Sonnet for the Iamb

I love its rhythm: rattling when it rains
on roofs; a trot of hooves on cobblestone;
the syncopated struts of dancing cranes;
the tempo of a ticking metronome.
I love its sound: a heartbeat, bold as brass; 
a gentle tiptoe, fragile like a flame;
a flustered student’s huffing, late to class—
its name a simple life-affirming claim.
I love its purpose: poet at the loom,
a woven thread within each lilting line;
a wainscot running through a tidy room,
intended as an elegant design.
But most of all, I think it’s meant to be
a pattern that reverses entropy.

ADAM R. LEVINE

Adam R. Levine’s work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Missouri Review, Bacopa Literary Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Apricity Magazine, Allium, and elsewhere. He earned his master’s degree from the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English. Adam lives in Los Angeles with his wife, son, and dog.