One More Sonnet

Category: Life

  • Unspoken Thoughts

    Unspoken Thoughts

    There’ll be ample time to talk of wonders;
    but for now, you have the gift of eyes and ears.
    Silence speaks as loud as lightning thunders.
    Save those unspoken thoughts for coming years.
    As for now, take note: watch the world unfold,
    watch the patterns change and the colours dance;
    watch the hand shake, the foot step, the toe hold.
    Recognise yourself in a friendly glance.
    As for now, listen: hear the change of tone;
    hear the rhythm, the pitch, the count of three;
    hear the heart beat, the ear drum, the jaw bone.
    Make yourself ready for the change of key.
    . Two eyes, two ears, but just one mouth for each.
    . There’s much to be said for the gift of …

    © Tim Grace, 22 June 2014

    To the reader: It’s not that babies can’t vocalise; it’s more the point, they can’t speak. And all for good reason. The receptive senses of hearing, seeing, touching, tasting and smelling need time to grasp the rituals of living. In this sensory world, babies communicate reactively; using spontaneous gestures that display their simple understandings of the comfort continuum. Our physical glossary precedes our emotional vocabulary.

    To the poet: Our first language belongs to the body. And I suppose through body-language we can express the sentiments of any poetic theme or form. Words are just subsequent translations of abstracted notions the brain has previously rehearsed; remnants of an internal theatre. Before speech performs its reductive act, let the first scene be one of mental gymnastics … creatively dance within …hold that thought.

    Unspoken Thoughts Unspoken Thoughts
  • Precipice of Now

    Precipice of Now

    Today’s business awaits my attention.
    A loose assemblage of things still to do.
    An assortment that hangs in suspension;
    At the precipice of ‘now’ … fallen due.
    Unfinished jobs have no place on the shelf.
    And so, to that list; that drop-box of chores:
    bullet-pointed messages; notes to self;
    reminders that only a fool ignores.
    And so, to that list of missed appointments:
    that stalled project; that interrupted task;
    to all that, that is yet to commence.
    To that pending pile: “be patient” I ask!
    . All in good time, each matter’s attended.
    . It’s at that point, the file is suspended.

    © Tim Grace, 9 May 2014

    To the reader: Two weeks after retiring, I started my next job. The plan was to down-size expectation and workload; get things back to a manageable perspective. To some extent that was the reality but the fundamentals of paper warfare move from job-to-job and desk-to-desk. Projects are the enemy of state. They form the territory upon which office activities spiral out of control in the name productivity. Projects – front-line battles that draw upon scarce resources and redirect energies towards hot-spots of disputed service.

    To the poet: As a single-minded sonneteer, I manage my own poetry project – an anthology of sorts. As far as I know “One More Sonnet” has no project-plan; nothing to coordinate its resources and deliver its services. With hindsight, I could back-engineer a plausible plan that makes what I’ve done look organised; but in fact, the whole project grows like topsy. From one idea to the next I lunge and lurch … help wanted; must be good with pen and caper!

    Precipice of Now
    Precipice of Now
  • List of Wisdoms

    List of Wisdoms

    Firstly, I read the desiderata:
    “Go placidly amidst the noise and haste.”
    Gave myself approval (imprimatur)
    to make my list of lists. To cut and paste
    my chart of wisdoms; distilled of strife,
    refined, reduced to an essence of truth:
    – Experience is the practice of life.
    – One must have the grace to surrender youth.
    So on, the list progressed … dot after dot:
    – To enjoy time’s passage, go with the flow.
    – To know who you are, don’t be who you’re not.
    – The more you think you know, the less you know.
    . Wisdom is suggestive, best known by gist.
    . Wisdom is illusive, shy to enlist.

    © Tim Grace, 21 April 2014

    To the reader: The reduction of wisdom, to a list of truisms, is an attractive contemplation that leads to a refined sample of ‘best of’ behaviours. The first few, often confirm acts of social responsibility; sealing the contract between oneself and others. These ‘responsibilities’ are soon followed by the ‘accountabilities’ that establish (as good) generous reciprocity. And so it seems, the wise respond to needs, they take account of wants; and most of all, they share the benefits – in the interest of common wealth.

    To the poet: Around this period of writing, I was also retiring from thirty-years of career building. Not surprisingly, events were associated with a strong-tinge of reflection on change over time; and lessons learnt. The economical nature of phrasing a line of poetry is similar to the construction of a truism… the verb and its subject make obvious associations with a familiar object – in the interest of common sense.

