Freebie Mondays: Charity Stream Sonnets!

Back in August of 2023, amidst a hot, dry and largely rainless summer, a forest fire jumped the lake near where we live and ignited frightfully close to our house. I’ve detailed our experience with the fire in a pair of previous posts. Though thankfully, the flames never reached our neighborhood, and we were never ordered to evacuate despite spending a few nights at a friend’s house.

After our brush with natural disaster, and after hearing the stories of many friends who were suffering in other locations (earthquakes and hurricanes were happening at about the same time), my husband and I decided to run a disaster relief charity stream. Rather than setting a specific charity to raise funds for, we encouraged people to donate to any disaster relief fund that felt relevant or worthwhile to them.

We raised a fair amount of money for different charities, and provided some chaotic antics as reward incentives. For instance, Gh0stpeppr agreed to drink vinegar if someone donated $250 (which instantly happened, and he more than fulfilled his promise).

I can’t consume crazy things like vinegar and ghost peppers. My constitution simply isn’t strong enough. (I’m convinced my intestines are made of paper.) But I do have a few talents I’m happy to put to work, including the crafting of words. I offered poetry to the top five donators.

This is the second round of rewards – crafted on one of my streams, of course. (If you’re looking for the first set of rewards, which includes limericks and haikus, you can find it here!)

This last set of poetry rewards includes two sonnets. One is for our good friend Cauliflumps the other is for a member of our community named Goldenleperd.

I tried to include some fun word play in both of these, plus some tributes to the community overall. I hope you enjoy!

Here is the sonnet dedicated to Cauliflumps:

Oh marvelous tree of white branch and leaf
That manifests in the shape of a friend,
The time we spend together causes no grief
Thus in your honor is this epic penned.
Your antics never fail to make us laugh
Though you’re not as innocent as you seem.
It would not do to dwell on a particular gaffe
But they may come up when we tune into your stream.
We also cannot forget your fabulous wife Vinyl
Who flits through every chat with a mod’s hammer.
If there’s a bot or dispute she will act, and that’s final
And from her, Cauli’s hair and beard gain colorful glamour.
Last but not least we pay tribute to the fabulous Foodle,
Who rides through the chaos on his daring steed Doodle.

And here is the sonnet dedicated to Goldenleperd:

Large cat of fabulous golden fur,
Quick of wit and sharp of claw,
How we all love to hear you purr
After clever jokes flow from your maw.
It’s easy to see why you’ve chosen the shape of leopard
Since your every message is meant to embolden.
But be careful you don’t end up Gh0stpeppred
His spice could cause your comments to be withholdin’.
A hotdog man may also offer you 72 inch glizzy
But I don’t recommend falling for his pitch.
He might ask you to visit Oklahoma on sea
But the journey will only result in a Jchillyy glitch.
All in all you’re a wonderful golden guy
And I hope we never end up saying goodbye!

If you’d like to see these sonnets come together, the vod is over on my youtube channel. My chat made lots of helpful suggestions, and I’m grateful to everyone who participated in the crafting of these poems.

I’m sure this won’t be my last foray into poetry. But for our next adventure, I might try branching into different forms. (Perhaps song lyrics?) If you have any suggestions for types of poetry I should try, drop them in the comments!