When a rose
…deems its own beauty sacred.
When a rose deems its own beauty sacred
and upon such stake hides itself from view
one might ask, for pity's sake,
what was said to make this so - to reason this as true?
.
That in a garden bed, flushed with colour,
there'd be need to shade her sunlit petals,
to tone them down and make them duller;
through reason - this plainly so unsettles.
.
Surely, surely, there's no natural order
that from view would trim how beauty grows.
Give the rambling rose no rigid border,
nor canopy to dim how bright she glows.
.
• From nature's craft we derive much pleasure,
• it is not for us to give it measure.
© Tim Grace, 24 March 2010 (Revised: 10 May, 2021)
About the Creator
Tim Grace
A first impression has a lasting effect - it makes a notable difference. In a subtle way that’s who I am as a poet. A ‘first impression’ looking for the gentle ‘twist’ that draws attention to a novel observation.
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Loud Silence
My life is somewhat stressful right now. Actually, my husband and I are somewhat stressed right now. With the usual stresses of work, finances, and life, my mother-in-law has terminal cancer and is fading fast. At the time of this writing, she is stable, and we have help from cousins to see her, spend time with her, and help with her care.
By J. Delaney-Howe5 days ago in Psyche
Comments (2)
To the reader: At best we only ever grow to understand the value of time. If not to be wasted, time's ultimate currency of conversion must be experience. Spending time to understand time is therefore a worthwhile pursuit ... a pursuit we call planning. Through planning we maximize opportunities to work with, rather than against, the tyranny of time. To the poet: The long/short syllabic rhythm of the first eight paired lines are satisfying. Later in my sonnet writing I buckled under and became more consistent in adhering to the Shakespearian iambic-pentameter. At this stage, I was using my own natural (naive) rhythm that appears to be expressed in a ratio of about 8 to 6 syllables per pair of lines. The last two lines (the final couplet) are very long and contain internal rhymes that might be clever, but do nothing to help the poem end on a rhythmic high.
To the reader: Beauty is an attractive gift and nature's best designs are worthy of genuine admiration. There's a natural inclination to respond to, and appreciate, appealing combinations of color, line and form. It seems perverse that we should attempt to hide or disguise a natural gift. It's only when a gift is treated like a possession that it becomes an object of desire; and thus exposed to the ugliness of lust. The beauty of a rose is ours to share not own. To the poet: The three stanzas in this sonnet work separately but amount to a neatly formed exposition of thought. The beginning stanza poses a question and to provide some context outlines the issue with reference to a colorful garden. The second stanza reinforces the issue by expanding on the problem. The final stanza makes a statement in preparation of the final couplet which neatly concludes the sonnet... a simple but effective sequence and line of thought.