Let me say that the marriage of true minds
Admit imperfections. Love isn't absent
Which alters when alterations are needed
Or bends to retrieve the broken fragments
O no ! It's an ever-flowing canvas
That redraws the lines with each changing tide
Like roots of the trees that recast with each
Season, twisting with each wind fall & breath
Seeding like spring with each fading leaf bloom
Sparking colors when it dries like a rose
It is the starlight to every stray dove
The healing balm to a wounding word said-
And when my love is frail, let yours be firm
That I may behold you, like morning sun-
Inspired by William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken"
Today, the 23rd of April, is the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth in 1564, and—52 years later—the anniversary of his death.
Posted for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads - Hosted by my good friend, Susan.
and D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight - Hosted by my good friend, Brian Miller.
picture from movie: Shakespeare in Love
I think it very brave of you to take on one of Shakespeare's most well-known sonnets and offer yours as rebuttal. These lines are particularly to the point:
ReplyDeleteLove isn't absent
Which alters when alterations are needed
Or bends to retrieve the broken fragments
This is a wonderful response to the original.
ReplyDeleteYou did so well with your version of this sonnet, and express a wise view on Love.
ReplyDeleteNice take on his words, unless you believe the birds and he stole everything of course haha
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see the Shakespeare inspiration pouring out of this Heaven, brilliant what you've done here.
ReplyDeleteI almost copied the same ones that Kerry did but then these struck me...
ReplyDelete"It is the starlight to every stray dove
The healing balm to a wounding word said-"
Grace, your writing is visual art transformed into words...masterpiece!
This is beautiful. I like the idea that if one person's love is frail the other's will be firm. I can definitely see the influence of Shakespeare in your work.
ReplyDeleteowWOO! and many echoes up into the hills! I love how you substantiate the truth of love changing by comparison to trees growth over time and starlight, healing balm, and the morning sun (also a star). My favorite lines--other than the first and last two--are:
ReplyDelete"Like roots of the trees that recast with each
Season, twisting with each wind fall & breath
Seeding like spring with each fading leaf bloom
Sparking colors when it dries like a rose"
I love extended simile. This poem should be part of wedding ceremonies (or at least read aloud in a movie or two)!
Grace, you did great, this is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteawwwww... i love your last two lines. excellent.
ReplyDeletewould you believe that I actually know the 116th sonnet by heart? :) I actually won a few competition reciting it in High School. Love what you did with your version, dear Grace
ReplyDeleteahhhh ... 'an ever-flowing canvas' ~ mmmmmm ... x
ReplyDeleteBeautiful
ReplyDeletewhen my love is frail let your be firm...smiles...that is the basis of marriage eh? complimenting each other where we find each other...and i know no perfect marriage...there are def imperfections...
ReplyDeleteAnd when my love is frail, let yours be firm
ReplyDeleteThat I may behold you, like morning sun-
Aaaah! *smiles*
This is a perfect poem, for me, as it adds upon the Will's wisdom with a reminder that love is never "perfect" or "forever unchanged." Mature love does bend, does pick up the pieces to try again. Such wisdom deserves a HUZZAH!
ReplyDeleteI broke the rules. There are TWO poems, but the second is a hoot and appears first on my blog, so have at me. I completely obliterated "To be or not to be..."! wink, Amy
cool inspiration and cool where it took you...not only accepting the imperfections but making the best of it...when one is weak, the other is strong and vice versa...that's how it builds..
ReplyDeleteSo lovely, Grace. I think those who realize this and treat love/commitment like an ever-flowing canvas are those whose relationships last.
ReplyDeleteIf only he was alive to see your response. Well done! Brave and Well executed!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful, Grace. Wonderful homage.
ReplyDeleteI think I like your version of love much better :)
ReplyDeletewow..this is quite a surprise for me as it's my favorite sonnet by Shakespeare. loved the remake of yours as well Grace, especially concluding two lines.
ReplyDeleteLove is alive, with all the elements required to be so.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully done.
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
ReplyDeleteI love your version. It brings all the shades of reality and real life that I sometimes find lacking in love poetry.
ReplyDeleteThis is lovely writing. I like your picture of love as an organic thing ever changing, ever re-shaping itself. I especially love the last line - "And when my love is frail, let yours be firm
ReplyDeleteThat I may behold you, like morning sun-"
Very brave to take on Shakespeare like this, Grace.
ReplyDeleteI think there may be a slight misunderstanding of the Bard's intent; he was suggesting that love that stops loving its object when that object quite naturally changes in response to the passing of time, events etc is not really love. That I agree with, but equally, love that is too inflexible to accomodate such changes is not love either, which you have pointed out so well.
