All of Us, Once Angels, Who Finally Finished Falling • John Reed
Bretty Rawson
BY JOHN REED
I usually work on sonnets for a long time in my head, then write them out by hand. Two out of three times I'm not feeling it, so I toss it, and think again for a while. I had to take a bus somewhere on a school trip, so I wrote this one down then. If I can get to the end without doubting, I usually am fairly satisfied.
Sonnet Typed Below:
80
I knew we'd be seeing each other again.
It looks like everyone else is here, too.
All of us, once angels, who finally finished falling.
We were so crazy about here and there,
when the little difference was "always,"
or the other eternity, "never."
Just listen to all of this childless laughter.
Now we are gone, and here we can stay,
you and I, who are you and I no more,
who tore apart our daughters for the bears,
who offered our sons to God, LOL,
who are, we know, we've forgotten who,
who are now outside of ourselves, without when.
You can read John Reed's bio on his website here, as well as praise for his sonnet-making abilities, which go something like this: "John Reed exploded my concept of a sonnet." Erika Anderson, Electric Literature.