And some seed fell not on the stony ground,
Thorn-patch or roadside, nor on the good tilth,
But on the midden-heap of rotting filth
Where wanton waste and stink of sin abound.
But filth composted had a subtle power
To warm and nurture errant grains of wheat,
The sun of wayward loves lent its frail heat,
Sorrow let down bitter, refreshing showers.
So, when the tale of harvest-home is told,
And thorns, birds, passing feet have done their worst,
And in chaste choir, the righteous, hundred-fold
Bear in their garner, then, when last is first,
Prodigals, Magdalens, repentant thieves
May bring with joy two-hundredfold their sheaves.
Author notes
"Two" in the last line should be italicised - however the gold membership with which someone gifted me has run out, and hence I no longer have access to italics.
And since the loss of the rich text facility, as far as I can see, the only negative feature of being a free member, while the advantages are quite considerable, and since I currently have very little time for Allpoetry anyway - and am likely to have even less as the months go on, there seems little point in renewing it at present.
Particularly as I shall need all the spare cash I can muster to relaunch my (hard-copy) poetry magazine, MANIFOLD.
A contest entry
- Sonnet ~ #50 Winklings Contest for friends and Allpoetry by Lyndon.
3720 points, ended March 13, 2008, 13 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Forgiveness by RunningFree.
700 points, ended May 20, 2008, 17 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Rhyme - Sonnet, Villanelle, or Pantoum only. by ecrivain01.
450 points, ended July 31, 2008, 17 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please do not feel obliged to comment - and if you DO comment, please understand that it may be some time before I respond.
Comments
1 - 14 of 14
-
Yes ...
this is a very good poem. As I said, I don't mind "religious" poems, as long as they meet the standards to which a good poem should aspire.
Thanks for entering.
-
Great, of course!
Hope you know, or will get to know Dr. Joyce Hemsley of Sunderland, England. She posts on several sites, one of which is Web Poetry Corner. She is a very prolific poet. Just GOOGLE her and you will find her. Keep up the good work. Sometimes I am interested in talking to you about an honorary degree (Ph.D. in English Literature, or other field)from Southern Christian University, of which I am the President. Of course, no charge. More on all of that later, perhaps. Again, keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Hardy Parkerson, B.A., J.D.
Retired Lawyer
President, S.C.U.
Lake Charles, LA, USA
hparkerson@suddenlink.net
-
a sonnet that strikes through amazing imagery and metaphor and sophisticated, well-chosen vocabulary ... your erudition and masterful technique have been perfectly applied in this verse ...
its message is not lukewarm but points to a truth within us that we are all invited to explore ...
heartfelt congratulations to your silver-trophy, I bow before your talent,
maa
-
looks like a few things came together here- style, technique, message, a recipe for a golden classic... now don't tell me this is not one of your best- where would you place it- in your top 10, 20, 100, 1000?
-
Beautifully scripted with a title that is quite strong. Lovely sonnet. Well done poet. Best of luck in the judging. ~Pamela
-
-
Thank you for your appreciation.
-
-
Well, yes, enough of nature, certainly
This sonnet is arguably 'indefinable' for rhyme scheme but nonetheless a very fine sonnet. abba cddc efef gg.
Wherever you originate from, dear poet, you are NOT North American. I, too, do not pronounce the "w" in 'showers' or even 'hours'!!!
Your lines are perfectly octasyllabic.
You have two good turns or 'voltas': one at line nine, beginning a change of tack with 'So, '. The other at the beginning of line thirteen through fourteen, the true 'Harvest Home', spiritually.
This poem is founded in Biblical Parable. Significantly you have come from the parable to the bigger story it is enshrined within to the story of God's Kingdom to the larger story again of the Christ borne New Dispensation where truly, last shall be first in true justice for the blessed.
This is achieved through dignified if distancing diction. In fact, the older-fashioned words lend a tone of rural simplicity and sense of biblical times to this poem.
The substitution of a trochee in line two and the urgent falling rhythm there are forceful. In fact two things strikle me: the movement, cleverly, of caesurae and the handling of differing metrical feet to suit the natural rhythms of each line.
Lyndon of the Winklings.
[Suitability of title: for Allpoetry, an explanation of the Latin introduction, "Because they have loved much .... ]
-
-
Sorry... I tend to forget that not everyone recognizes even the better-known Latin tags.
In fact, the title is "Because they have loved much..."
Do you know, perhaps, Kipling's short story "On the gate" - set in 1916, in which, at one point, St Peter is discussing the eligibility for heaven of a WW1 dressing-station nurse who had had a number of sexual adventutes: the Recording Angel produces her file-card (which is bright scarlet!!!!), but when St Peter hears that she had succumbed to pneumonia after complete exhaustion with her nursing duties and the general stress of working just behind the front lines, he says (I quote from memory). "Right... just mark her as Q.V.A - and if you get any more of these - er - tinted dockets, do the same with them".
A footnote in my Kipling edition explains Q.V.A as meaning "Quia valde amavit" - "Because she has loved much"... (referring to the story of the "woman who was a sinner": "much is forgiven her because she has loved much"...and I simply put it into the plural...
-
-
the seed that fell on stony ground, lacking roots, flourished for a time then withered in the heat of the day. Filth composted suggests to me the way that we drive our darker urges into the depths of our psyche, where it may fester and grow more virulent. I really enjoyed this poem. Thought provoking and full of interesting images that paint a picture far more transcendent than the mere words.
-
Hi Vera
It took me three minutes to read this, twenty minutes to look up words I didn't know, less than three minutes to reread and understand, and four minutes to write this comment.
Best half-hour I've ever spent.
#1 fan
Nevada USA
-
An unusual and well-worded sonnet, with an excellent concluding couplet. This is a pleasure to read.
Bill
-
What a startling couplet, I love it. This is one of my favorite parables, which I interpreted differently in all my stages. There is more joy in heaven, and it follows, more joy on earth too.
-
A sonnet, put together as a cabinet-maker would an escritoire... a subtle volta at the ninth line, a full resolution of the theme in the final couplet... excellent poetry, and you don't need me to tell you that.
-
An enjoyable piece of poetry, I like the dark to light theme here, it is nice to read something with hope embedded. A good poem. Good luck in the contest.
Adding your comment:
1 - 14 of 14
