Here is my favorite acrostic sonnet. I composed it the first week of 2000, and the occasion was my daughter’s marriage.

The sonnet form is always a challenge. Trying to say it all in 14 lines, making every syllable count, is a project that doesn’t normally spin out in one piece or one day. Adding the acrostic constraint, which means first finding a 14 character theme and then contending with the set first letter for each line, encourages affectation and flipped syntax.

But when the labor pays off, it pays off big, in terms of my satisfaction. I’ve composed about a half dozen acrostic sonnets, and this is the best of them.

My theory on compatibility,
Authoritative as my every word,
Revolves around enmeshed velocity,
Relates to rates of living. Hummingbird
Is not the mate for elephant, you see,
And I would have you quick to recognize
Good times and honest timing. May you be
Entirely awake, and moment-wise.

Precisely I esteem your brave attempt,
Refreshing the familiar avenue.
As you adapt the symbols someone dreamt
You model hope. Your vigor pulses through,
Engaging me to sing and wish you this:
Reciprocating work, and labor’s bliss.