Wine and Roses, A Sonnet for Yore Options

[jgdittier]

In pantaloons with toe-curled shoes and mask,
Sashaying through the glade he strummed his lute.
His madrigals ahum, a pleasant task,
Such joys in simple song and motley suit...
I fear they'd strain an ear, just to hear,
The melody so dulcetly demure.
A gently lay, so soothing, pure and clear.
Bestilled the soul and honored times of yore.

Cute lute won't suit! The guitar rules today.
Now add the amps to make the walls rebound.
Sweet air was where the fireflies once would play,
Replaced by waves of noxious smoke and sound.

Those days of wine and roses didn't last.
Methinks that precious phase has passed too fast!

[Guest_Cathy_*]

Hi Ron,

Oh, that first verse is so lovely! It transported me to another place and time... days of romance and chivalry! Methinks you're right... those days ended too soon! *smiles* Thanks for the glimpse of a long-lost past...

Cathy

[Aphrodite]

Hello Ron,

This is delightful, and I especially love the images that are conjured up when I read this stanza:

"In pantaloons with toe-curled shoes and mask,
Sashaying through the glade he strummed his lute.
His madrigals ahum, a pleasant task,
Such joys in simple song and motley suit...
I fear they'd strain an ear, just to hear,
The melody so dulcetly demure.
A gently lay, so soothing, pure and clear.
Bestilled the soul and honored times of yore."[/color]
Also, the bittersweet movie comes to mind!

Let's try to hold on to precious moments....

Lindi

[Aggiel]

Ron,

In pantaloons with toe-curled shoes and mask,
Sashaying through the glade he strummed his lute.
His madrigals ahum, a pleasant task,
Such joys in simple song and motley suit...
I fear they'd strain an ear, just to hear,
The melody so dulcetly demure.
A gently lay, so soothing, pure and clear.
Bestilled the soul and honored times of yore.

Cute lute won't suit! The guitar rules today.
Now add the amps to make the walls rebound.
Sweet air was where the fireflies once would play,
Replaced by waves of noxious smoke and sound.

Those days of wine and roses didn't last.
Methinks that precious phase has passed too fast!

What a delightful sonnet. It's a pity those days of wie and
roses didn't last, like all good things.



Aggie

[Guest_Don_*]

From what little I have read, that era was a cruel time. It is now that we romanticize it and it is this that should be blessed with a long life.

Hmmm, perhaps I should sell snake oil with "...it is this that..."

Don

[jgdittier]

Dear Cathy,
You hopefully know me as a light verser. I did try my best to lyracize the first eight lines and was rather pleased. We used to have a Shakespearean Theater here in Connecticut. Wine and fried chicken on the lawn amid the strolling minstrels was a true delight.
However my light-versing muse took over for lines 9-12 and I couldn't forgo the brutish contrast
to favor more sweet.
Would you have liked it better had I done so?

Dear Lindi,
Please tell me more of the bittersweet movie.

Dear Aggie,
I think I was somewhat hard on modern music. Well, maybe!

Dear Don,
But cruel too is those crowded, smoke-filled, over-loud clubs!

Cheers to all, Ron jgd

[Aphrodite]

Hey Ron,

I am just reading your response to my reply to your great poem.

I was comparing the movie, "Days of Wine and Roses" and your title. (although the crux of the movie is starkly different than the meaning behind your nostalgic and lilting piece) It was about an alcoholic played by, in my opinion, one of the best actors of his time, Jack Lemmon.

I love your poem!

Take care,
Lindi

[jgdittier]

Dear Lindi,
I saw that movie years ago. Its title totally mislead its viewership.
I had a friend who saw it and detested it as he expected something light and happy.
As to my sonnet, I really like those first 8 lines. I rarely feel the mood to write lyrical.
It seems to me that I was almost driven to write lines 9-10 in such stark contrast.
Serious sonneteers put considerable emphasis on the change in lines 9-12, and I felt
almost that I had to spoil it with the starkness of the modern contrast.
I appreciate all those who found some beauty in my sonnet, it was rare for me to be in the mood
to write 1-8 and the closing.
Cheers, Ron jgd

[Merlin]

Dear Ron,

You sent me on the trail of Ernest Dowson, whose short and turbulent life left us that memorable line:

VITAE SUMMA BREVIS SPEM NOS VETET INCOHARE LONGAM

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate;
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.

-- Ernest Dowson, 1867-1900 --

Good write.

Merlin

[JustDaniel]

A luscious peace, Ron!

I shed a sonnet tear. You provided some wonderful food to feast on here.

always deLightin' in your writin', Daniel


P.S. Did you mean 'gentle' and 'resound' ? I was thinkin' typos ?