J P Marmaro | + Follow Poet |
Sonnet | + Fav Poem | Comment | Email | Print |

Taken At the Flood

If brevity‘s the soul of wit, why then
All life on Earth is well and truly droll.
We hardly comprehend it all, just when
Too soon, we find ourselves before the goal.  

At first our ignorance may keep us safe,
Distracted from the truth that all is brief,
Without unkind reminders which might chafe,
Or lessons which might breed in us belief.

We, heedless, draw the water from the well,
Assuming an unending, cheap supply —
Presume existence is a tide whose swell
Will never turn, remain forever high.

But ineluctably, time’s ceaseless flow
Will trap us, helpless, in its undertow.

Copyright © J P Marmaro | Year Posted 2019

Please Login to post a comment

Mike Miller Date: 8/18/2019 1:43:00 PM This is an excellent poem ! Such a good write. I love the first two lines of the third verse. It has a real grandeur about it and a deep sense of meaning, not to mention a very Shakespearean feel. Well done JP ???? Login to Reply J P Marmaro Date: 8/20/2019 4:44:00 PM Hi there, Mike-- and many thanks for your very kind comment! I always feel that the sonnet is a form most suited to serious subjects-- be they tragic or romantic. Oddly, one of my-- well, less good-- examples won a contest through the Nebraska Shakespeare festival. But this sonnet, I do feel, is one of my better efforts.

Line Gauthier Date: 2/25/2019 8:26:00 PM Well done, JP. Congrats on your win. Login to Reply J P Marmaro Date: 2/25/2019 9:11:00 PM Hi there, Line-- I am mostly quite pleased with how this Shakespearean Sonnet came out, and I appreciate your encouragement!

Mark Toney Date: 2/21/2019 3:32:00 PM J P, this is an excellent write. The last 6 lines are brilliant! Congratulations on your win on Mile 19 of my 2019 Poetry Marathon Contest! Thank you so much for supporting my contests. By continuing to place in the contests you are accumulating points toward the final. ~Mark Login to Reply J P Marmaro Date: 2/21/2019 4:43:00 PM Thank you kindly, Mark, for your appraisal and encouragement! I rarely receive comments, and yours are doubly appreciated.