“Evermore will time stand still,
for ‘now’ has been extended.
Through turn of phrase and stroke of quill,
this moment is suspended.”
And thus, he wrote of Time’s defeat,
as conquered through his verse:
“No more will youth through age retreat,
as if struck by mortal curse.”
He inscripted youth, at beauty’s prime,
to best achieve his quip.
Empowered-up, to temper time,
he released its savage grip.
. That form, given rhyme and verse: so beautiful.
. That image, as of now: immutable.

© Tim Grace, 21 July 2011

To the reader: In reality, there is no such things as a pause in time; we can pause an activity but alas not time. Distorting our sense of time to suit our purposes is a useful skill. Being able to find a meditative moment amid a rush of urgency rejuvenates the soul. Of all the ‘arts’ it’s music that best allows us to adjust our sense of time; with musical accompaniment we recalibrate our tempo. Sometimes, in partnership with music, a lyric will further emphasise a restive refrain.

To the poet: We can oversell our poetic powers. We can become besotted by our cleverness: wordage becomes verbiage; impact is dulled. In what becomes a brilliantly exhaustive passage of sonnets, Shakespeare openly struggles to outwit Time’s corrosive effect on the perfect patina of life; as expressed through Spring’s expression of youth. With every power, vested to a poet, Shakespeare mounts his case only to realise the futility of cause … “o, how shall summer’s honey breath hold out, against the wrackful siege of battering days… Time decays (Sonnets 64 & 65).

evermore