The Love that Never Fails Me

Here is my attempt at a Petrarchan sonnet - don't judge me too harshly please!

Happiness surrounds me when you are near,
Joy and light-heartedness you bring to me.
On the darkest of days I see beauty,
And to contentment are turned all my fears.
Every sorrow forgotten, no more tears,
When I'm with my pleasure that is guilty.
With this, most women eagerly agree.
You are a constant friend whom I hold dear.
Chocolate you come to me in many forms
Derived from the glorious cocoa bean:
As delectable and rich candy bars,
Or into Easter bunnies you conform,
Marshmallow and graham crackers in between
My comfort, my sweet, oh chocolate, you are!


Just for kicks, I thought I'd color code this. Different colors show the rhyme scheme. Yellow/pink show the octet, while blue/green/purple identifies the sestet.

Happiness surrounds me when you are near,
Joy and light-heartedness you bring to me.
On the darkest of days I see beauty,
And to contentment are turned all my fears.
Every sorrow forgotten, no more tears,
When I'm with my pleasure that is guilty.
With this, most women eagerly agree.
You are a constant friend that I hold dear.
Chocolate you come to me in many forms
Derived from the glorious cocoa bean:
As delectable and rich candy bars,
Or into Easter bunnies you conform,
Marshmallow and graham cracker in between.
My comfort, my sweet, oh chocolate you are!

Petrarch

Here's a little food for thought:
Do you think Petrarch's contemporaries thought he was as crazy as we do? I mean, Petrarch definitely has a unique relationship with Cicero, Augustine and Laura - all people that he had never even spoken to in his life. Did the people he saw and talked to on a regular basis, and even those who read his works and letters, think he was odd for mentioning these three people as those he has an intimate bond with them? Or did they just through it up to artistic genius? I know it was common in the Renaissance to idealize the human form and honor the ancient world, but I think Petrarch took it to the extreme.