TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Ste. Genevieve resident has come in second place in the Southern Shakespeare Company of Tallahassee, Fla. 2022 Sonnet Contest.
Carl Kinsky placed second in the adult category for his “Ode to Two Wives.”
An Ode to Two Wives
In chains and shackled to dialysis,
he needs an organ transplant to break free.
He waits his turn, a forced paralysis.
He’ll die in line she thinks, then posts this plea:
“We’re ‘incompatible’.” That’s doctorspeak.
His body won’t take what I’d gladly share.
He’s scared that seeking help means that he’s weak.
He’s wrong. Let your kidney answer our prayers.”
My wife decides she will and so she does.
How come one this strong wed one weak like me?
No longer brave as once I thought I was,
I play the stoic. My fears she can’t see.
While women build fires keeping hope alive,
men gather twigs. Heroic are the wives.
In its eighth year, the 2022 Sonnet Contest collected nearly 200 sonnets from middle school, high school, and adult poets from as far away as the United Kingdom, Canada, Utah, Illinois, and of course right here in Tallahassee.