week 134 ~ they say live and let live

they say live and let live
if there’s a time to hate
there is time to forgive

the past holds truth captive
a frustrating stalemate
they say live and let live
happiness will outlive
betrayal that’s your fate
there is time to forgive

searching for a motive
will just exasperate
they say live and let live
villains move on passiv-
ly their words self-castrate
there is time to forgive

my future’s persuasive
the new path now innate
they say live and let live
there is time to forgive

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Written by mairmusic

May 6, 2011 at 3:14 pm

Posted in May, villanelle

22 Responses

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I find it easier to ‘forget’ the person who betrayed me than to forgive them…oh just a random reaction to your fine poem.

slpmartin

May 6, 2011 at 5:02 pm

Reply
- i totally understand the reaction– I’d give alot for either.
  
  mairmusic
  
  May 14, 2011 at 9:18 pm
  
  Reply
Lovely verses and photo, Marilyn. Blessings to you…

Carol Ann Hoel

May 7, 2011 at 11:30 am

Reply
- Thanks, Carol!
  
  mairmusic
  
  May 14, 2011 at 9:17 pm
  
  Reply
i know how you feel marilynn. its always easy for villains to forgive because they know they are reaping what they sowed, so they are more sporting.

its easy for angels to forgive because they have blind faith on divine justice.

me and you we can only struggle to have blind faith on divine justice. all the best!

trisha

May 8, 2011 at 3:04 am

Reply
- A beautiful response– thanks, Trisha! I especially love the notion that it is easy for villains to forgive because of who they are.
  
  mairmusic
  
  May 10, 2011 at 2:50 pm
  
  Reply
great poem with the idea of retribution. i think it’s important that we all understand the power of forgiveness. thanks for the poem ;) xx

glitteringsootonhereyelashes

May 8, 2011 at 5:52 am

Reply
- I am hoping to be one– thanks for your comment.
  
  mairmusic
  
  May 14, 2011 at 9:14 pm
  
  Reply
“… though the past holds truth captive
in a frustrating stalemate …”

I find this a times to be so true … I think something is over, done, I’ve moved on … and then in a nanosecond – it can raise its tender head! :-)

Nicely captured ~~

Becca Givens

May 9, 2011 at 2:40 pm

Reply
- Thanks, Becca– insightful comment!
  
  mairmusic
  
  May 14, 2011 at 9:12 pm
  
  Reply
true,
it is never too late to forgive.
keep being positive.

A++

:)

Jingle

May 9, 2011 at 2:41 pm

Reply
- I hope you are right, because I am still trying to convince myself.
  
  mairmusic
  
  May 14, 2011 at 9:11 pm
  
  Reply
Loved the repetition and the message. Thank you, Good write!!!

Mine is about the thrilling topic of butterflies:)

Henry Clemmons

May 9, 2011 at 3:53 pm

Reply
- Butterflies are wonderful– I’m going in search of them now.
  
  mairmusic
  
  May 14, 2011 at 9:05 pm
  
  Reply
The language in this is wonderful. I love the repetition. Great job!

Marlee-I Mystic

May 9, 2011 at 4:49 pm

Reply
- Thanks– the villanelle is a truly magical form.
  
  mairmusic
  
  May 14, 2011 at 9:02 pm
  
  Reply
Well-written, poignant, lovely

mindlovemisery

May 10, 2011 at 1:21 pm

Reply
- Thank you for reading!
  
  mairmusic
  
  May 14, 2011 at 8:59 pm
  
  Reply
True and lovely response ..live and let live :)

UmamaheswariA

May 11, 2011 at 9:49 am

Reply
- trying to convince myself as well as readers– not as easy to do as to write.
  
  mairmusic
  
  May 12, 2011 at 2:37 pm
  
  Reply
Engaging and wise. I love this one, Marilynn.

Jamie Dedes

May 13, 2011 at 9:51 am

Reply
- I wish to be so wise, and try. But emotions have a way of dumping all the calm reflection into the trash. Sigh…
  
  mairmusic
  
  May 13, 2011 at 10:55 am
  
  Reply

Who am I?

