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Tuesday Sonnet: Merits

Posted by john_silver on January 20, 2009 - 05:05
from the ABC set Sonnets

I love the way you speak of sadness as
A gift that none of us deserves, like we
Had not done work enough to find its tree
And pluck its fruits (these our tradition has
Described as sour, and I did believe it.
I did, that is, until your gentle hand
Had fed me them, to let me understand
Which taste bears meaning. Now I know their secret).
But I’ve a special reason to deserve
The suffering I wear like one from Greece:
My fall consumed our friendship. Now I serve
The cause of solitude. It’s only fair; the piece
I asked your heart to play was yours. So swerve
Your good elsewhere, girl. Let me grieve in peace.

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Comments

jennifer | January 20, 2009 - 10:12

This is beautiful and incredibly sad.

The line,

'to let me understand
Which taste bears meaning' particularly stood out for me, with the Adam and Eve implication.

I was going to say that that line in itself is too long (with the 'Now I know their secret') but upon another few readings, although it looks out of place visually, it fits in the sound scheme of the poem so well, I don't want it changed a bit.

J x

john_silver | January 20, 2009 - 17:42

Thanks Jennifer. Had been out of the site for a while and it's good to be welcomed back so warmly. :)

Jasper_Milvain | January 20, 2009 - 17:51

I agree with the above. The 'secret' scans as its feminine ending joins with 'believe it' in Line 5.

This is very skillfully done. I'll have a look at the others now.

Glad that there's a John Silver on the site.