My Petrarchan Sonnet for 101

It's the first day after the spring ahead version of Daylight Savings Time, which is important for this commuting specific blog because it means the sun, for the first time in many moons, is still out as I head home. Symbolically, the traffic all around me moves ahead fast and unfettered.

When I was a senior in college, I took an inspiring course in Milton taught by a since retired member of the Vanderbilt University English department. I loved this class right from the start because this master of letters opened the first class by declaring that the entire grade was based on one paper (50%), one test (25%) and two quizzes (10%). The last piece (5%) was basically reserved for class participation. The two quizzes were reading comprehension, one for Milton's early work and one for Paradise Lost, which we were to read four times that semester, and they were purely content driven quizzes just to make sure that we read the book. Attendance was optional and the invitation was "I'm basically going to lecture for an hour in every class and if you have any questions or comments I'll try to save 2-3 minutes at the end". This eliminated 90% of the bullshit that goes on in class and something I've come to truly appreciate. The opportunity was to hear him pontificate his 30+ years and 100+ readings of Paradise Lost and that was it. Sign up or don't show.

Something that I remember distinctly from one of the early lectures was that Milton essentially knew very early on that he was going to be the greatest writer of all time and so before he set out to write his defining epic that would persist for hundreds of years, he first set about the serious task proving that he was also master of all forms of written composition. Only having done that would he be qualified to write one of the great literary masterpieces in the history of the world.

So what do I, with this blog, share in common with this giant who's work has persisted for half a millenium? Both of us sparked our trajectory with diligence and attention first to the simpler forms of writing to express our views on our passions of the world. Herein, I shall continue the parallel -- begun first with japanese haiku, second with the english limerick -- by honoring this literary giant and hero of mine with an Italian, otherwise known as, petrarchan sonnet, the subject of which is obvious: my favorite stretch of pavement on the planet. This is what happens when you trap an English major in the car for too long, please keep that in mind.

When I consider how my light is spent*

Both morn and eve, this wretched road,

I wonder how I might better goad

A ride from a faster and more dextrous gent.

If I reflect on all the times I went

From my place of work to my abode

What a lack of brights, it surely showed.

What a dolt I am, is what I meant.

But then I think, "Too hard I rail!"

After all, I've no transportation cost

And with the economy so deep in the tank,

Others' trials make this one look pale.

Perhaps this blog should just be tossed

In lieu of a sunny tale or one less rank.

* For the uncouth, this first line is the opener to John Milton's italian sonnet, "On Blindness".

(blinking, confused stares)