And I love the closing couplet too :-)
Sonnetolicious...its a word, look it up if you don't believe me..lol. This was wonderful and definitely took some cajones to throw out, but you really did it justice. Great work Grace, you always seem to rise to the occasion.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favoutite sonnets by Willy Shakes, in junior high it gave me an understanding of what love is. Its true, love is love, its tailored to fit everyone.
ReplyDeleteWow Grace, Love this! I love how you posted the original too. I get caught up in the memorization and had to reread a few times. It's funny how that happens, which means you captured perfectly the rhythm. It's absolutely beautiful! <3 Shakespeare too... who better to draw inspiration from?
ReplyDeleteLike roots of the trees--you have it exactly correct, great feeling in this one. Very nicely done!
ReplyDeleteThis is very lovely, charming and filled with the spirit of the Bard. You've done a beautiful job of expressing love's highs and lows, bringing joy and awareness along the way. As always, delightful to read your work.
ReplyDeleteBrava! LOVE this.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! I'd admire anyone who can write sonnets...you've done a fabulous job. I really enjoyed your sonnet and dare I say it more than the one that inspired it... Excellent!
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful Grace. Love is not without valleys and peaks and that is its beauty.
ReplyDeleteWonderful Grace...I especially love
ReplyDelete'Season, twisting with each wind fall & breath
Seeding like spring with each fading leaf bloom'
Grace,
ReplyDeleteThis is so lovely and deep in texture. I love to read sonnets as they are so heartfelt.
Grace! this is really so beautiful - love this 'O no ! It's an ever-flowing canvas That redraws the lines with each changing tide' and the final couplet. Very very nice, my dear! K
ReplyDeleteI think the Bard would be honored to share a repast and and a pint at his favorite pub with you. Great job!
ReplyDeleteGood on you, taking on Will for your inspired write, Grace.
ReplyDeletePamela
You are so right about this, Grace, and old Will was so wrong with his ever-fixed mark. Love might be the star to every wandering bark, but it is a candle, lit and re-lit, in every shared home.
ReplyDeleteWell done!
K
If couples approached marriage with your words in mind, there would be no divorce! Lovely!!
ReplyDeleteLovely & lyrical!
ReplyDeleteI very much like this and its Shakespearean feel, Grace. Wonderful images and flow.
ReplyDeletestunningly done. you definitely held your own with piece—turned the tables and hit a solid note.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased someone remembered it is Will's Birthday especially since it is Poetry Month. Good for you.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I continue to love your imagery. "Season, twisting with each wind fall & breath..."? Delightful.
ReplyDeleteSecond... you left off the end of the sonnet!
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Thank you for adding the lines ~
DeleteThe ending is what gets me... those last four lines are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWonderful sentiment, expressed so well.
ReplyDeleteFood for thought...your take on love:)
ReplyDeletevery nice inspirational take-off, and like that, though both versions end with a (seemingly) fixed point of light as a beacon, yours includes that love can alter and bend and flow -
ReplyDeletesomehow, the meanings remain the same from both, of enduring love, so that makes the versions that much more interesting i think
very very nice, thanks heaven ;-)
I don't recall seeing you write in this format before, Grace. I really enjoyed it!! I love how you can take any style and make it your own. You are truly talented. As always, thank you xo
ReplyDeleteLove. A four letter word, some would say, Miss Heaven! So tender, diminutive, yet so vast in it's interpretation. I believe it is the one thing we are endowed with that makes true the passage "created in His image." For what image is God, Heaven, if not love? I also think it makes us uniquely human. I think you are quite in tune with the fact that love is the only thing in this life that matters. Life is like the surprise quiz your 8th grade teacher used to shock you with on an occasional Friday. No matter the question, love is always the answer. We are being tested here on our own merit, our willingness to keep, share, or disgard the love God has showered us with. Nothing else, nothing else, nothing else truly matters. Beautiful poem Miss Grace. "Loved" Shakespeare's advice on marriage.
ReplyDeleteYou're very creative! You should be a writer of love stories, or a composer!
ReplyDeleteBrave indeed, to tackle this....if anyone can do it, you can!
ReplyDeleteQuite the man he was..thanks for the reminder.
I tell ya this is a flawless write...my 1st time reading the original. I love it.
ReplyDeleteI love the ending, especially "And when my love is frail, let yours be firm" ~Shawna
ReplyDeleteVery lovely. I'm wishing I'd had just such a changing love. :)
ReplyDeleteGrace,
ReplyDeleteI loved Shakespeare in Love, and everything about your post just comes together perfectly.What a wonderful tribute to the Bard.
And how much handsomer he looks more than 400 years later!
wonderful commemoration.
ReplyDeleteI think Shakespeare would've been in love with YOU, Grace!! And how could he not've? xoxo
ReplyDelete