Awakening
Awakening consists of five stanzas, the first three of which are of nine lines and the last two of
12 lines. It is not rhymed. I consider the protagonist as a man but it could easily be a
woman.
The protagonist expresses his bond of love by reference to numerous floral analogies in
order to describe the depth and permanence of his devotion. Whilst his lover is his shining
sun, he is confident that no adverse weather can sever their union. Indeed, they are as
firmly linked as are the natural phenomena he observes about them. Whether it be the
colours of the rainbow or the advent of evening or of dawn, they will be locked within
their bond of love throughout their lives; and, whatever time may bring, his lover will
be ever young in his heart because they will be together.
Beyond The Day
Beyond the Day consists of six stanzas each of eight lines (the last of nine lines) and is not rhymed.
A young woman pleads with her lover to let her join him for a longer time than seems
currently allotted. She will commit herself to him for a lifetime during which they will
face the tribulations of the world together. Any obstacle will be cleared and any journey
undertaken. She will accept no rebuff but be ever present seeking him either in distant
places or at home.
She has surrendered all her pride in her heartfelt plea and implores him to be her lifelong
companion like a flower that blooms until the close of life. Then, they will continue their
journey across the vastness of the heavens beyond the world of man.
Dancing
Dancing consists of six stanzas of nine lines each rhymed EI.
An encounter at a nighttime dance which led to dancing until dawn on the terrace is too soon
ended by the approach of dawn but the couple form a life long relationship. The narrator
compares their happiness that lasts throughout the following years as being beyond all other
beauties in life.
Declaration of Love
Format is a sonnet without rhyme.
This is a declaration of love by a female voice which expresses the sumptuous manner of
delivery rather than risks the inadequacy of words that may fail to convey a meaning rising
to the occasion.
Homecoming
Homecoming consists of four parts spoken by three participants. In the first part, the
homecomer has evidently been on a long voyage and is sailing through high seas back to
harbour and looking forward to meeting his wife after a long absence. He speaks three
stanzas each of six lines without rhyme.
In the second part, the wife declares in a lyrical and fully rhymed Shakespearean sonnet how
she feels for the return of her lover.
The third part is spoken by the wind, using four quatrains the last lines of which are rhymed.
The wind is normally capricious but, on this occasion, assists the homecomer in his reunion
with his wife with a warning, however, that it may not be so generous on future occasions.
The homecomer speaks the concluding part, this time in four quatrains rhymed AC, BD, indicating,
in contrast to the heroic lines of the first part, his now domestic life. He is under the
delusion that he has chosen a new life on land whereas it is actually the wind that has
held him in harbour by refusing to blow in a direction suitable for navigation and
thereby proving its independence and possibly a slightly malicious streak in compensation
for its former generosity. But, as a result, the homecomer has now become reconciled
to his domesticity and prefers it to his former adventurous life.
Lives of No Importance
An ordinary couple who have spent their lives in a modest manner relate their homely
wisdom to the world.
Format is nine stanzas sparsely and irregularly rhymed.
New Born Day
An evocation of the dawn and of the scenes revealed by the opening day. It is mainly descriptive
but gains a human connection in the last two stanzas.
Format is eight stanzas of iambic quadrameters six of which are quintains rhymed BD, CE and two stanzas in sestets
presented as rhyming couplets.
Our Sacred Grove
A couple bring their two children to the woodland grove where they had met before their
marriage. The trees wave their greeting as the parents seek the bark where they had carved
their initials finally finding the place at a higher level. They are reminded of their days
spent as if sailing on an ocean of happiness but then return to the village where they
had formerly lived and, now, fondly remember the times of old.
Format is four stanzas each of eight lines rhymed FH.
That Night in May
Two lovers speak of the night they had arranged to meet but had inexplicably not been able
to do so. The man asks the girl whether she had shared the same thoughts as he throughout
that night in May. She replies that she was enraptured by their meeting and delighted at
the thought of the lifetime that they would share and would join her thoughts with his
despite their separation. Their lives have now been joined for ever and grow closer with
every day that passes.
Format is six stanzas varying from twelve to fourteen lines. Two stanzas are allotted to the
man, two to the girl followed by two for the couple together. The poem is heavily but
irregularly rhymed.
The Dimensions of Love
A lover, consumed in the passion of romance, expresses his immensity of love in hyperbolic
manner.
The poem is in sonnet format.
The Girl With The Ash-Blonde Hair
A man recalls meeting the girl who entranced him with her hair and voice and released a
stream of love that has lasted throughout their lives.
Format is four stanzas each of eight lines mostly rhymed FH but with several other
irregularly placed rhymes.
The Welcome Tyrant
No Commentary
The Wind Defeated
No Commentary
When Swallows Return
When Swallows Return consists of eight stanzas each of eight lines rhymed DH.
The poem tells the thoughts of the protagonist whose lover has evidently departed for a
period of several months. He endures the parting and its loneliness comparing it to the
onset of winter and its hardships. He is comforted by photographs of his belovèd and how
she has woven her image into his memory; and regrets that time cannot be re-run but that
he must await her return after the circling of the world around the sun.
The presence of the beloved is an essential addition to the pleasures of spring. He senses
her return and expresses his pleasure in anticipating the happiness that will accrue noting
that Time will have finally relented as it brings his lover back just as the swallows are
returning.
Words
A sonnet rhymed ACBD in praise of words and their power to persuade.
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