One More Sonnet

Tag: music

  • Persistent Wind

    Persistent Wind

    A persistent wind, agitating dust;
    careless intruder, unwelcome entry.
    Full of bravado, a blustering gust;
    unsettling a layer of certainty.
    A persistent wind, feeding fuel to fire;
    craving attention and demanding note.
    Temperamental breeze, a funeral pyre;
    no whimsy whistle works as antidote.
    A persistent wind, a buffering blow;
    cuts across the bow and ruffles feathers.
    Strips a tree of foliage and Autumn’s glow;
    this resistant fiend smites all endeavours.
    . An ill-wind, the likes we all must suffer;
    . should be endured with brunt or buffer.

    © Tim Grace, 17 January 2013

    To the reader: A cutting breeze strips a day of comfort. Each of the senses responds with agitation. In defence, we can either face the challenge or turn our back. To face the challenge requires head-on resistance; a regardless attitude that stiffens to the breeze. Turning-the-back is an obstinate show of defiance. Should we brunt or buffer? Somewhere between passive and aggressive there’s an appropriate response… ‘the answer is blowing in the wind’.

    To the poet: It wasn’t until I began writing ‘to the reader’ that I realised I had written a sonnet describing Bob Dylan… a persistent wind. He arrived in the early 1960s on a gust of rising social awareness; and decades-on, he’s still shaking trees and rustling leaves. Now identified, I re-read the sonnet with the brusk-breeze personified; I have faced the wind.

    Persistent Wind Persistent Wind
    Picture Source:
    http://youtu.be/oqEcFUW9Ai4
  • Shine

    Shine

    Shine through the darkness, penetrate the night.
    Dawn beneath the shadows that overcast
    those slumbering diamonds desperate for light;
    uncovered memories, bejewelled to last.
    Shine between the cracks of that shattered dream.
    Gloss over edges that diminish hope,
    polish up the threads of a golden seam;
    discovered passions, rekindled to cope.
    Shine upon a steel breeze, amend its mood.
    Take the black dog and heat its cold intent
    with warmth; the antidote is attitude;
    recovered talents, refashioned to vent.
    . Depression’s remedy is a light touch,
    . a glimmer of hope, that will shine as such.

    © Tim Grace, 2 December 2012

    To the reader: For the discerning adolescent ear, Pink Floyd filled a ‘head space’ that responded to the musical dynamics of depth and complexity. The sound of other bands, including the Beatles, could tolerate the phonic limitations of an old record player. But, to best appreciate a Pink Floyd album it had to be dust-free and scratch-less. With the right hi-fi system, Pink Floyd could transform a bedroom into a theatre of ethereal sound.

    To the poet: Pink Floyd’s first album ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’ (1967) contains eight lyrics penned by Syd Barrett. Read as poetry, it’s clear Syd knew how to craft a song; he knew the rules, and had a versatile bank of ‘tips and tricks’ in his wordsmith quiver. As an exercise, I wrote this sonnet as a sampler; at the same time acknowledging the traumatic demise of a shining star … condensed to a ‘crazy diamond’.

    Shine Shine
    Picture Source:
    http://youtu.be/qGd1eiLKY_8
  • Variations

    Variations

    ‘This from that‘ can be interpreted thrice;
    subtle ambiguity some might say.
    Otherwise expressed, a poet’s device;
    so that hairs might split, so that ends might fray.
    ‘From this that‘ a simple alteration
    from the original text, an exchange
    of order, a sequenced variation:
    sleight of hand, write of passage, slightly strange,
    rightly plausible; curious, obtuse.
    That’s the poet’s ploy, that’s the poet’s choice.
    ‘From that this‘ offers another excuse
    to alter meaning without change of voice.
    . From that this… from this that … or … this from that?
    . Noteworthy differences … or idle chat?

    © Tim Grace, 10 October 2012

    To the reader: Variations on a theme. Subtle change. One of many interpretations. The Sciences love to monitor variation; noting change with mathematical precision. In the Arts, it’s through music that variations abound. The music industry cleverly exploits the human ear’s acuity by releasing different versions of the same song, or orchestral piece, for our listening pleasure… spot the difference.

    To the poet: … another one of those puzzle poems. Word order is an important semantic tool. Sometimes it makes little difference to meaning; other times, a shift in placement can disorient the reader’s expectation. Used deliberately, a change of word order can be very effective in drawing attention to a point of difference.

     

     

    Variations Variations