Pages

Tuesday 13 November 2012



                                               Ascending 

     Ascending, you shall grow to know 
     The slow apotheosis of the breath,
     Where patient death kindly offsets
     The debts you failed to pay.
     Vow therefore, from this day
     You shall repay the favours shown
     For though the end’s unknown
     It’s certain yet.
     So leave no stone unturned,
     No kindness unreturned.
     For thoughtlessness,
     Like rampant weeds
     Can choke the grandest tomb
     With unrequited deeds.
     
     © James Rainsford 2012


      Photo copyright: James Rainsford

Note to readers: My attempt at a Shakesperian sonnet. Posted as my contribution to dVerse Poets. Your views are welcome and I'll respond to all who visit here and leave a comment.
Kind regards to all who meet in the pub tonight, James.

16 comments:

  1. True, wise, and finely wrought.

    ReplyDelete
  2. nice...ascending often means descending to serve and then rise...leaving the good things that happen to us not unreturned is a good thing...great flow in your sonnet as well james

    ReplyDelete
  3. Perfect in its form, James...and flawless in its lesson. Wars are waged based on unrequited kindness...we are a species prone to carrying grudges and tallying misfortune...we know better than to let kindness go unrewarded...yet we do...over and over and over again. You present to us a simple fix for this wonderful world...think they're listening?

    ReplyDelete
  4. nice....you did really well...the rhythm of your words is very nice...and the end will come...we dont know when so yes, leave no kindness un-returned...i like the heart in that...smiles...

    ReplyDelete
  5. well done!!!! I just returned from a meditation retreat and our focus for four days was lovingkindness.

    Would you like to participate in the gratitude quilt this year? This will be the fourth year I'm working with others to create this quilt of words on my blog and it is quite amazing to read all the words of thanks linked together. To learn more about the quilt and how to add a "patch" of your own to it, visit my blog. At the top you will find links to quilts from other years.

    ReplyDelete
  6. So very true, James. A flawless sonnet. This poem shows me that kindness should be returned with kindness.....in every case. And thoughtlessness is more hurtful than we may realize.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kindness is something that no one should procrastinate over offering. I love this poem, it left me with a warmth and faith in humankind's potential.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pretty impressive -- and I could hear the voice of the man of years speaking. The weed similie was fantastic. Thanx

    ReplyDelete
  9. this one is short, but it is a fantastic verse.

    Happy Thanksgiving.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment Stephany. Much appreciated. The poem is a sonnet and its length is determined by a long established poetic convention which dictates the number of permissable lines.

      Delete
  10. I like this very much. The message is so clear and yet, so gentle in its offering. We need to make peace with whatever it is in this world, before we meet the next. How true.
    Beautiful poem.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like this very much, James. both in form and in message. The sonnet always seems to lift our words a little higher, frame them and focus them. I think it may reach some very basic part of our brain that responds to the oral tradition, because it always seems to connect, or at least when it is as well written as this one. Beautiful, stately, and balanced poem.

    ReplyDelete
  12. lovely sonnet.

    your word glow like fire.
    smiles.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is a truly beautiful poem. Iambic pentameter is so hard to nail.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wonderful job with the form and the line: the slow apotheosis of the breath--brilliant.

    ReplyDelete
  15. great to see you today james...hope you had a wonderful holiday...

    ReplyDelete

If you wish your views and opinions to be published here, please be polite and respectful. I welcome feedback on my work and will try to respond if you take the trouble to post a comment. Thanks for visiting 'The Sanctum of Sanity.' Hope you enjoyed the experience, James.