Starved Love - Journey of the Mind (Sestina)

by Lu   Mar 5, 2011


Starved Love - Journey of the Mind (Sestina)

In love and life I ride the waves.
One day drowning in sin and sorrow,
the next rejoicing beneath golden sky.
Such struggle within a clouded mind
when two souls live in a separate world
desperate to fulfill the appetite of starving love.

Is it only in fairytales, this thing called love ?
Where mermaids sing at the crest of waves
and prince charming circles the world,
only to find his Cinderella in the grips of sorrow.
Have childhood stories tainted our mind
into wishing upon falling stars that light the sky ?

Days pass - another moon, another sun reaches the sky.
Something in me believes there must be true love,
yet my heart never seems too convince my mind.
I rest, only to find sleep comes in waves,
and dreams once again awaken the sorrow.
Still tomorrow I will again, take on the world.

Feeling like a triangle in this circular world -
Tonight I find myself there, again, staring upon this sky.
Searching for answers between tears of glee and sorrow,
trying to understand if there is indeed an existence of true love.
My thoughts resting only to pound again, intrusive waves -
snickering at the confusion deep within my mind.

Familiar darkness lingers, invading my mind.
Now I begin to question my - existence in this world.
Benumbed, I see the sunshine skip upon waves
and birds soar playfully across the sky.
Thoughtlessly upon clouds I trace these four letters ... l-o-v-e
only to be disappointed as they slowly drift away, laced with sorrow.

Am I destined to find happiness in this journey through sorrow ?
Shall there ever come a day, my heart will convince my mind
there truly is a thing called 'true love' ?
Or shall I settle for the one who seemingly fits into my world
yet never strokes the shadows of my soul beneath midnight sky ?
In life and love how long can I, survive the waves ?

So much sorrow, love created in this world.
Yet in the depths of my mind, beneath this midnight sky.
I will forever search for true love, until I can no longer - ride the waves.

Sestina
The sestina is a strict ordered form of poetry, dating back to twelfth century French troubadours. It
consists of six six-line (sestets) stanzas followed by a three-line envoy. Rather than use a rhyme
scheme, the six ending words of the first stanza are repeated as the ending words of the other five
stanzas in a set pattern. The envoy uses two of the ending words per line, again in a set pattern.

First stanza, ..1 ..2 ..3 ..4 ..5 ..6
Second stanza, ..6 ..1 ..5 .. 2 ..4 ..3
Third stanza, ..3 ..6 ..4 ..1 ..2 ..5
Fourth stanza, ..5 ..3 ..2 ..6 ..1 ..4
Fifth stanza, ..4 ..5 ..1 ..3 ..6 ..2
Sixth stanza, ..2 ..4 ..6 ..5 ..3 ..1

Concluding tercet:
middle of first line ..2, end of first line ..5
middle of second line ..4, end of second line..3
middle if third line ..6, end of third line ..1

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Latest Comments

  • 13 years ago

    by Sungrl And Mrs Whatsit

    WoW

  • 13 years ago

    by Blissful

    Lu, I am amazed and blown away. This is going into my favorites because it truly spoke to my heart. This is not an easy form to do but your words shined brightly and came together to create a masterpiece. There was so much truth in everything you wrote that I couldn't help but agree with it all and nod my head thinking, "that's so true!" I don't think I have ever read a poem were it was so close to what I feel as if I was the one whose emotions were being expressed...

    "One day drowning in sin and sorrow,
    the next rejoicing beneath golden sky."
    ^I couldn't agree more but that's life. One day theres the good and then the next there is the bad but its a balance and without one, life is incomplete and in my opinion - boring. Nicely expressed.

    "Have childhood stories tainted our mind
    into wishing upon falling stars that light the sky ? "
    ^Yes! They have! Haha no but really there is nothing wrong with Disney filling our minds if happily ever afters but its up to us to be more realistic in certain situations so we do not fall in realitys dire trap. The only suggestion I have is to eliminate the spaced between you words and question marks.

    "and dreams once again awaken the sorrow.
    Still tomorrow I will again, take on the world."
    ^Loved the subtle rhyme, so sweet!

    "Feeling like a triangle in this circular world"
    ^So simple yet so profound, loved it!

    "Benumbed, I see the sunshine skip upon waves"
    ^Loved the use of "benumbed" I don't think I've ever seen it in a poem before..

    "Or shall I settle for the one who seemingly fits into my world
    yet never strokes the shadows of my soul beneath midnight sky ?"
    ^This is where you hit me the hardest Lu, wow I'm left speechless...sometimes we find ourselves settling upon a love that seems convenient because we are not sure that fiery forever love is out there for us and you expressed that so beautifully here with your use of imagery. I say never settle, your fire is still out there and unless he makes you heart flutter like the wings of a thousand humming birds...don't think twice.

    This was just beautiful Lu and I loved everything about it. It deserves a nomination and a win and I will come back to it once my votes are back next week.

    Five. :)

  • 13 years ago

    by Yakari Gabriel

    My dearest lu,

    This is very different from your other poems..
    I guess I could never pull of such a difficult form ever ...it gives me the creeps!

    You are one very smart lady!

    This hit me hard »Feeling like a triangle in this circular world -

    So beautiful...the way you it really capture the feeling of 'I don't belong here'...

    *hugs*!

    Well done (;

  • 13 years ago

    by Ingrid

    I concur with all Britt said and I find your poem to be more true to the format than the one displayed on Shadow Poetry.com. (the tercet)

    You are the bomb, what more can I say:) The true queen of poetry on here!

    A splendid verse, well done

    5/5 Ingrid

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