I love poetry, however when it comes to editing....I'm not much use.  If I make a suggestion and it's against poetry "rules" please forgive me.

Testing the Waters

Yesterday I was given a personal callI would change "was given"...perhaps "recieved" or "allowed" ?,

I paused, how might I feel a year from now

How must I value the cost of my vow

We all want shelter no matter how small

Life has moments of frustration and joy

In life events have their oscillations.Maybe remove "in"

Perhaps caused by regrets and recriminations,

Far better to have ups and downs than flat-line cloy,

The best of promises are made to keep.

As for the promises others may seek,

The reciprocation of which they often speak,

We must decide if one’s word is shallow or deep

Neither life nor profit is guaranteed.

Discomfort has no respect for one’s need.

A Foreboding Love

Taking his new bride,

To her tremor he replied,

I sought only one kiss.

What madness is this?

To take a quiver amiss,

I only shiver with bliss?

Was it the wind's breath,

Fear my lips augured death?

Here in this mild depression,

Under the midnight sky

Let me caress your thigh.

Cast aside discretion

To lie with me beneath

The dark mistletoe's wreath.

The Right Stuff

Of what metal is a hero molded?

Of the self-same metal as you and I?

How is this honorable metal wrought?

Must the test of metal be perilous?

What founding makes the basest metal steelThis is the only line that kind of confuses me. basest metal??

The casual eye may see no metal there;

Everyday use may not temper metal.

Perhaps events draw the steel from within?

How may base metal be touched with glory?

Bright metal may be found on hostile ground,

But for me the test of a true metal,

No matter whether kettle, pot, or sword,

Rests in the test of metal’s performance,

As well as in the hand that forms the deed.

Since there are no rules or conventions for prose sonnets, I made up and chose to follow my own.  The Right Stuff was written with the following considerations for non-rhyming sonnet structure: 1) Fourteen prose lines. 2) With no end-line rhyme, thematic structure assumes greater importance images, statements or reflections must carry line development.  3) Syntax and semantics are more important than grammar. 4) Internal rhyme is acceptable but end-lines must not rhyme. 5) Line structure should be consistent: not less than 9 syllables per line nor more than twelve syllables per line.  6) The theme development of the embedded stanza structure may consist of three non-rhymed quatrains and a concluding couplet, four three line stanzas and a couplet, two quintains and a quatrain, or the conventional eight lines to develop a theme, six lines to introduce new content, etc.

I like all three poems.  Below is my opinon on each of them.

My opinion of Testing the Waters:  I loved this poem.  It says so much without a ton of words.  It's dark and somber, yet inspiring and has real meaning.

A Foreboding Love:  Loved this poem as well.  I think the rhyming is smooth and in rhythm.  Again somber, but very well written! I found no errors. 

The Right Stuff: Another very well written poem.  The one line I have highlighted is the only one that confuses me a bit.  It might just be me.  I really like this one as well!

I definately look forward to reading more of your work!

I'm a bitch. You are forewarned.

Firstly, sonnets demand iambs- unstressed syllables followed by stressed.

Testing the Waters

Yesterday I was given a personal call,By call, what you actually mean is some sort of personal epiphany? I don't mind a small, suitable amount of metaphor, but this is a confusing start and leaves your reader playing catch-up. Keep this first section clear.

I paused,If you use a period then it makes the line stronger and more clear, the comma does not encourage as long of a pause as I believe you're looking for. I paused. Gives the reader actual pause when reading it. how might I feel a year from now

How must I value the cost of my vow

We all want shelter no matter how small

Life has moments of frustration and joy

In lifecomma events have their oscillations.10

Perhaps caused by regrets and recriminations,12 Also recriminations doesn't read in iambs.

Far better to have ups and downs than flat-line cloy,12

The best of promises are made to keep.

As for the promises others may seek,

The reciprocation of which they often speak,

We must decide if one’s word is shallow or deep4 - "ee" sounds are a little much, especially since each ends in a stop consonant.

Neither life nor profit is guaranteed.

Discomfort has no respect for one’s need.

 The rhyming is forced, very forced. The iambic meter is rather lost. Ignoring the meter is only forgivable when it accents the poem. That makes 2/4 for the requirements of a sonnet (success on rhyme scheme and 14 line organization. ABAB etc.)

A Foreboding Love

Taking his new bride,

To her tremor he replied,

I sought only one kiss.

What madness is this?

To take a quiver amiss,

I only shiver with bliss?

Was it the wind's breath,

Fear my lips augured death?

Here in this mild depression,

Under the midnight sky

Let me caress your thigh.

Cast aside discretion

To lie with me beneath

The dark mistletoe's wreath.

 This one hits the rhyme, lines, but misses on line length and iambs again. So it is as "unconventional" as the first one. I'm not critiquing the poem here, mind you, just that you're calling these "sonnets" which is a ridiculously rigid form, and then abandoning the form.

The Right Stuff A rather weak title. It conveys nothing about the poem, but simply restates the theme in a rather telling way. Better to avoid re-telling the theme, since it's fairly strong anyway.

Of what metal is a hero molded?

Of the self-same metal as you and I?

How is this honorable metal wrought?

Must the test of metal be perilous?

What founding makes the basest metal steel?

The casual eye may see no metal there;

Everyday use may not temper metal.

Perhaps events draw the steel from within?

How may base metal be touched with glory?

