Survivors

Survivors

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Sonnet: In the Quiet Hour


©  2016 Steve King
All rights reserved


It would be a mistake for you to feel
my silence as a shield against your love,
for I have ever held you close in thought
to fill the shadows that are gathered close—
and kept you in those dreams and wonderings,
forever at the heart of my repose.
I look to find a song to make you glad,
to bridge this darkness that will not requite,
a faith to bend my wishing to your needs,
to break your silence, that my silence brings.

My stubborn orbit soon will be unwound,
to feel the patient tenure of your pull,
no more eclipsing radiant delights,
nor folly to resist that final fall.


A new poem for Poetry Pantry
 http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/

20 comments:

  1. Quietness and silence is divine - although few (sadly) treasure it..or at least can tolerate it..it can speak volumes as your poem so deftly illustrates. it can be almost respectful allowing space for the other..and an unspoken connection

    ReplyDelete
  2. I look to find a song to make you glad,
    to bridge this darkness that will not requite,
    a faith to bend my wishing to your needs,
    to break your silence, that my silence brings.

    Sigh.. this is soo dreamy!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Now THIS is a stunning sonnet! Deep and filled with sadness, I think. The narrator wanting to find a way to bring the other out of depression perhaps, trying everything possible to break the other's silence. (if I have understood correctly, and I am not sure I have.)

    ReplyDelete
  4. The things--the terrible things--we say when we say nothing, the misunderstanding we engender... Thank goodness for poetry.

    What a wonderful sonnet, Mr. King!

    ReplyDelete
  5. A lovely sonnet and now I wonder why I am crying feeling the heartstrings pull. Silence hurts when words need to be spoken.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Each line builds on the idea of silence....good or bad. I feel that final fall!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is very beautiful to read. It is so easy to misinterpret silence. I love the reassurance in I look to find a song to make you glad.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I really like this line: "to feel the patient tenure of your pull"

    ReplyDelete
  9. Such a beautiful write Steve--I think of a married couple and how we can woo each other even after years--falling into each other's orbit

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is a remarkable sonnet... I really love how you used that silence as both barrier and mortar. In the end we have to find a way to connect, no matter if the walls collapse I think... but there is also hope that no matter what we can find a way back.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think you need silence to appreciate the beauty of love when words are superfluous and togetherness is everything. What a beautiful sonnet.

    ReplyDelete
  12. wonderful write Steve. I love the soul it brings!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your poetry is so heart touching. "my silence as a shield against your love" - I felt it so strong.

    ReplyDelete
  14. love needs be expressed, or it will be nought, thanks to the gift of poetry, it laurels continue, sung in galactic melodies such as this one

    much love...

    ReplyDelete
  15. It would be a mistake for you to feel
    my silence as a shield against your love,

    Great opening Steve! It is already setting the parameters for the couple to resolve from that point on.

    Hank

    ReplyDelete
  16. It seems sonnets are in the winter air. ;_) This one also has the pull of heavenly bodies, the disconnect of airless space, the star maps we read and about which we cannot ask for directions when lost-- I especially like the unrhymed(or rather, occasionally-rhymed) tack you chose, and lines 7 through 10 are particularly golden--taking the personal to the universal for me. A pleasure to read, Steve, and thanks for your very kind comment at my place.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hey Steve-- a lovely sonnet whixh has such great cadences that they make a quiet rhyme. This reflects the difficulty of life with another so beautifully-- the connection that oddly seems to bring a disconnect but is truly both minds thinking alike. Lovely. Really lovely. I am on train and phone so forgive my inarticulate thumbs. K.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Steve, enjoying this revisit. This seems a sonnet that so distills and describes a certain kind of coupling, a relationship of people who are almost representative of certain archtypical gender qualities, and the type of misunderstanding that creates and feeds--the way the last sextet turns around is so lovely. Thanks. Thanks also for you kind comments--I think I've been more exhausted by my work life than the winter--it is like one long fall here--and rather beautiful, I find. (I mean, one can walk all winter long, which isn't always possible--a little more snow would certainly be nice, however, and reassuring.) k.

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a beautiful sonnet, Steve. You have set the perfect mood and tone with your words. Pensive, questioning—the right amount of love and angst. And as always, your word choice is impeccable! I especially enjoyed these lines:
    " I look to find a song to make you glad,
    to bridge this darkness that will not requite,
    a faith to bend my wishing to your needs,
    to break your silence, that my silence brings."
    Just lovely, my friend!

    ReplyDelete