Love by Design

by mfowler

(It would be beneficial to read the beginning of my notes to understand what I've attempted here)

Two lives entwined by time and place; design.
Two hearts defined by love and happenstance.
We fell so deep, yet lost, then realigned
in ways unreal, yet fated circumstance.

It was in Nimes, a town of Roman hist'ry,
in southern France, as students, we first met.
Elaine, a painter of romance and mystery;
me, architecture major, deep in debt.

When art combined its inspiration freely
with form and line, our love was warm, sustained.
But, practicalities revealed that really
we were too young, not ready to be chained.

New loves can bud when springtime smiles and beckons,
as wildflowers oft bloom and die in seconds.

***

As wildflowers oft bloom and die in seconds,
We separated, friends, but with regret.
Our fling, so sweet, intense, that neither reckons
there's any moments that we might forget.

I found her painting Pont du Gard in oils.
The aqueduct, its beauty lost in blur.
Her style unique; I said so, but it spoils
what Romans built - for structure's nought to her.

Our passion for the ancient water course
brought us together through diverse perspectives.
I thought of permanence as prim'ry force.
Revealing feeling, colour, her objective.

We argued over what such beauty meant.
Before too long creative hearts were spent.

***
Before too long creative hearts were spent.
Our French affair, a thing of youthful learning.
She starred in abstract ways that were her bent.
Her passion channelled by her brush and yearning.

I finished school and worked long hours for cash.
My drawings garnered worthy recognition.
Despite success, my heart was scattered ash.
My love life in a permanent transition.

Years passed before our fate would take a twist.
I oversaw the Guggenheim's extension.
Saw Art and architecture coexist
and understood the gist of her dimension.

The galleries, designed for feel and form,
The genius beyond banal, the norm.

***

The genius beyond banal, the norm.
Appreciating Art with freshened eyes,
abstract became my standard, favoured form.
New visions won me architecture's prize.

Elaine, now famed for modern revelation.
Her works of structures from antiquity.
At Guggenheim, her Roman Art - sensation.
She captured form and feeling brilliantly.

We met o'er canapés and French champagne.
Her exhibition brought admiring fans.
I loved her still and tried hard to explain;
abstract's now part of all my pers'nal plans.

Love's fate in Pont du Gard and Guggenheim.
Two lives entwined by time and place; design.

Recognized

This 'sequence of sonnets' emerged from a crazy idea that Gloria jokingly offered as idea for a challenge in her spoof 'Fan story Improvements'. I quote:
'So nothing complicated please, Tom. Just a simple poem delivering a comparative analysis of the Ancient Roman aqueducts and New York City's Guggenheim Art Museum in the form of a Crown of Heroic Sonnets.'

I said it might be a fun prompt. She challenged me to try.

This is a sequence of sonnets, and is usually addressed to one person, and/or concerned with a single theme. Each of the sonnets explores one aspect of the theme, and is linked to the preceding and succeeding sonnets by repeating the final line of the preceding sonnet as its first line. The first line of the first sonnet is repeated as the final line of the final sonnet, thereby bringing the sequence to a close.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum in Manhattan, New York City. It is the permanent home of a renowned and continuously expanding collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions throughout the year.

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the cylindrical building, wider at the top than the bottom, was conceived as a "temple of the spirit". Its unique ramp gallery extends up from ground level in a long, continuous spiral along the outer edges of the building to end just under the ceiling skylight. It reflects the combination of nature's beauty and form with the practicalities of housing an enormous collection.

The Pont du Gard (literally: Gard Bridge) is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gardon River, from which it takes its name. It is located in Vers-Pont-du-Gard near Remoulins, in the Gard Apartement of southern France. The bridge is part of the Nimes aqueduct, a 50 km-long (31 mi) structure built by the Romans to carry water from a hill spring to the Roman colony of Nemausus (Nimes).

Pays one point and 2 member cents.

You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.