I've hung a wreath of holly on the door
and topped the tree with silver star upon it;
the fire in the hearth's begun to roar,
so now it's time to write my Christmas sonnet.
I'll call attention to that holy night
when Mary gave the world a perfect present,
and then to all my gentle friends I'll write
my warmest wishes that their year be pleasant.
I'll pour into my poem prayers for peace
for every person living on the planet
and ask our Christmas spirit be increased
in honor of the Christ child who began it.
I've wrapped each gift and placed a big bow on it --
all that remains is write my Christmas sonnet.
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Author Notes
Sonnets usually have 10 syllables in each line, written in iambic meter. But a variant on iambic pentameter is to end a line with a feminine rhyme, which means to end on an unaccented beat. When this is done, the line becomes 11 syllables long. One instance of this format is found in the second stanza of Shakespeare's Sonnet 116:
Oh no, it is an ever fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown although his height be taken.
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