One More Sonnet

Category: reading

  • Queen of Science

    Queen of Science

    She speaks of dark matter, she seeks its clue.
    She maps the empty, voluminous void
    that fills the heavens with galactic glue;
    such keeps the Queen of Science full employed.
    Visible space (her realm) she understands.
    The pull of planets and the death of stars;
    the gaseous clusters that time expands;
    with curiosity she’s there on Mars.
    But what of the vast unknown, the unseen,
    the invisible, lightless, hidden mass?
    What sense does she make of the in between?
    As yet, it would seem, not that much, alas!
    . Chaos reigns above the Queen’s universe,
    . order favours the black night … quite perverse!

    © Tim Grace, 10 August 2012

    To the reader: The Queen of Science is mathematics. Her realm, comprised of all things great and small, is understood through the logic of numbers. As with the best of monarchs, she is most interested in relationships; how things bond and bridge. The Queen’s interests follow the path of human curiosity: deep seas and shallow shores; heaven and earth; the living and the dead. She’s a woman of substance and structure; as real as she is abstract; as infinite as she is nothing.

    To the poet: I remember flying, from here to there, with a popular science magazine as company. Page after page of ‘new science’ flipped before my eyes; with each flip came an array of impressive numbers; usually well-beyond my comprehension. Obviously impressed, I used my simple understanding to pay homage to the Queen of Science. The sonnet has a simple structure with the last stanza acting as counterpoint … but … there is much to learn.

     

    Queen of Science Queen of Science
    Picture Source:
    http://youtu.be/A9S9gwhS6Yk

     

  • Sad Indictment

    Sad Indictment

    Pall of darkness on road to Damascus;
    It’s a sad indictment of light’s reform.
    The mood is tense and turning fractious;
    What says the message in this rising storm?
    They do not hear its thunder. Are they deaf
    to its rumbling; to its tremulous pound?
    They are so broken of spirit, no clef
    can orchestrate meaning, make sense of sound.
    How loud must the message be amplified
    before these soldiers are stopped in their tracks?
    What lightning, what thunder must coincide
    in their hearts and minds? … meanwhile Kingdom cracks.
    . All roads lead to somewhere, they are the course
    . of discovery; fortune and remorse.

    © Tim Grace, 29 July 2012

    To the reader: Two years on… and the crisis intensifies; a sad indictment of geo-political posturing. As tallied, the numbers describing death and displacement are staggering. Associated stories are horrendous; and yet, the map of suffering and destruction consumes itself with ravenous ferocity. Nothing to do with justice. Misguided conviction plays out another confrontation; another catastrophe; another war crime – such a pity.

    To the poet: Man of darkness on the road to Damascus. A conversion story, where Saul takes on a simple journey that leads to a complex tale of self-discovery. Paul (Saul’s alter ego) emerges from the flash-point a transformed individual. In Aristotle’s theatrical framework (Poetics) Saul’s crisis is the turning-point; the reversal, from which Paul seeks resolution. The equivalence of one man’s story…

     

    Sad Indictment Sad Indictment
    Picture Source:
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-22798391

     

  • Release The Brake

    Release The Brake

    You’d better contemplate your journey now.
    Talk as you would walk with a natural gait.
    Learn to wait, stand your ground, take a bow.
    Be patient, be present … anticipate.
    By all means stride out, by all means leap forth.
    But do take care, know when enough’s enough.
    This is the stuff of immeasurable worth;
    the fortitude you need when things get tough.
    You are where are, for good purpose; there
    not to stagnate, not to stop, you’re there to make
    the most of moments (rehearse and prepare)
    and then, when you’re ready, release the brake.
    . As a general rule, what’s far becomes near.
    . Life, as is our school, renders most things clear.

    © Tim Grace, 18 July 2012

    To the reader: Effectively managing the erratic pace of life takes wisdom. Going with the flow is one technique; perilous when that pace is frantic, stultifying when things grind to a halt. No, we can do better than that. Finding your own natural rhythm is the trick. Live life in a relaxed state of readiness… poised; as in ‘having a composed and self-assured manner.’

    To the poet: Adjusting a suit can be a simple matter… hems up or down. On the other hand the process can be laboured and intensive; costly and expensive. The same can be said of editing a sonnet. Like its predecessor, this sonnet fought tooth and nail not be adjusted. Every line took umbrage at the mere suggestion of change or alteration. In the end we were both exhausted.

