Fifteen minutes of fame

D2T1: A poem

This poem is in the Sestina format and is based on the prompt: "Write a poem using the words 'Cold Grave' ".

Read the Author's note below the poem first if the notations don't make sense to you!

Cold Grave

The Sestets:

ABCDEF

I have reached here in biting cold,
To look down upon the unwavering stone,
My heart -- it feels so lonely and dark,
Its scream pervades the silence.
Hark! Do I see ahead some light?
Or have I ambled into a silly dream?

FAEBDC

Oft, I lapse into a torpid dream,
Of my mind being seized by hands so cold,
'Ere my feet dance, so free and light,
The weight of my past sinks like a stone,
And all around me is a deathly silence
of unending sadness, mystery and dark.

CFDABE

This happened in an era of no gloom or dark,
When Beauty ruled, as if 'twas a dream,
There was no strife, just peace and silence,
Through all the seasons, hot or cold,
No mind an evil, no heart of stone,
Just heavenly bliss, sunshine and light.

ECBFAD

Her dance on Mother Earth, so feathery and light,
Her cheeks so fair, her tresses, so dark,
Jumping on brooks, from stone to stone,
She ruled our world, 'twas a joyous dream,
Once she sneezed and caught a nasty cold,
Now she's gone, and left behind a silence.

DEACFB

Joy there is none, only a gloomy silence,
Hearts have gone dead and there is no light,
Warmth there is none, only a stark cold,
As down on the earth descends a menacing dark,
The good old days were but an evanescent dream.
I remember all this as I bend to kiss the stone.

BDFECA

The lines of eulogy are etched upon this stone,
And in the whole graveyard is a pin-drop silence,
The wind rustles leaves, blowing away my dream,
The gloom -- it shifts, and there is a shaft of light,
It falls upon the grave, piercing the all-surrounding dark,
As I stand there thinking, shivering in the morning cold.

The Tercet or the Envoi

Amanda is dead and cold and I stare down in silence (A and D)
Hard is her head-stone, and shines on it the Godly light (B and E)
There is no more any Dark, and I live again the Dream (C and F).

Author's Note: The sestina was invented by Arnaud Daniel and is considered one of the more difficult forms of writing poetry. It is non-metered, non-rhyming and uses six words that are repeated in different order through all the six sestets, and then used in the middle and ending of the three lines of the envoi that follows all the six sestets.

In my poem, the six words were:

A: cold
B: stone
C: dark
D: silence
E: light
F: dream

Hope you all enjoyed the poetry. I did, too.

***************************

Judge Earl's comment: D2T1 - This poetic pattern for me is a tough format. I've done several poetic styles and I know it is not as easy as writing ABC.

Yours come in an overwhelming and transluscent way.

Imageries are full of emotions.

Ty,
Earl


- ## Dr.Taher ##

"Honey-licking murderer" 
"With A Cherry On The Top" 



Read:Joy Heartland