A 'how to' sonnet, written for a kid with a poetry assignment due yesterday.

(A first line. The Shakespearean sonnet demands a ten-syllable line, usually iambic pentameter).

So many, I can hardly count them all

And all of them are whites or ugly blues

That clash against the colors worn in fall.

(A first quatrain. The Shakespearean sonnet consists in three quatrains with abab rhyme scheme, and a rhyming couplet. Usually the first two quatrains supply the setup; the last six lines together supply something like a punch line).

If I should wear my ordinary hose, 

White stockings reaching almost to my knees,

To show them off I'd must wear skimpy clothes

And in a wind, my little tail would freeze.

(You see the set up: We have a girl with a problem. The next six lines must solve that problem, or demonstrate that the problem cannot be solved.)

I'll wear the longer skirt; it's much too cold.

And boots to hide the ugly blue plaid socks

I do not seek the reputation: 'bold'

The boys 'round here are worthless stupid jocks.

The show of knee would drive them off their nut

And frisky winds might show them all my butt.

(Not a perfect solution, but I'm only illustrating method. Have fun with the problem, and plagiarize me if you need to. I'm not married to this sonnet.)