worse to be afraid of, something they really had to fear, though they didn't think they had to??

I feel there is perhaps just a little too much we don't know; the repeated "here" almost makes me feel it's based on a painting or photograph, something the speaker is looking at.
And finally--not that I like sentimentality, not that I want everything to be pretty and lovey-dovey (I admire and am moved by Philip Larkin, for example!)--is there something just a tad chilly about this...? i don't know, thinking aloud, may be wrong.

Anyway, what a thought-provoking sonnet, and so well done.

Christine.

[Katherine Smith]

This one is a favorite, just perfect (though "Hair's" and "veins' '' are grammatically correct, I do think "the vein's" in the singular would work better here).

[Pedro Poitevin]

While it may not have a sharp turn, this sonnet has subtle foldings and a chilling final line. It's better than many Nemerov winners. Frankly, I would be surprised to find a better one in this year's crop.

Pedro.

[Gregory Dowling]

Wonderful - and the sonnet form just seems inevitable.

[David Danoff]

The writing is so assured and smart and fine, I'm completely seduced. And I go right along with it, and find it marvelous...and only with some effort can stir myself enough to wonder, what does line 4 actually mean? I really have no idea. (But it sounds so good!)

And why in line 2 are they getting undressed, right after waking, bathing, and eating, but before making dinner? (Clearly, it isn't for sex.) Is the time sequence just jumbled, because this same stuff is happening every day?

I could read "To soothe some dreamed-of other’s knocking chest," in the sense of "She touches him, as he's dreaming of somebody else's sexy knockers," or maybe "In a dream, she reaches out to soothe someone else's irregularly beating heart." It's a slick line, but maybe a touch unclear.

And along with Christine, I'm not sure how to take "Here are the things they thought they had to fear"--as in, they shouldn't have worried about those things, but something else instead? Or, they shouldn't have worried at all...?

But ah, it's so lovely, I can't worry about any of that. I'm swept along for the ride!

[Jesse Anger]

Yep, I think I know who the poet is, a great poet too. It's very good.

J