     

    Release The Brake Release The Brake
    Picture Source:
    http://youtu.be/8sJz-iEd1PA

     

  • Under the Sonnet

    Under the Sonnet

    With its ten gangly legs, and five long feet,
    it hobbles the cobbles – a diddle-dee-dum:
    pedals the rhythm of a Roman street;
    travels to Britain – a fiddling strum;
    espouses rules but allows them broken;
    copes with rejection and hopes of the heart;
    in moments of need it’s quite outspoken;
    a smitten attachment to Cupid’s dart.
    Many a muse has become its focus:
    blushed at the poet’s devotional praise:
    In love sings the rose; in Spring sings the crocus.
    In time comes a couplet, as sentence or phrase.
    . Lovers of the word think more upon it,
    . through chapter and verse … none beats the sonnet.

    © Tim Grace, 11 July 2012

    To the reader: A routine day needs a dose of character; an element of surprise; a sprinkling of unexpected pleasure and discovery. Zeus, in union with Mnemosyne, fathered nine amusements. With breadth and reach his daughters (the Muses) tantalised his curiosities. As sources of inspiration, their “hearts are set upon song and their spirit free from care”. Through the Muses we discover the beauty of art, the wisdom of science and the splendour of life.

    To the poet: Once in a while a poet needs to take stock. Sonnets (under bonnets) need a service; a check of mechanical and electrical systems; to synchronise pistons and calibrate sparks. In the process, it doesn’t hurt to check that lubricants are clean and viscous; mediating flow and modifying friction. Fuel lines and coolants need attention to ensure isolated function. With tolerance, the system allows for wonderful variation… the sonneteer’s journey continues.

     

    Diddle-Dee-Dum Diddle-Dee-Dum

     

  • Notographs

    Notographs

    In front of me sit two photographers,
    swapping thoughts on a gallery of shots;
    contemporary, digital philosophers
    sharing the joy of pixilated dots.
    They scroll through images and often pause
    to seek critique from a like-minded peer;
    they relive the moment, wonder its cause;
    they reflect upon a setting and think it queer
    that light through a shutter would strike a pose;
    shift attention to itself and so steal
    the focus of the frame – and so it goes,
    who knows the prism – as would light reveal
    . I watch from a distance – stealing quotes.
    . Adjust my frame of reference – taking notes.

    © Tim Grace, 8 July 2012

    To the reader: I sat alone, absorbing my surroundings; translating what I saw into comprehensible passages of ink… taking notographs. Behind me, two men shared a table and their photographic enthusiasm. Their expert mastery was evident, but so too was the thrill of light’s incidental intrusion. The mischievous play of light is hard to replicate in poetry. Can you over or under expose a word … is that the role of an adjective?

    To the poet: Snapshots capture incidental moments; it’s difficult to elevate interest above a casual glance. An environmental scan doesn’t always return a topic of literary note. Occasionally, the mundane is given gloss; just enough to raise an eyebrow or prick an ear. The jotted-poem, like the snapshot and the pencilled-sketch, has to reflect its momentary inspiration with readiness and brevity; stretch the point and you’ve lost the plot… easy does it.

     

    Notographs
    Notographs
    Picture Source:
    http://youtu.be/f3VjyHQiqdE

     

  • Friends – not lovers

    Friends – not lovers

    Friends, not lovers, protect us from ourselves.
    They can hold us steady, disentangle
    emotional strings, retrieve he who delves
    too deep; ungrip the hand that would strangle
    from life all good reason to continue
    the good fight (for a good cause warranted).
    Such is the good friend, with every sinew,
    a good connection, a well-cemented
    source of truth; a solid anchor of sorts,
    a fixed point of reference, not to be moved
    by whim or fancy (such as love contorts);
    so admired, esteemed, and much approved.
    . Such is the friend who through life endures,
    . promises nothing …. simply reassures.

    © Tim Grace, 23 June 2012

    To the reader: Love, besotted love, is emotionally vulnerable. Through devotion, tender love is unable to detach itself from heartfelt entanglements. The bond of friendship, however, has commitment without the surrender of proximity. Through distance a friend maintains objectivity; sometimes critical in the heat of emotional turmoil. The lover will tend to move towards the fire; the friend one-step back. A lover will sacrifice; a friend will rescue.

    To the poet: The continuity of rhythm and meter delivers flow; but, the principles of design apply to poetry … too much of a good thing detracts from character and diminishes interest. The deliberate disturbance of flow is part of a writer’s craft. Displacement is an effective ploy in attracting attention; but overplayed the strategy loses impact – predictability is the pitfall.

     

    Friends - not lovers
    Friends – not lovers
    Picture Source:
    http://youtu.be/SuUrG4Y29do