Pride towers above all else, a seductive and deceptive force. This final sonnet of the 7 Deadly Sonnets explores hubris, self-importance, and the gilded masks we wear—revealing how grandeur can blind us to our own fragility.

7 Deadly Sonnets
Pride

A crown of thorns and roses on my brow,
In mirrors, I see nothing but a king,
A towering figure, carved by self-sworn vows,
With praise my drink, and vanity my wing.

I walk on heights, where none dare lay their feet,
Above the fray, a god within my mind,
But pride, a lofty throne that tastes so sweet,
Conceals the cracks that hubris leaves behind.

Each step I take upon this jagged peak,
I dare to rise, untouched by lesser flaws,
But pride deceives; the summit I still seek
Is built on broken bones and hollow cause.

In pride’s embrace, I stand so tall, so grand,
Yet fall, undone by my own heedless hand.

The 7 Deadly Sonnets

I. Lust
My pulse quickens at each whispered breath, desires draping the air like silken chains. ‘Lust,’ the first of the 7 Deadly Sonnets, explores the fevered, consuming hunger that blurs the lines between passion and peril.

II. Gluttony
‘Gluttony’ devours more than food—it consumes the soul. The second of the 7 Deadly Sonnets explores endless craving, the hunger for excess, and the void it leaves behind.

III. Greed
‘Greed’ reveals the hunger that is never sated—the clutching hands, the endless thirst for more, and the hollowness left behind. The third of the 7 Deadly Sonnets.

IV. Sloth
‘Sloth’ captures the quiet paralysis of apathy, the weight of inaction, and the suffocating stillness that can consume the soul. The fourth of the 7 Deadly Sonnets.

V. Wrath
‘Wrath’ burns with uncontrollable fury, the tempest of anger that devours and consumes. The fifth of the 7 Deadly Sonnets, exploring the raw power of vengeance.

VI. Envy
‘Envy’ explores the corrosive desire for what others possess, the shadow of longing, and the emptiness of comparison. The sixth of the 7 Deadly Sonnets.