Love, Friendship, and Loyalty

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I would like to re-post a sonnet I wrote a few years back.  It’s about the Claddagh Ring, one of my favorite parts of Irish tradition, and I don’t know exactly why.  The Claddagh Ring represents loyalty, friendship and love.  I wrote this sonnet because I needed a poem for my creative writing class.  I had been sitting in one of my classes staring at the Claddagh Ring on my hand, and I thought, “Hmm, wouldn’t it be cool to write a poem about it?”  I was bored apparently because generally, my first thoughts aren’t, “I should write a poem about this.”

Anyway, that’s how my sonnet was born.  It started out as just a normal poem with no rhyme scheme or anything, but my teacher challenged me.  I don’t know if I lived up to that challenge or not, but I’m glad he did.  It brought me out of my “comfort zone,” and I use that term lightly.  I’ve never really been comfortable with poetry.  Well, I didn’t fail class, so either my fiction was good enough to keep me from failing or my sonnet wasn’t actually that bad.  You be the judge. 😛

Anyway, here it is.  I hope you enjoy the holiday as much as I do. 😀

The Claddagh Ring

Two hands tenderly, tightly hold the heart.

Upon the head of the heart lies a crown.

Three stages of ones life which are a part

Of time.  Friendship, love, loyalty are found.

When the heart points outward on the right hand,

Someone please take me, my heart will be yours.

If the heart points inward on the same hand,

No, my heart is taken and out love pours.

On the left right finger, with the heart out,

My heart is waiting on one forever.

When the heart faces heart, there is no doubt.

My heart belongs to someone forever.

Single, taken, engaged, or married,

The legend of the Claddagh ring tarried.