Category Archives: Blog

Sonnet II | Lyrical Love

Posted by David Emeron on

I never know when she will come or go, but when she appears, there is always such beauty:

Come with me, into the chilled winter mist…
Our hearts breathe, under silent, navy sky,
Frosting moonlight with every passioned sigh.
Let us wander in an evergreen whist,
Where the seduction of heat will insist…
That we create a burn hot as July.
As closer we draw, the stars can’t deny,
Brighter we burn if we torridly kissed.

You reached my soul with your caress of word.
You left me shaken and trembling and weak,
You wrapped me in a haze of devotion
I breathed your love in, not able to speak.

The silence more piercing than what is heard,
I awoke…entwined in silk emotion.

Nexus « Roxi St. Clair

Posted by David Emeron on

I am flying
in a holding pattern
that’s contrived outside
the space of time.

It’s from before
the ignition of the
first human fire,
before zero and
the powers of ten.

Above, below, ecumenical
it reflects its purpose
and mine.

The boundless cosmos
seems insignificant
for I am enraptured;
by empirical sapience
here, all is silent.

Slowly,
I breathe.

Steady is the sublimity
of my wings.

The thread of illumination
parallel to sempiternity –
navigates me.

Sonnets in Lyrical couplets–the gateway drug… Possibly?

Posted by David Emeron on

Having recently discovered a sonnet in lyrical couplets by Kipling, [“When Fear Came,” I believe it is titled, in the 2nd “Jungle Book”] and having written one myself, albeit as a character rather than as myself, I was put in mind of the above possibility.  As such I would like to write a few more couplet sonnets.  But also….

I feel perhaps, I might write a series of sonnet like forms ranging from completely freeverse to completely structured.  I feel that in such a way one might bring someone along a bit toward realising that sonnets are not so very hard to understand.

Of course, even if they were, one may still have the experience of hearing one read aloud; for the sound itself, is quite beautiful even without full comprehension.  Still, sonnet form is relatively simple; and even if classical topical structure is maintained (e.g. a sonnet reading essentially:  “Consider this…  But wait, what about this?” this turn or ‘volta’ most often occurring at the ninth line but often delayed till the very last; and sometimes, though rarely, earlier than that) quite easy to understand.

I feel this sequence I describe in the second paragraph is a bit of “cheating” perhaps, because the first few examples would be quite easy to write; however, I have been wondering in what way I might reward myself for having passed my sixth month mark, and perhaps this might be fitting.   I cannot, for example, think of any further paid services at this time in which I would desire to engage; therefore, I am reduced to content related rewards, I fear!

It is possible, I suppose, that the following are related articles:

Libertarian Shakespeare « Poetry « The ObjectOpus

Posted by David Emeron on

This appears to be #7 in a sequence; or at the very least, a series of some kind.

Plutarch, of liberal instance, coming forth
In prose, historically reconciled
With fate, persuaded Shakespeare that more worth
Brief freedom has alive and undefiled

Than longevous disgrace enslaved. One must
Consider in accord with courage what
To do, by daily judgment deeming just
Those deeds that quicken liberty. So thought

The poet when Marcus Brutus he perused,
Not from the manly tenor of that book
Withdrawing. Civic wisdom was infused
Into his spine, which would not lightly crook

Upon consensus. Forcibly erect,
No slavish bent he’d suffer in defect.

via Poetry « The ObjectOpus.

Reverse Petrarchan/Reverse Italian Sonnets:

Posted by David Emeron on

In the sequence Regarding the Male form, You will see an atypical rhymescheme in Sonnet #3, this is what may be termed a “Reverse Italian,” or “Reverse Petrarchan,” if you prefer the more formal name.

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.

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 might 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 rarely; 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.

Definition of “School System” | Words Of Birds

Posted by David Emeron on

A comment regarding education I once made.  I wonder if too much perspective is necessary at this late date for its true understanding.

I’m afraid the traditionalists are what is needed–not the ones of which you write, however–those who once taught by means of illuminating real books rather than textbooks–which contain little more than survey material.

Although, to the matter of textbooks: I came into possession of a now 130 year old “Appleton’s” designed for forth year students–who would be some 9 years of age. It was, in fact a survey work, just as any modern composition text might be. (Such things were devised to allow less qualified people to teach–frontier situations, for example, very well intended) However it is more sophisticated, and demanded more thought in follow-up questions and proposed projects and assignments than did a similar book I have which was published in the mid 1980ies.   This more modern textbook was designed to teach college freshman–so they would be some TEN years older than those who had learned from the old Appleton’s!  I am not exaggerating as I write this. Regarding the older textbook, the reading selections therein were much more demanding, the questions afterwards were similar, but required much more thoughtfulness and much greater understanding.

I shudder to think what such a book would look like today. I did have an experience with such a book in, I believe it was, 1998, and the degradation even from the 1980ies book was severe. It even had little cartoon drawings interspersed throughout in order to keep the college sophomores’ attention. The sophistication of the reading selections was of a character far inferior to its 1980 counterpart and, of course, was dwarfed by the Appleton’s to an unbelievable degree.

I am not a teacher; however I do know two excellent ones who reluctantly left the field and have gone on to private teaching. We have spoken much about such things, and they would, no doubt tell you the same as I.

What, I wonder, would the scholars writing for Appleton’s 130 years ago think if they knew how well they had succeeded in the long term in the way of enabling the unqualified to teach?

via Definition of “School System” | Words Of Birds.