A mandolinist, a bandolimist, a writer, a photographer, a wannabe Brasileira. Check my webpage for information on my music and my sometimes life in Rio.

What is this?

I have made a plan for this year, beginning on my birthday- October 16, 2008 - to keep creativity in focus in my daily life, spontaneously, reflectively, and with intention, by setting in motion several series of small events. Every day I will take a photo and record a thought. Every week I will write a sonnet and photograph myself in the context of my life. And I will post it all here. Maybe not every day, but I will maintain the schedule of each series and post as often as I can. I think this will be fun, may be interesting, and will result in a considered year of small moments stolen from a busy life and strung together to make... who knows? At this point it's just a plan. Wish me luck~ here goes!

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“Year 2″ begins– so what’s changing?

I have completed a year of this blog-- amazing! And I've decided to continue on, because this document has become a treasured reflective spot in my life. There will be some changes for "Year 2," beginning on my birthday, October 16, 2009. I'll expand the options for my weekly poem beyond sonnet to add some other forms-- rondeau or triolet, possibly villanelle. I just added the decima in late January. And in August I am adding the pantoum. Definitions will appear below as the forms enter this page. I'll continue to post a photo daily, but I may post several pictures taken on one day over the course of a week if I have an interesting series. I may even post an old photo if I'm writing about something I'm thinking back to. I'll continue to have fun with this project & I hope you will too. Thanks for reading!

“Year 3″

For Year 3 I tried some changes, including other people in the self-portraits that accompany my poems, adding "Musical Sundays" to post mp3s of my music, but these petered out in a few months. This is simply a place for my daily thoughts & photos, and weekly poems in the forms I love. Onward...!

The material on these pages belongs to me

Everything published here was created especially for this project and is owned and copyright by me. When the project is complete I may do something concrete with some of it. So enjoy, but please, if you want to share more than a quote or two send people here, don't displace my work from its context or authorship.

What’s a sonnet?

A sonnet is a 14-line iambic pentameter poem with a unique and characteristic rhyme scheme. They have been written in Europe and England for centuries, and usually combine viewpoint and reflection in a personal yet universal way. I call mine blank-verse sonnets and try for a simple casual scan that observes yet obscures the form. Inspirations are the American sonnets of e. e. cummings and Edna "Vince" Millay.

What’s a villanelle?

A villanelle is an early French form with 19 lines using only 2 rhymes, traditionally broken into 6 verses. It's kind of obsessive, with lines 1 & 3 repeating alternately, the 4th time as lines 18 & 19. The lines can be any length, but don't seem to vary within a poem, and subjects include love, loss and challenge. Dylan Thomas, Elizabeth Bishop and Sylvia Plath all wrote them, and from the minute I typed villanelle in "Year 2 begins" I was itching to try it out because I've never written one. My first appear in Weeks 53 & 56. I've run some verses together, as many modern writers have done, for continuity and a cleaner line.

What’s a rondeau?

A rondeau is a form of medieval poetry that pre-dates the villanelle and also uses only 2 rhymes. The earliest come from an 8-line song form with 2 lines of music that repeat-- line 1 as 4 & 7, and line 2 as 8, rhyming the rest in a characteristic pattern. The result is a sturdy little poem that makes its point thoughtfully, and less obsessively than the villanelle, perhaps because the generating couplet is unrhymed, and the lines don't need to be the same length, just able to be sung or spoken in the same amount of time. The first ones appear in weeks 55 & 57. Sometimes the poetic form, sans music, is called a triolet.

What’s a decima?

A decima is an early 10-line Spanish poetic form, with a distinct break after the first 4. It uses an 8-syllable line and has an unusual but characteristic rhyme scheme. It's also a 19th-century form of improvised Cuban song so I thought it would work well in this blog format. My first appear in weeks 66 & 69.

What’s a pantoum?

A Malaysian form from the 15th century-- how exotic! It's a series of quatrains, w/ lines 2 & 4 repeating as lines 1 & 3 in the next. The last quatrain also uses lines 1 & 3 from the first quatrain, with the first line ending the poem. So every line is used twice. My first one is week 95.

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