My love is not a demi-god etched in stone,
then painted to look like a living idol. ~
No stringless puppet put on display
for righteous fools bent over
as they drool in officious homage
to a breathless god
they will never, ever know.
But, my true love is mine and god-like,
with true flesh and bone, worthy of idolatry.
No need to kneel before this figure -
My treasure, my love
whose every word brings forth my joyful praise, willingly -
today, the next day, and days beyond. ~
Beyond the days when cracks in alabaster idols
will be fixed with cheap cement.
With my god comes "three-in-one" -
a package of achievement.
First is fair, both in looks and in deed.
And indeed, my god has virtues -
Yes, more than simply one.
Next, while kind can mean a type -
As “What Kind of Fool Am I?” -
Trite kind is not fitting for an idol.
Rather, from kind, due kindness grows -
And stays an idle virtue, if only paired with fairness.
A threesome, though, stands third in line.
From duets grow an army of trios.
For a god, true to oneself and others,
Deserves praise for such songs
Presented live on life’s stage -
As singing live on stage -
All three parts in unison.
Unlike Odin in Valhalla . . .
where he and his unearthly minions,
must gather to force a sense of unity,
of false harmony, like arias and librettos
forced to mesh and march forth
and form a mere melodious tune . . .
Unlike Wotan in Valhalla . . .
My love, my earthly Man-god, stands alone,
with only the internal virtues of being
fair, kind and true,
and presents a unique blend,
a perfect harmonious union,
a song never heard before
by any gods or any man on Earth.
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Author Notes
I believe Shakespeare writing in modern times would feel constrained by the sonnet's structure. Above is what his Free Verse version might be.
- Lobber
The above poem is from a Free Verse Poetry class with FS Member Pantygynt. The poem is a modernized, free-verse interpretation of Shakespeare's "Sonnet #105". Shakespeare's poem reads as follows:
Sonnet #105
By SHAKESPEARE
Let not my love be called idolatry,
Nor my beloved as an idol show,
Since all alike my songs and praises be
To one, of one, still such, and ever so.
Kind is my love today, tomorrow kind,
Still constant in a wondrous excellence;
Therefore my verse, to constancy confined,
One thing expressing, leaves out difference.
"Fair, kind, and true" is all my argument,
"Fair, kind, and true," varying to other words;
And in this change is my invention spent,
Three themes in one, which wondrous scope affords.
"Fair," "kind," and "true" have often lived alone,
Which three till now never kept seat in one.
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Comments:
- Although Shakespeare purports not to engage in idolatry, he goes on to write why his love is worthy of idolatry.
- This poem is about a trilogy of his love's virtues: fair, kind and true. While there are famous trilogies in religion, I choose to use music for my analogy.
- In music, a basic chord has three notes. The human voice, unlike any musical instrument(s) or Man-god voice, cannot sing a chord, i.e., "All three parts in unison....a unique blend, a perfect harmonious union".
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