Virgo
Too late, too late, the summertime has gone.
Alone, I wander in the bleakening
That creeps across the fields before the dawn
And beg my heart to not feel anything.
The leaves come down in rusting drifts of gold,
Set free by winds flown south on silver wings.
Alone, I wait for winter to unfold,
Regretful in the chill September brings.
What right have I to mourn the summer’s end,
When willfully I squandered his estate,
Assuming more than my own dividend,
Misprizing him until it was too late?
The bowl is broken and the cord undone,
And I must learn to live without the sun.
Patricia Rogers Crozier has been published in The Washington Post. She holds a B.S. in Physics from Mississippi College. She resides in Gulf Breeze, Florida and works at Publix. She is the winner of the 2024 SCP International Poetry Competition.
I assume this is a sonnet on the constellation Virgo in the zodiac, since Virgo is a springtime-early summer sign. I can picture this as one of a sequence of twelve sonnets, each one dealing with a zodiac sign.
On the other hand, I can imagine a different reading, where the title “Virgo” (virgin) could refer to a young woman as the speaker, lamenting the loss of a male admirer (“Misprizing him until it was too late”). The summer sun may be thought of as the male admirer, now out of reach. Or it may very well be the case that the poet has deliberately conflated these two possible readings.
I love the word “bleakening.” We now have a new /-en/ verb (bleaken) that can rhyme with “weaken” and “beacon” and “deacon.”
Beautiful, Patricia. I had no doubt I would like it. And I like the two interpretations offered by Dr. Salemi.
Thank you!
I thoroughly enjoyed this many-layered, beautiful sonnet. Your imagery is exquisite, “rusting drifts of gold.”
I love the idea of a series based on the zodiac, I hope you’ll explore that.
Thank you! I like that idea very much.
Every line of this poem is just marvelous! “Set free by winds flown south on silver wings” is perhaps my favorite, but it’s hard to choose one. “And beg my heart to not feel anything” is also so poignant!
Thank you for your thoughtful words!
Very nice sonnet, Patricia!
Thank you!
Patricia, what a wonderful gift you have and gave us with this beautiful sonnet.
Thank you so much!
I read this poem as an extended metaphor for the loss of innocence. Some incredible imagery here, as has already been mentioned.
Thanks for cheering up the bleakening midwinter with your words, Patricia.
Thank you, I am thrilled that my sonnet brings cheer! Happy New Year!
The sun is present in the zodiac constellation Virgo during August-September, which accounts for the end-of-summer theme here, as well as for the mention of “September chill,” and for the final line, “I must learn to live without the sun.” The poet makes a significant allusion to chapter 12 of Ecclesiastes, “Remember him before the silver cord is severed and the golden bowl is broken.” “Him” in the Bible refers to the Creator, to be remembered while experiencing the quick passage of fragile earthly life. In the present poem, it could also refer to a beloved person misprized by the speaker, who therefore remains “alone.” That word is repeated with emphasis. The broken bowl and cord undone in the poem are not described as gold and silver: their value is vanished. Yet prior wealth is mentioned in the seasonal fall of gold leaves turning to rust, and silver wings flying southward. Wealth has been squandered by the speaker “assuming more than my own dividend.”
This sonnet could be part of a love lyric sequence, of which we at Society of Classical Poets already have the following (longer) poem, “Libra.” Libra is the September-October zodiac constellation, and Crozier’s “Libra” was the winner of our last year’s international competition. It tells a tale which could follow “Virgo.” The desperate Virgo speaker obtains a love potion but–as Libra weighing her act carefully–decides not to administer it, out of real esteem for the “sacred cords of love” simply not to be gained by enchantment.
“Virgo” makes a most worthy companion piece, Patricia.
This poem is “no-foolin'” good, as many have already attested. May the sun shine on the author just as it shines from her.
Thank you, that is very kind of you to say!
Exquisite!.. and I just love “bleakening”. Thank you, Patricia, for a shining sonnet that inspires me.