The Tender Weight of Her Sighs

The Tender Weight of Her Sighs
by Michael R. Burch

The tender weight of her sighs
lies heavily upon my heart;
apart from her, full of doubt,
without her presence to revolve around,
found wanting direction or course,
cursed with the thought of her grief,
believing true love is a myth,
with hope as elusive as tears,
hers and mine, unable to lie,
I sigh ...

NOTE: This poem has an unusual rhyme scheme, with the last word of each line rhyming with the first word of the next line. The final line is a “closing couplet” in which both words rhyme with the last word of the preceding line. I believe I invented the nonce form, which I will dub the “End-First Curtal Sonnet.”

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

An interesting seeming contradiction in this one. The first six lines come across as an elegy, the grief of one who has lost his true love. Line seven, however, states true love is a myth, and the poem ends in apparent despair. Maybe it is not an elegy after all, only a statement reflecting addictive romantic love.

[Michael R. Burch]

I think it is possible to miss someone without believing in a true love that lasts forever. So I don't see the poem as a contradiction, so much as a conflict between wanting companionship and not believing the relationship can last. I think most of us want romantic companionship but it can be hard to keep the flame lit.