Sonnet III: Secret

Posted by David Emeron on

For this thou speak, though doubtful would suppose,
Nor hesitate obliquely to confess.
Regarding friendship still, thou might obsess
Beyond all compass; thrill-swept, as the throes

Wherewith to cloy thyself so rapt, express
Thine own determined joy.  But not oppose
Desire desire‘s object might impose.
Conspired and familiar, this excess:

Unnamed delight, and wicked to implore,
This: framed–as though for art, or to explore,
Or greater havoc know–it would appear
Unleashed, a glow one nary could ignore
In life’s brief curtain: coy, intent, sincere
Thou wouldst covert revere; but not adore.

This sonnet is part of a short sequence; click here to read it all:

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19 responses to “Sonnet III: Secret”

    • How Wonderful! This was not exactly what was intended, but in a general sense, is precisely the message one should perceive; for, such, most certainly is a component of the message.

      Additionally this piece, when taken alone, might, when carefully parsed, yield up more detail; still, it is not especially transparent without its (at the moment) 12 companions.

      And, in a very real sense, I am glad of this. I was not, so to speak, “aiming” for stark, indecorous, clarity.

      “Romantic Realism,” of course….

      Thank you for taking the time to answer. I very much appreciate it.

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    • I guess I didn’t interpret it correctly 100%, but then, not everything has only one interpretation does it? Like art and music as well…. it depends on the eye of the beholder and from which angle they stand from, or what mindset are they in when listening to a piece of music… etc. But thanks, for inviting me to comment on your beautiful sonnet ;-)

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    • All true, and you are welcome, and thank you! You were I think spot-on with what you did offer. And as I felt as I read your answer over, and looked at the piece in that light as rather a stand-alone offering, one could perhaps ferret out a bit more than that, but without the context of the rest of the sequence, probably not much more.

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  3. Also in this sequence, the piece directly preceding this one is a more direct companion. Sonnet #2 in the sequence is a conventional Italian or Petrarchan; Whereas the one above, is what I term a “Reverse Italian,” or “Reverse Petrarchan,” if you prefer the more formal name.

    I enjoy reversing forms in order that I might see how they work, sound, feel, etc. A Petrarchan is difficult to reverse, because in the first section you have:

    ABBA, ABBA,

    which when reversed gives one BAAB, BAAB, which is identical in sound. So I can see the best possibility here would be to reverse one quatrain which gives:

    ABBA, BAAB, which does have a unique sound.

    Also the second section of a Petrarchan–the final six lines–are never set to one form so they may be

    CDECDE, or CDCDCD, or CDECED, or even occasionally, CDCDEE,

    which is something of a rarity; but even Petrarch did it that way once. You will see any number of possibilities in the final six lines. Except you will never (that I know of) see something like:

    CCDEDE, which a reverse of CDCDEE,

    So that seems a logical target for a Reverse Petrarchan.

    All this together gives

    ABBA BAAB CCDEDE,

    One could perhaps try CCDEED, or possibly a third use of C, but the couplet really must, I think be in lines 9 and 10.

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