The last time we were here the smell was fresh, The paper crisp, the window-drapes afloat. You smiled to see the pages dance; your dress Swam, buoyant, triumphant on the sea. Our boat Of words, of rhymes and stanzas, sailed atop An ocean, swaying current – on, no stop, Just lucid movement; ever running run,Continue reading “Redress: For Seamus Heaney”
Tag Archives: sonnet
Disembarking: A Terminal Sonnet
Bad coffee drunk at airport terminal’s Faint consolation for delays in flight, When failing air-con gives pilots a fright, And back we go to slow departure halls, Disembarking and delayed. It’s small – A First World problem, as they say; tonight I should still be in Queensland: when all’s right With aircraft safety, we’ll stillContinue reading “Disembarking: A Terminal Sonnet”
Immanence
What churches, prisons, feudal pyramids Possess in common is Authority. Only the state’s power, not the State, exists, And power is exchanged through you and me. Our eyes, transfixed by prison walls, confuse The institution with the power it holds Mixing correct use up with the abuse And sovereign love with the despot who scolds.Continue reading “Immanence”
Joy in Each Season (After Christina Rossetti’s “The One Certainty”)
Christina Rossetti wrote many sonnets, most of them very compelling. This poem is based on one of her more shocking sonnets, one inspired by the book of Ecclesiastes. You can read the original poem here. I have used Rossetti’s poem as my basis, but have tried to inject a bit more hope into its resolution. Continue reading “Joy in Each Season (After Christina Rossetti’s “The One Certainty”)”
Since setting minds on things above is hard
Since setting minds on things above is hard, The mind always diverting to the place Of greatest comfort, fearing open space; Since often thoughts break off in weary shards And off we go, empty, scanning the yard Of day’s vacuum confusions, seeking peace But scared to look directly at His face: Let’s look instead uponContinue reading “Since setting minds on things above is hard”
To trust requires a qualitative leap (Kierkegaard Sonnet #3)
To trust requires a qualitative leap And sin, I’m told, involves more of the same: The gap, whichever way you turn, is deep And, leaping, you can’t go back where you came. So, then, when our ontology is faint And all our guesses lead us back to here – This point of anxious thinking, mind’sContinue reading “To trust requires a qualitative leap (Kierkegaard Sonnet #3)”
Sonnet for Nat
Today I had a day of study, working on an assignment for my Masters degree that is due in two and a half weeks. My brain began the day as slop, and by the end was sloppier still, not helped by the fact that most of the reading involved trying to understand Ludwig Wittgenstein (aContinue reading “Sonnet for Nat”
Clouds and Crowns No.7
No longer sure that clouds say what is true, I look upon the crown of golden days And see instead a stretching, open haze, A space which does not shift for signs of You. Eternity confuses me; I view The openness of time with halting gaze, A rupturing of boundaries, blinding daze, The fear ofContinue reading “Clouds and Crowns No.7”
Clouds and Crowns No.6
And I am caught by wonders of new birth, Not knowing yet how quickly all things die, Assuming as I run that I can fly, That life springs always out in vibrant mirth. Still all my dreams are equal in their worth; The clouds collect expectant in the sky, With promises and oceans to supply,Continue reading “Clouds and Crowns No.6”
Clouds and Crowns No.5
The overture of forests, dead, remade, Whispers pianissimo through leaves. Although the burnt-out wilderness still grieves And ashen dust hangs densely in the shade, The smallest stems of green, a micro-glade, Peek out through fire-black trunks in smoky breeze, The first-fruits of our chlorophyll reprieves, The peaceful eye after the storm is paid. All thisContinue reading “Clouds and Crowns No.5”
The Consolations of Writing 