Lucy Vickery

After Milton

In Competition No. 3108 you were invited to submit a sonnet with the following end rhymes: son, mire, fire, won, run, re-inspire, attire, spun, choice, rise, voice, air, spare, unwise. The end rhymes are taken from Milton’s Sonnet 20, ‘Lawrence of virtuous father virtuous son’.

Milton was the most political of poets, and many of you followed his lead. Sergey Trukhtanov and Joe Houlihan submitted fine homages to Conan-Doyle. David Shields, Martin Elster, Jenny Hill and Tim Raikes also stood out. And props to clever John O’Byrne, who made his entry using first lines of Shakespeare sonnets (changing the final word to fit the brief).

The winners, printed below, are rewarded with £20 each.

Milton! you should be called the Muse’s son,
For next to you most poets are in the mire.
With your lost paradise you lit a fire;
What fame from that almighty loss you won!
And now today, when your life’s course has run,
Those rhyming words you chose may re-inspire
As I attempt to give them new attire,
Making fresh garments from the threads you spun.






Blind as I am to you, deprived of choice,
I hope your shade will let my lyrics rise
To heights Miltonic, just as if your voice
Were free to whisper counsel through the air.
I trust, dear Milton, you have thoughts to spare
To motivate the worthless, the unwise.
Frank McDonald





No milksop this, the Tories’ favourite son
Who, though his faux pas land him in the mire,
He, like the Phoenix, rises from the fire
And from his failures forges victories won.
Like summer, after May her course has run,
New hope he brings to spur and re-inspire,
Re-clothe the Country’s dreary, drab attire
With garments freshly fashioned, deftly spun.






Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in