Balloons of Cupid/Photo: Stephanie Verni
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As I’m becoming more and more excited about the self-publication of my novel “Beneath the Mimosa Tree,” I’ll soon be annoying folks on Twitter as I tweet all sorts of great quotations about the subject of forgiveness, the main theme of my book. As such, I decided to post a few poems I’ve written as we celebrate Valentine’s Day.
The first is a sestina poem. A former sestina poem I wrote entitled “The Things He Cherished” was published last year on The Whistling Fire. I enjoy writing in this style because it’s a challenge—its construction and pattern are at the heart of the poem’s success. The second is a sonnet, and the third is a haiku. I have additional end notes for those wishing to learn more about how to create and construct these poems.
The Themes
The first poem (sestina) reflects on a broken love (similar to that in my book); the second (sonnet) reflects on a happy love; and the third (haiku) on the lightness of heart you feel when you see someone you love.
Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day.
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Self-Preservation, A Sestina
There was a time when we were in love,
long before there was a need to offer an apology.
We would sit in quiet—being together was enough.
I still see your face, a vivid mental picture of you—
There are things I try to forget; yet there are things I remember;
Apart now for years; so much time has passed.
-
If you saw me on the street today, if we passed
each other along the way, would you see me and see love?
It was so long ago; I doubt you would remember.
You would dismiss it as indifference, not comprehending I needed an apology.
Astonishing still. Blame? It falls on both of us. Perhaps you
never listened—never believed me when I said you were enough.
-
And yet, for self-preservation, it was I who had enough.
It wasn’t easy, the days and the nights passed
so slowly, I lost a part of me thinking of you,
wondering if I had a made a mistake by throwing it away, our love.
Yet it had to be done—for want of an apology.
I wanted to forget, but unfortunately remembered.
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The first time we met—do you remember?
Violins didn’t play and cupid didn’t shoot his arrow, but there was enough
chemistry in the air that I found I myself apologizing
for the sudden rush of adrenaline that passed
through me. I shuddered. What was that emotion? Was it love?
Was I destined to meet you?
-
When I awakened that morning, it certainly wasn’t you
I planned on seeing. Do not judge me now, but rather remember
that at one time, yes—yes—there was love.
For the rest of my days, I will wonder if I did enough;
I will question what the future holds as months and years pass
and I never hear what I desire—a heartfelt, meaningful apology.
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Will you ever see it clearly and bring yourself to apologize?
It takes soul searching and reflection. I wonder if you
have that capacity—I question it and fear that you will pass
on the opportunity to repair what’s broken. If only you’d consider it and remember,
because if you do, it may be enough. It may be enough
for us both to forgive, to grow, and to find a new way to love.
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For what is love without hurt and healing. Often an apology
is enough to fix what was deemed unfixable; I’m hopeful that you
will remember this and consider it before the opportunity has passed.
© 2012, Stephanie Verni
***
Complete Harmony, A Sonnet
No other feeling can dare to compare
To what I feel when we act as one;
Connected, we two, and everything we share
Beats brightly, like the warmth of the sun.
Over the years, though we may have been blind,
I could count on you to get me through,
Our love has conquered, continues to shine
It remains ever fresh, ever new.
A whirl of fresh air, your love lifts me up;
Twirling and swirling, longing to feel,
The sensation that my heart wants to erupt,
Full of perplexing emotions that beg to be real.
Still—at the end of the day, it’s you I desire to see
Holding me, loving me. Complete harmony.
© 2012, Stephanie Verni
***
Longing, A Haiku
Rain on the pavement,
Your feet striding down the street.
Longing to see you.
© 2012, Stephanie Verni
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Instructions for Writing the Poems: Sestina, Sonnet, and Haiku
Writing the Sestina
In a sestina poem, the writer must repeat six end words in a sequence. There is a set pattern to it—six stanzas with six repeat end words and one envoi made up of three lines that contain two end words in each line. If it sounds a little confusing, it is at first. To show you how to do it, I wrote out my six words in the sequence in which I had to use them following the sestina pattern (you’ll notice the order of the letters change in each stanza—that’s the pattern you follow).
The words I chose as my end words include the following: love, apology, enough, you, remember, and pass. I’ve written them out below in the pattern that I needed to follow to construct the sestina, including the pattern for the envoi.
Stanza 1 Stanza 2 Stanza 3 Stanza 4
a-love f-pass c-enough e-remember
b-apology a-love f-pass c-enough
c-enough e-remember d-you b-apology
d-you b-apology a-love f-pass
e-remember d-you b-apology a-love
f-pass c-enough e-remember d-you
Stanza 5 Stanza 6 Envoi
d-you b-apology 1,2 a,b (love, apology)
e-remember d-you 3,4 c, d (enough, you)
a-love f-pass 5, 6 e, f (remember, pass)
c-enough e-remember
f-pass c-enough
b-apology a-love
Writing the Sonnet
Some people love sonnets; others don’t care for them much at all. I enjoy writing sonnets—I don’t mind the rhyme at all. “Complete Harmony” is constructed in Shakespeare’s fashion using three quatrains (rhyming abab) and then a couplet (rhyming cc).
Writing the Haiku
The haiku is constructed with three lines consisting of the following syllables: first line-5 syllables; second line-7 syllables; third line-5 syllables. Although there are many variations on the haiku and many poets find it far too constricting, I think it’s a challenge to try to say something meaningful in three lines.
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