John Gondolf Poet Sonnet

A Friend Forever Gone

I sadly reminisce of bygone days;
when you and I, united, made our stand.
We faced the world as brothers in a blaze,
and fought our frequent  battles hand in hand.

And, oh, those summer nights were such a blast;
we raised our mugs in tribute all night long;
imbibed with friends until the dark had passed;
we wooed the women with seductive song.

But you, my friend, you slowly slipped away,
and left me here to face life on my own,
But why, my friend, could you not longer stay;
allowing me this aging to postpone.

Alas, the time is now to face the truth;
that gone forever is my dear friend Youth.

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Faraz Ajmal May 7, 2018 at 4:38 AM It s a really beautiful and touching poems, some friendships are so strong that they are not our friends, but more like brothers and we have so many good memories that life seems hollow, but that what life is, right, it will go on, no matter what happens, we ll continue to live, many will die, but we ll live, might be in grief, but life will still go on and on, it never stops for anyone, good luck John Gondolf May 7, 2018 at 7:33 AM Thank you, Faraz, I appreciate the comments. John

Gregory Richard Barden February 27, 2018 at 7:22 PM Very touching and beautiful, John, and such a deserving win, my friend ... blessings! :-) John Gondolf February 27, 2018 at 10:13 PM Thanks so much, Gregory, I appreciate it. John

Maria Williams February 24, 2018 at 7:07 PM Great Poem John and you very cleverly connected the twist at the end of the sonnet. Well - Time has never gone for ever. 'No regrets - Carpe Diem' so seize the moment - I Loved your sonnet...Maria John Gondolf February 25, 2018 at 6:33 AM Thank you, Maria, I’m glad you enjoyed it. John

Line Gauthier February 22, 2018 at 10:34 PM Superb poem, John. A definite FAVE for me. John Gondolf February 23, 2018 at 4:51 AM Thank you, Line, and thanks for the Fave. John

Francis J Grasso February 22, 2018 at 9:07 PM Congratulations, John. Nicelty done! ...Fran John Gondolf February 23, 2018 at 4:49 AM Thanks, Fran, I appreciate it. John

Tom Cunningham February 22, 2018 at 8:56 PM Big congratulations John. Tom. John Gondolf February 23, 2018 at 4:46 AM I appreciate it, Tom, thanks so much. John

John Lawless February 22, 2018 at 8:50 PM Nice touch and twist in the final line...well done John. John Gondolf February 23, 2018 at 4:35 AM Thanks so much, John, appreciate it.

Kim Rodrigues February 22, 2018 at 8:37 PM Love how you ended this! Very nice, John! John Gondolf February 23, 2018 at 4:20 AM Thank you, Kim, I appreciate it. John

Janice Canerdy February 22, 2018 at 6:55 PM Superb, moving personification of youth! John, I LOVE your sonnet. CONGRATS! Janice John Gondolf February 23, 2018 at 4:17 AM Thank you so much, Janice. John

Dale Gregory Cozart February 22, 2018 at 6:51 PM This is very poignant. Your IP is very graceful. The third line in your third stanza has eleven syllables; Perhaps you could write, "But why, my friend, could you not longer stay..." Just a thought in trying help with your beautiful poem. John Gondolf February 23, 2018 at 6:36 AM Thanks so much for your comments, Dale. I used howmanysyllable.com to count my syllables and had 10 per line all the way down. After reading your comment I went back and re-checked and it apparently thinks the word "couldn't" is 1 syllable. Not the first time I found an error with this website. It told me once before that the word "deadlines" is 3 syllables and I think that cost me in a contest. Perhaps we depend too much on this website to do our work for us. Thanks for your suggested change my friend, it fits well. John

CayCay Godwin February 20, 2018 at 7:10 PM Oh, this is indeed a bittersweet topic and very prevalent in my emotions right now. At some point, one can no longer pretend to be middle-aged and must admit to entering winter; still and all aging seems a mirror thing in the sense I feel same as always inside. I love how you wrote this to youth and how you captured what I imagine is a universal truth. Beautifully sad reminiscing, John. Ah ... it happens too fast. Hugs ... CayCay John Gondolf February 21, 2018 at 8:02 AM Thank you for your comments and thoughts, CayCay. I suspect I have a few years on you and I doubt you are entering winter just yet. Time does seem to go by faster as we get older but the truth is, mentally, I feel no different than I did 35 years ago. Though at my age we do start pondering the inevitable. I appreciate you my dear friend! John

Alexis Y. February 20, 2018 at 1:54 PM Hi John, I can most definitely relate to this well written piece. Times goes by in flash and so does our youth. I guess we can always be"young at heart" .I enjoyed the read:-) Alexis John Gondolf February 20, 2018 at 4:03 PM Thank you, Alexis, the older we get the faster time goes by. I suppose it goes by much faster for me than for you :) Thank you for your continued support my friend! John

Andrea Dietrich February 18, 2018 at 7:03 PM OH my, I think someone else out there is feeling same as I!!! Why? Why? (I wrote sonnets on this same topic and really relate to this one.LOVE it) John Gondolf February 19, 2018 at 11:28 AM Thanks, Andrea, we both should probably quit asking why, getting old is certainly better than the alternative. Besides you are a bit younger than me, you shouldn't be asking why just yet...haha John

Tom Cunningham February 18, 2018 at 11:53 AM Sadly John,we all lose our friend youth, but Rhoda's right, age is but a number. Well written sonnet. Tom Tom Cunningham February 18, 2018 at 12:42 PM Wow John, 70 you certainly don't look it. I know our bodies creak a bit more as we get older.But with age comes wisdom and experience. John Gondolf February 18, 2018 at 12:29 PM Thanks, Tom, I agree with your comment, I don't really feel 70 years old, though my body does remind me once in a while. John

Rhoda Tripp February 18, 2018 at 8:55 AM John...beautifully written, but age is only a number and as I read your poetry, I can tell by the comments that you can still woo. Therefore, I'm deeming this fiction. Love the rhymes and flow of this lovely piece. John Gondolf February 18, 2018 at 9:05 AM Thank you, Rhoda, I appreciate the vote of confidence :) John