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Autumnal Wind
Autumnal Wind, who are in speed as swift
As was the Spring with which my life began,
If you would sigh upon this lonely man,
And whistle through his heart’s wide-open rift,
Then from the thorns of life I bid you lift
This fallen leaf; to blow me, if you can,
Across the great Atlantic Ocean’s span,
Beyond whose waters, let me float and drift,
Until I bid you breathe your parting sigh,
Where first I saw my darling lover’s face;
Oh blow me, blow me back towards that place,
That I may fall upon it from the sky,
And settle me, by now a dying thing,
Where I would wish my soul reborn with Spring.
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La Tristezza
(The Sadness)
Tristezza, lounging where my love once slept,
Converses with me as I close my eyes,
Puts pressure on the heart on which it lies,
Then stirs the sleep from which I had been kept;
For in my very dreams it has now crept,
To play the lover’s part, and wear her guise,
The sight of which inspires pathetic sighs
Which I on waking weep, and often wept;
Take leave of me, and let me lie alone,
Alone! Wherever is my darling gone?
There, there! Her beauty’s borrowed by the dawn,
To mock the misery that I bemoan,
So that I’d rather sleep than see the arc,
If only sadness never filled the dark.
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Daniel Joseph Howard studied law in his native Ireland before taking his MA in philosophy at King’s College London. After working in the European Commission, he is now pursuing a PhD in Philosophy at Boston College.
Both poems show a mastery of form, elevated but never overblown language, and a satisfyingly complex syntax, all in service to ideas that are deeply resonant.
These are both very impressive! To express such deep sadness without sounding maudlin, is a real talent. And to make imagery out of wind, as you do in “Autumnal Wind” (especially in “And whistle through his heart’s wide-open rift”, where the reader can virtually “see” the wind!) is a tall order, which you have fulfilled beautifully. Then, you carried the image of the leaf through for many lines of poignant description. And in “La Tristezza”, you’ve made sadness very palpable — almost visible! — by personifying it brilliantly! I’ll just mention one of my favorite lines: “Her beauty’s borrowed by the dawn.” Thank you for letting me wake up to such beautiful poems!
Beautiful sonnets, Daniel!
Both are elegantly wistful. I especially like the first line of Sadness.
Daniel, I love the passion – the emotion is palpable and the images beautiful, especially the closing four lines of “La Tristezza” which took my breath away with their heartrending portrayal of love and raw grief. Wonderful!
Two gorgeous sonnets.
I seem to have come late to the party.
Two great poems Daniel. I was especially moved by La Tristezza.
Thanks for the reads.
Daniel,
Your “Autumnal Wind,” which I loved, brought to mind Wallace Steven’s sonnet, “Autumn Refrain” – partly because of the touch of repetitive wording/phraseology I THINK I saw in your poem, not to mention that slightly melancholy theme:
Autumn Refrain
The skreak and skritter of evening gone
And grackles gone and sorrows of the sun,
The sorrows of sun, too, gone . . . the moon and moon,
The yellow moon of words about the nightingale
In measureless measures, not a bird for me
But the name of a bird and the name of a nameless air
I have never — shall never hear. And yet beneath
The stillness of everything gone, and being still,
Being and sitting still, something resides,
Some skreaking and skrittering residuum,
And grates these evasions of the nightingale
Though I have never — shall never hear that bird.
And the stillness is in the key, all of it is,
The stillness is all in the key of that desolate sound.
Wallace Stevens
P.S. – don’t know why I qualified with “slightly” 🙂
Two excellent worthy poems with wonderful imagery portraying yearning, sadness and longing of the heart for those who have lost a love.
Yes, both lovely poems.
The personification of Tristezza or Sadness is fascinating. You describe the physicality of grief in “puts pressure on the heart,” but take it a step further when it creeps “to play the lover’s part, and wear her guise.” A memorable and moving idea.