We bought our collie puppy from a farm
about two hours drive away. We’d read
a lot about the woman breeder from
the Internet, saw pictures of the stud,
the dam, and former Champions. A pet
was all we wanted, but a pure-bred dog
was beautiful as well. Good temperament
was guaranteed. The pup we chose grew big
and sweet by nine months, but at just a year
was very sick from a genetic flaw.
The vets had salves and drops and pills that wore
us out (and cost as much a month as food.)
The breeder never bred the pair again,
and Blazer has become our greatest friend…
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, Feb. 21, 2013
Views from the Edge 
What a lovely surprise to come across a sonnet, a well-written one at that. The classic structures of poetry are far less popular now and I suspect that this may have something to do with the degree of difficulty compared to, say, free verse. But there are still a few who enjoy the challenge – I think that the occasional piece is good for my writing, though probably not my temperament. I congratulate you on your perfect prosody, iambs, metre, rhyme scheme, subject and of course your eloquent phraseology. Well done.
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Mike, I’m sure this will mean a lot to Steve and others who share your art. I’m so glad you saw Steve’s sonnet and chose to add your comment. He lives by inspiration (most often, I think, in the late night or early morning hours when Chaim Potok’s “four o’clock in the morning questions” keep us awake) and by extraordinary skill.
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