I observed these ladies sculling on the Mississippi the other day, and was inspired to write this Sonnet. It was a lovely day.

This poem is a Sestina Sonnet.
A Sestina is unusual in that it doesn't use rhyme, but instead uses the same words repeated in different sequences for each stanza. So it mimics rhyme by repeating (or parroting) the same words, only un a specific sequence. Normally, the Sestina has 6 repeated words sequences over six verses and a closing Tercet that uses all six words. But, in order to accommodate a Sonnet, it has been modified to have only 4 words ending each line of a Quatrain repeated over three verses, plus with a closing couplet that incorporates all four of the key words. It is not necessary to choose words that rhyme, but I like to, as it then gives a nice rhymed sequence. Note also that the fixed sequence causes the last word of each stanza to repeat as the first end-word of the next stanza.
So, if you identify the four words with the letters A,B,C, and D, the word sequence for the Sonnet is:
ABCD DCAB BADC (BC)(DA),
Where the letters in parens represent two words in each line of the couplet.

For this poem, I chose the 4 Words as:
A - Flow
B - Outside
C - Row
D -Glide

This photograph was taken by the author himself on May 3, 2017.

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