"Sestina"

       My favorite poem from this year in AP English was "Sestina," by Elizabeth Bishop. At first glance, I did not understand the thought that went into the writing of this poem, mostly because I did not understand what a Sestina poem was. This type of poem has very strict rules regarding the repetition of certain words at the end of each line. I could never write this type of poem because I am "too [impatient] to learn such a skill" (Lahiri, 161). The fact that "Sestina" was written in such a strict writing style is very subtle, however, so I simply found the poem very impressive. The poem also created a sense of curiosity in me: if I were to write a Sestina, which words would I repeat? Believe it or not I spent a lot of time pondering this, before my head began to hurt and I decided, "such concerns make no sense here" (Lahiri, 158). Reading the poem, I was also surprised upon realizing the strictness of this type that the poem was still very fluid and diverse, although the same words were repeated at the end of every line. I thought that Bishop must see these restrictions "as a single afternoon's challenge, an anomaly never to be repeated" (146). The way she could write a poem that actually makes sense with such restrictions really impressed me. Overall, "Sestina" is my favorite because it really demonstrates how difficult poetry can be to write, and demonstrated to me the skill of the poet.