Bright metal may be found on hostile ground,

But for me the test of a true metal,

No matter whether kettle, pot, or sword,

Rests in the test of metal’s performance,

As well as in the hand that forms the deed.

 3/4, since the syllables are good here.

Since there are no rules or conventions for prose sonnets,A prose sentence is a contradiction of terms, either this is a sonnet and hence a poem, or it's in prose. It cannot be both. I made up and chose to follow my own.  The Right Stuff was written with the following considerations for non-rhyming sonnet structure: 1) Fourteen prose lines. 2) With no end-line rhyme, thematic structure assumes greater importance images, statements or reflections must carry line development.  3) Syntax and semantics are more important than grammar. 4) Internal rhyme is acceptable but end-lines must not rhyme. 5) Line structure should be consistent: not less than 9 syllables per line nor more than twelve syllables per line.  6) The theme development of the embedded stanza structure may consist of three non-rhymed quatrains and a concluding couplet, four three line stanzas and a couplet, two quintains and a quatrain, or the conventional eight lines to develop a theme, six lines to introduce new content, etc.

Word Choice could be improved a lot overall. Read through the poem hitting major words in order to get the gist and you'll see that a lot of the words are "weak." i.e.

Metal Hero molded

metal you I?

metal wrought?

test metal perilous?

founding makes base steel?

eye see no metal

everyday not temper

events draw from within?

metal touched glory?

bright found hostile ground

test true metal

whether pot, kettle, sword

rests test of performance

hand forms deed.

I would try to improve this by at least 50% 3-4 syllables per line is pretty low, go for 5-6, and more for the stronger, more poetic lines.

Also frequently your lines are "telling." Examine each poem, decide what it's theme, major idea is, and if it ever straight up says the theme, or how the reader should feel then you've been "telling," which is a rather weak way of conveying the idea, especially in poetry. The general idea should be "tell me what you need to tell me, but let me come up with how I feel about it" if the poem is well crafted than there should be very little confusion as to it's general theme, although literary profs always argue details, having nothing better to do with their time.

There is also a lot of repetition of words in a way that detracts from the momentum, rather than builds it.

Keep strengthening the word choice and focusing on the idea of the poem. Try to avoid some of the tempting "filler words" just to get up to ten syllables. One or two are fine, every so often, but when they become noticeable they detract.

Testing the Waters

Yesterday I was given a personal call,12 syllables?

I paused, how might I feel a year from nowThen back to ten?

How must I value the cost of my vowValue the value? Bit odd.

We all want shelter no matter how small

Life has moments of frustration and joy

In lifeRepitition of life events have their oscillations.11 here?

Perhaps caused by regrets and recriminations,12?

Far better to have ups and downs than flat-line cloy,12

The best of promises are made to keep.

As for the promises others may seek,

The reciprocation of which they often speak,12

We must decide if one’s word is shallow or deep12

Neither life nor profit is guaranteed.

Discomfort has no respect for one’s need.

 Ok, on structure, I can't quite divine what schema you're using, but I'm pretty certain it's not regular. The point of a sonnet is that it forms in tension between creativity and a strict schema. If you're losing your structure left, right and center, you're losing that tension. I can't really tell what structure you're using, but I think you ought to either choose one or create one then stick to it rigorously. Also, this comes across a little too didactic.

A Foreboding Love

Taking his new bride,

To her tremor he replied,

I sought only one kiss.

What madness is this?

To take a quiver amiss,

I only shiver with bliss?Ok, rhyming one word four times generally sounds bad.

Was it the wind's breath,

Fear my lips augured death?Augured? I don't think your lips had the guts of a chicken spilled over them, which were then read by a classical priest.

Here in this mild depression,

Under the midnight sky

Let me caress your thigh.

Cast aside discretion

To lie with me beneath

The dark mistletoe's wreath.Is it christmas? I'm confused.

The Right Stuff

Of what metal is a hero molded?

Of the self-same metal as you and I?

How is this honorable metal wrought?

Must the test of metal be perilous?(perhaps a little pompous)

What founding makes the basest metal steel?

The casual eye may see no metal there;

Everyday use may not temper metal.

Perhaps events draw the steel from within?

How may base metal be touched with glory?

Bright metal may be found on hostile ground,

But for me the test of a true metal,

No matter whether kettle, pot, or sword,

Rests in the test of metal’s performance,

As well as in the hand that forms the deed.I actually really like this one. By far the best of the three.

Since there are no rules or conventions for prose sonnets, I made up and chose to follow my own.  The Right Stuff was written with the following considerations for non-rhyming sonnet structure: 1) Fourteen prose lines. 2) With no end-line rhyme, thematic structure assumes greater importance images, statements or reflections must carry line development.  3) Syntax and semantics are more important than grammar. 4) Internal rhyme is acceptable but end-lines must not rhyme. 5) Line structure should be consistent: not less than 9 syllables per line nor more than twelve syllables per line.  6) The theme development of the embedded stanza structure may consist of three non-rhymed quatrains and a concluding couplet, four three line stanzas and a couplet, two quintains and a quatrain, or the conventional eight lines to develop a theme, six lines to introduce new content, etc.

The strongest offering was the last, partially because I liked how the repitition of 'metal' mimicked the industrial or cottage production of metal goods. I think you would do well to experiment with sound, and try to avoid using strict structure if you don't intend to stick to it strictly. Either abandon all logic and write exactly how you want, or absolutely totally stick to your structure.