Son of Sonnet: The Ballad of Forgotten Dreams

19 October 202225 September 2022 The Portly Politico2 Comments

Son of Sonnet—now going by his given name, Michael Gettinger—is back with a mildly post-apocalyptic poem.

The premise is intriguing; Son tells me the request was for “a poem about being a feminist in a world where you’re the only female human left. Every other human is a male.” That sounds like the premise of a 1970s sci-fi flick!

Naturally, it’s not a great existence, but the feminist seems to realize the error of her ways. These lines were particularly poignant: “I learned a lesson through romance/That man may build for woman’s sake.” How very true—I’ve accomplished a great deal in my life simply because I wanted to impress women. I think that’s probably true for most men.

With that, here is Michael Gettinger/Son of Sonnet’s “The Ballad of Forgotten Dreams”:

Poem: The PACs

5 October 202223 September 2022 The Portly Politico3 Comments

My call for submissions continues to yield fruit—KC, a regular contributor to and participant in the Dragon Common Room Telegram chat and its various projects—reached out with this poem, which she says is “a satirical take on Dr. Seuss’s poem ‘The Zax‘….”

When I asked KC if she had any biographical information she’d like to share, she said, “I don’t! Sorry! I’m literally just a bored housewife who writes for fun.” Then she sent along something a bit more indicative of her talents: she “is one of the writers of Rachel Fulton Brown’s Dragon Common Room Books; a contributing author to Centrism Games, Aurora Bearialis, and the upcoming Draco Alchemicus. But mostly she is a wife and mother who writes for the she[e]r fun of it.”

As we head into the election season, this little poem is a fun reminder of the perils of Uniparty politics.

With that, here is KC’s “The PACs”:

Son of Sonnet: Summer Nights

3 August 202228 July 2022 The Portly Politico6 Comments

We’re in the waning days of summer—at least, of glorious summer vacation—and I wanted to commemorate these fading, waning days with some poetry.

Ergo, I commissioned Michael Gettinger—formerly The Artist Known as Son of Sonnet—to twenty-three-skidoo up some summertime poetry. Of the two themes I requested, the second was “The Hazy Nostalgia of Late Summer” (the first was “Back to School”).

There’s something about intense humidity and sunlight at 9 PM that conjure up heady memories of better times. Michael captured that beautifully in this poem.

With that, here is Michael Gettinger’s “Summer Nights”:

Son of Sonnet: The Mountain

29 June 202222 June 2022 The Portly Politico1 Comment

A couple of weekends ago I visited the mountains of southwestern Virginia to attend a memorial service for my great-aunt, who passed away November 2021 at the age of ninety-three. She was a feisty, fun-loving lady, and the memorial service was a moving celebration of her life. We also ate KFC and barbecue, which is the kind of send-off I want.

So the mountains were on my mind last week when Son of Sonnet reached out to me, asking me what theme I’d like a poem about. Naturally, I asked him to write about the mountains, specifically the sweet smell of clover that serves as a sensory touchstone for my youngest memories. To this day, whenever I smell clover, it takes me to my Mamaw’s house in Flat Gap, Virginia (outside of Pound, Virginia, in Wise County). That scent is synonymous with her and her home.

I did not tell Son of Sonnet—who is now publishing poetry under his real name, Michael Gettinger—about that sensory relationship before he wrote the poem. That makes the eighth and ninth lines all the more poignant and serendipitious.

So I am very pleased to present a very special poem from SoS/Michael Gettinger, “The Mountain”:

Son of Sonnet: The Sins of Middle Age

23 March 202217 March 2022 The Portly Politico7 Comments

My good buddy and regular poetry contributor Son of Sonnet launched his new Locals page last week at https://sonofsonnet.locals.com/. It’s $10 a month for all sorts of goodies—poems, poetry readings, etc. And the price per month drops as more users sign up.

As one of the chosen subscribers, I recommended a topic for a poem: my hilarious little release Péchés d’âge moyen, a short collection of twelve original piano miniatures. Son—as always—delivered the goods.

To be clear, this wasn’t an easy assignment: he had to write a poem based on twelve very short piano pieces that were largely written (initially) as part of an inside joke on the Internet. He consulted me on a few elements of the poem, including the cover art, an original painting of mine called “Apple Picking.”

With that, I give you—reprinted with permission from the poet—“The Sins of Middle Age” (originally published at https://sonofsonnet.locals.com/ on Wednesday, 16 March 2022):

Lazy Sunday CLVI: More Son of Sonnet

13 March 202213 March 2022 The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

With Son of Sonnet launching his Locals page tomorrow, I thought it’d be a great time to look back at some of his recent poetry in this edition of Lazy Sunday:

“Son of Sonnet: Mochi on the Moon” – A fun little poem about Japanese ice cream and the idea that the dark spots on the moon look like a rabbit making mochi.
“Son of Sonnet: Valentine’s Day” – A beautiful little love poem that manages to squeeze in a reference to vaccines causing myocarditis.
“Son of Sonnet: Laughter” – Another fun little poem about laughter. My favorite line is “ho ho, he he.”

There you have it! A bit more lighthearted fare from my favorite current poet.

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Son of Sonnet: Reflection

2 March 20221 March 2022 The Portly Politico4 Comments

Son of Sonnet offered up a little Mardi Gras gift: this poem, “Reflection.”

It’s a bit of free verse, which is a bit unusual for Son, but I like it. He and I both (I think) are of the mind that structure enhances poetry, rather than limits it, so it’s fun seeing him experiment free verse. Even so, he has exactly ten syllables per line—that’s the Son I know!

Also, The Gemini Sonnets are complete; I recommend you read them if you haven’t already: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6.

Every artist as dedicated to his craft as Son deserves both recognition and support. I would encourage you to consider a subscription to Son of Sonnet’s SubscribeStar page as a way to encourage the growth and development of an eloquent voice on our side of this long culture war. Conservatives often complain about not holding any ground culturally; now is the time to support the culture that is being created.

You can read Son of Sonnet’s poetry on his Telegram channel, on Gab, and on Minds.

The Portly Politico

One Southerner's unique, erudite, conservative perspective in a hectic world

Tag: poem