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On Bachelorhood (Italian Sonnet)

Missing image
by Gregg Rowe

Daily I have seen my life pass me by
Converse with heavens' angels – good and bad
I see my life reversed –  a man to lad:
Family and friends who’ve stood by my side,
My surrogate family have since died –
Our rules have changed, it drives me raving mad
To know I will never hear the words:  Dad
Chronic illness cripples my mortal life

I have asked the questions – prefaced by why?
Sat in the darkness, and quietly cried:
I play life’s games – wonder if I will win,
Having been accused of living a sin
Oppose death becomes my game’s resistance –
So I can record my life’s existence


Author notes


Written August 19th, 2004

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Comments

1 - 16 of 16

  • Meridian
    August 19, 2004
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    Profound!

    Wow Gregg this is so touching, the line:
    "To know I will never hear the words: Dad"
    is heart wrenching. This whole piece is fueled by emotion and sadly it's of the angst kind. This is incredibly deep and profound and knowing a bit about your background there is a lot that makes sense and is understandable. Even if I didn't this would still have an effect on me, I'd have to be sub-human for it not to. This is an awesome sonnet Gregg and is as affecting as I would expect a personal piece to be. Well done,

    ~Samantha


  • Just Another Star
    August 19, 2004
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    Wow, I really like this. Im speechless. Its a gorgeous worded poem and its poerful, deep, full of emotion, and sorrowful. I love it. I feel for you. This is an awesome write!. Good job.
    Sarah


  • duana
    August 19, 2004
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    Sonnets usually don't bring out full fledged emotion in me as they are so subdued, but this one did. This one made me cry. You did a fantastic job in writing this. I am impressed with it's beauty. I am sorry if this is your life experience. I can really sense how you are feeling.


  • angelica silver member
    August 19, 2004
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    Gregg, another beautiful Sonnet my friend, I don't understand the style but i do love the words you have written, so very poignant. Am enjoying reading them~Love~Joan~


  • lordoftherings gold member
    August 19, 2004
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    Kethry : An Italian Sonnet is divided into an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines) the octave always being abbaabba with a variation on the rhyme scheme of the sestet with cc dd ee or cde cde or cd cd ee, and this definitely follows one of the forms, line breaks are optional but most will be seen with the octave and a blank line followed by the sestet. It is written in iambic pentameter like other sonnets. Sorry that you could not pick up on that pattern. Gregg


  • SilentScar
    August 19, 2004
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    Another great job. It must also be said that form poems are quite difficult and you deserve a grand congratulations on that.
    SilentScar
    (Elizabeth)


  • Kethry
    August 19, 2004
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    I've never seen this form of sonnet before I am used the to Shakespaerian iambic pentameter. so I can't really comment about the structure. I would guess that the lines need to form a pattern and I don't see a pattern. However the content is very smooth and the questions are heartwrenching.


  • Jonathan Wikkins silver member
    August 19, 2004
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    i really enjoyed this piece, though i'm not overly familiar with an itallian sonnet, it does seem to follow the definate pattern of a sonnet, i've written several myself, only english (shakespearean) sonnets! and a very good way of putting it, too...
    mike


  • brad-the-bard
    August 19, 2004
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    Lovely poem. I see many comments from those who can relate to your feelings and I want to add my voice to them.
    I also enjoyed Aeolian Song's comment. Very enlightning! I often struggled with meter but I think I have the hang of it now. I'm not too familiar with Italian sonnet's but English sonnets are very strong on meter. Except for the inconsistent meter, the poem is very good thanks to the relevant content.


  • Zahhar gold member
    August 19, 2004
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    another petrarchian sonnet. sonnets read most fluidly when the meter is consistent, which is not the case here. of course, you could be aiming for an inconsistency of meter, yet i see you're sticking mostly to decasyllables (lines of ten syllables), but they are decasyllables only, not a consistent pentameter, tetrameter or hexameter.

    content-wise, i see this as expressing the sense of hopelessness that comes with dying from a terminal illness. in a sense, we all are -- death is nipping at all our heels, and will take us down, right down to the very last human being that will ever gasp for breath. for the majority, however, the terminal illness is age. you of course are talking about an illness that interferes unpleasently this "natural" process.

    i like this piece better than the last because this piece doesn't seem to be romanticizing life, existence, or the body. this piece feels more speculative and ready to look directly at the real issue, a fear of the abyss.

    personally, i have come to accept that nothing is ever lost. nothing you have been, nothing you have loved, nothing you have treasured, nothing you have felt, nothing you have endured, nothing you have learned, will ever be lost -- but it seems to me that it may all become unfamiliar again. when the soul fragments a thousand different ways, some of the larger fragments go on to recoalesce into new beings, even these are not lost.
    Edited on Aug 19, 5:57 because ''.

  • pozo
    August 19, 2004
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    An interesting look into your life, so well written A great sonnet which I enjoyed reading Keep writing

  • Red Dwarf
    August 19, 2004
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    Great Write

    I Liked this write because the words touched me in a similarity to my life. My since I have no children I will try to leave somthing of my self through my writings. Thanks for helping me to see myself more clearly. Red


  • Paint Me Beautiful
    August 19, 2004
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    I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you so much for sharing, You are very talented and I look forward to reading more from you in the future ..interesting background as well


  • Come L-oro
    August 19, 2004
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    this is really interesting i really liked it i felt a connection to the peice even though alot of it i have not experiecned.keep it up with the goosd stuff....b3l


  • August 19, 2004
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    Life takes us where it will, we must enjoy the time for what it is, or at least try to, yes. Not always easy to do, but such is the way of the world. An enjoyable Italian sonnet.


  • Chris-10
    August 19, 2004
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    great

    very interesting, but great. i really enjoyed reading it. i felt like i could relate immediately. good job with the good write.

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