A sonnet is to me a sort of test

A sonnet is to me a sort of test
One which you only take to please yourself
Its purpose not to show whose work is best
But just to wipe some dust from off the shelf

It takes a mind obsessed with both its parts.
The critical and more creative side
must work in tandem trying to impart
what simple conversation takes in stride

So meter, rhyme and florid imagery
as mixed with sense and message slowly will
become a shot at artful wizardry
and not another empty page to fill

And balance is the truth you’re aiming at
between the two selves living ‘neath your hat