The Stafford Challenge, Day 15

Kind of a talky, discursive poem today. A curtal sonnet, full rhyme (for once), decasyllabic or 10-syllable lines. You Just Never Know For two weeks, I’d noticed the apartment complex’s manager’s car had not been in her parking space. The handyman’s truck was parking there instead. Maybe she went on vacation or changed jobs, I thought. When I asked at the office, I was stunned, struck dumb, by the news that she’d passed. Heart attack overnight. I had missed an email. When it’s your time, it’s your time. It’s all dumb luck. Hug your kids, your love, your friends. Don’t hold back.                                               Enjoy life. Good luck. —Draft by Vince Gotera    [Do not copy or quote . . . thanks.] Give the curtal sonnet a try, friends. Robert Lee Brewer's description is great, though I would say 10 1/2 lines rather than 11, so a half-line at the end rather than his suggestion of a spondee there. Since I use decasyllabics rather than pentameter, the half-line would be 5 syllables for me. It's a great form, challenging but quick. https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/curtal-sonnet-poetic-form Friends, won’t you comment, please? Love to know what you’re thinking. Ingat, everyone.  ヅ