    List of Wisdoms
    List of Wisdoms
    Picture Source:
    http://s1.dmcdn.net/BCwjG/1280×720-5Zh.jpg
  • And so become…

    And so become…

    Let go of your dependencies; let go.
    Let go of what has gone forever more.
    Cut free of insecurities; and so,
    lay claim to your capacities. Be sure
    that what you have, you have in all good faith;
    all good faith, that underwrites the absence
    of certainty. Believe in what you have.
    Believe in the goodness of good intents.
    Take hold of opportunities; take hold,
    take hold of that which offers more to come.
    Seize the moment; as the nettle. Be bold
    in your intent; for pluck outplays a strum.
    . Let go of insecurities; and so,
    . become an opportunity to grow.

    © Tim Grace, 26 January 2014

    To the reader: To be a free agent assumes a level of independence that few of us have license to acquit. Over time we accrue a host of responsibilities, dependencies and expectations that nail us to the floor. Up and leaving is not so easy. Before departing on a free-spirited journey there are things to do. Leaving behind a trail of unfinished business is hardly inviting a warm welcome upon your return. Sure, let go, but take good care … of things before you leave.

    To the poet: Strength of message can be bolted to a sonnet. In this free-flowing lecturette I’ve assembled a few commonly known phrases; then, replaced any expected conjunctive using a generous spray of repetition. The repeated elements, through the creation of emboldened space, establish room for emphasis. I’ve not repeated the message, simply repeated the pattern surrounding it.

    And so become ... And so become …
    Picture Source:
    http://youtu.be/jBN2_YuTclU
  • In Loose Contort

    In Loose Contort

    From that which lies about us we construct
    plausible solutions; scenarios
    that help explain what life, by chance, has plucked
    as this day’s harvest of ripe curios:
    people, events, time and place alongside
    those artefacts, those things that decorate
    this impromptu muddle; unqualified
    mess – by chance an entanglement of state.
    What lies about us is about us strewn.
    A momentary arrangement that becomes
    itself revealed as a glimpse; and so soon
    becomes the fresh source of infinite sums.
    . We are in pieces, patched together, wrought
    . of all things about us; in loose contort.

    © Tim Grace, 14 January 2014

    To the reader: I’m a constructivist; intrigued as I watch organic plasticity contend with constant adaptation to non-organic obstacles. Without adaptive agility, existence is a fragile and brittle proposition. At the centre of my own survival guide is a stoic statement of resilience: things change and people adapt. Every heart-beat, every breath, is designed to extend or improve engagement with time and place.

    To the poet: Poetry and fluid mechanics have a lot in common. Both seek to understand and/or harness the nature of flow. Fluids, just like poems, derive their character from internal and external forces that influence their dynamic state. The 1960’s hit-song ‘Poetry in Motion’ is a great example of syllabically static lyrics interacting to create the effect of a constantly rolling wave.

    In Loose Contort
    In Loose Contort
    Picture Source:
    http://youtu.be/EjjMH_PdCvI
  • What if then?

    What if then?

    ‘If’ is temperamental and hardly worth
    the effort it requires to hold it still.
    ‘Then’ is non-committal, swings back’n’forth
    then comes, then goes, then pendulums at will.
    In separate states ‘they’ push’n’pull apart;
    good order suffers – everyone’s confused.
    ‘Then’ makes a mockery of a clean start.
    ‘If’ takes liberties (not to be excused).
    What if/then in union these two are brought
    to heel; made to see reason; in a sense?
    What if/then, as bridled, these two are taught
    to harness the logic of consequence?
    . Then good reason will support a good guess;
    . therefore, what follows will also impress.

    © Tim Grace, 10 January 2014

    To the reader: If/then logic is a basic tool of computer programmers. Coded scripts embed consequential actions that take place according to if/then decision-making processes. Evaluators use if/then sequences to unravel cause and effect relationships. And, our socio-cultural institutions apply If/then statements to establish and reinforce behavioural codes of conduct; law and order. Without a logical connection between ‘if’ and ‘then’ the two stand at odds and create confusion.

    To the poet: The sonnet relies on a sequence of nested references that by association resonate with a reader’s interest. To engage curiosity, a loose level of ambiguity creates intrigue; and to add a twist, many sonnets feature what is known as a volta. The volta provides a turning point at which the direction of the poem changes; moves towards some form of resolution. In this sonnet the volta consumes the final quatrain; setting up space for the answer which comes in the final couplet.

    What if then?
    What if then?
    Picture Source:
    http://youtu.be/m2Ux2PnJe6E