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Paradox of a Word

I've seen the wealthiest, powerful men
reduced to fools by utt'rance of a word:
seen pillars of faith stumbling desp'rate when
one softly whispered doubt bowed heads have heard.

I've seen the men of letters at the courts
come undone from misspelled handwritten notes:
seen many kindly, pious, humble sorts
upon command at one another's throats.

All these great men so sure of what they knew,
come to their ruin from this surety:
when one small unexpected thought breaks through
then they lose face, their pride and dignity.

This dark and tragic paradox has shown
the human mind is always an unknown.

 




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1 - 13 of 13

  • maa gold member
    February 20, 2008

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    yes, we should all learn to listen more often to the voice of the heart instead of taking the blabber of our minds too seriously ... becoming the master and not the slave of thought ...

    a masterful sonnet with an excellent and inspiring message ... a gold-winner for sure ...


    maa


  • Tirrell
    February 19, 2008

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    This is an excellent peice, and leaves me to mull upon the words, and savour their emotive force. The subtext is quite striking and beautiful, and leaves to the mind another image to ponder. A striking poem!


  • micol
    February 19, 2008

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    This does what the sonnet--at its best--does so well: use form and structure to puncture social pretenses and draw our attention to human foibles. The repetition in stanzas 1 and 2 is particularly forceful...it immediately draws us into each of the quatrains. The the sense of summation in the 3rd quatrain follows directly. Well structured.


  • masterblaster gold member
    February 17, 2008
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    Hi, an excellent sonnet, a pleasure to read, Di


  • HaleyMary
    February 4, 2008

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    Powerful write. I liked the third stanza the best. It makes me think that even though some people may have lots of power in terms of wealth, it doesn't always mean that they have dignity to go along with it. To me, dignity is so much more important to have in life. Good luck in the contest.


  • passim silver member
    February 4, 2008

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    This is quite a sonnet. An unusual subject choice that I really enjoyed. I don't usually like pointing out something that I would change, but of course you can just ignore me, but I would be interested in your thoughts about the 2nd line of the 2nd stanza: come undone from misspelled handwritten notes:
    This is how I want to read it: undone from a misspelled handwritten note. I find the meter flows with this little change. What do you think?
    Anyway - A great sonnet. Well done


    • PerVirtuous
      February 4, 2008
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      Then I'd have to change throats to throat, which doesn't work. It is the lesser of two evils the way it is. Thanks for the suggestion and wonderful comment.

      As for the flow, it is a common practice to mix the iambic pentameter with a few twists.

      "Now is the Winter of our discontent."

      See how the first foot is not an iamb? Just like my line. If it is good enough for Shakespeare...


  • Elfin
    February 4, 2008

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    This is a very well thought out piece and I enjoyed reading it. Good luckin the contest. Val


  • Amera gold member
    February 4, 2008

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    Your sonnets have simply got to be the best. This is wonderful with great meter and flow. This image of a perspective is intelligent and inspiring. Brilliant!

    Love,
    Amera♥


  • capricornpoet
    February 4, 2008

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    Paradox of the mind

    Well versed sonnet follows smoothly..indeed the mind
    boggles the mind sometimes...nice retourne at 9th line,
    last verse second line "surety"..typo..
    good luck in contest ..


    • PerVirtuous
      February 4, 2008
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      sure·ty
      Pronunciation: \ˈshu̇r(-ə*)-tē\
      Function: noun
      Inflected Form(s): plural sure·ties
      Etymology: Middle English seurte, from Anglo-French seurté, from Latin securitat-, securitas security, from securus
      Date: 14th century
      1: the state of being sure: as a: sure knowledge : certainty b: confidence in manner or behavior : assurance

      Not a typo. Thanks for the comment.


      • capricornpoet
        February 4, 2008
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        absolutely right..my apolog(ies)...I wonder were my head was lol ... sureties ....

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