What Sight Shall Grace The Heavens

Inspired by Shelley's "Music When Soft Voices Die"

WHAT SIGHT SHALL GRACE THE HEAVENS

 

A sudden breeze that gathers pace

Shall kiss these strands upon thy face

And every molecule of air

Shall spread thy fragrance everywhere.

 

In fields of green and lilywhite

Thou, cloaked in breeze and dazzling light,

Did tell me, love, that love is me;

If I am so, then what of thee?

 

I've loitered through some days of grief,

And night had failed to breathe relief,

But Providence has shown me grace -

Through succour hidden in thy face.

 

I've grappled with a melody -

'Twas buried in my memory;

It missed a tone and was off-key

But now I see, that tone is thee.

 

What sight shall grace the heavens, pray,

That love might hold thee as I may?

Soft light shall play when voices die,

Let music tell thee how and why

 

Reviews

[Dane Osborne]

What sight shall grace the heavens, pray,

That love might hold thee as I may?

Soft light shall play when voices die,

Let music tell thee how and why


Abdul, this was beautifully brilliant. This could hold it's own with any of the original romantic poets best work. I mean that. I am putting this in my favorites. Excellent work.

[Aethereal]

Ah, what lovely duel couplet quatrains, and all in meter too using some of those poetic terms used in Shelley's poetry. Music is all this and more. This poem has a mathematical structure.

[Abdul Aziz]

Thank you for noticing the meter! I have noticed that formal poetry is not a dying art these days. There are many brilliant formal poets here on the Cafe :)

[Aethereal]

Keep up the good work. I'm not surprised that metered poetry is coming out of India. I'm a Mathematician by profession and some of the world's best Mathematicians and Computer Programmers come from India too.

[Abdul Aziz]

Haha, but don't you think equating mathematics to metric poetry is stretching it a bit? I think that meter is a guide. A strict guide, but a guide nonetheless. And no matter how perfect the meter is, without a soul, the poem will have no worth. Have you read Vikram Seth?

[Aethereal]

Soul is intuitively subjective, but Mathematics tries to objectify the subjective. The intuitive concept of Infinity is a subjective one that Mathematical methods transform into a useful objective system know as the Calculus. Meter helps to transform the subjective into the objective.

[Abdul Aziz]

But surely not all metered poems are good and not all good poems are metered, even if I am very partial to meter. In that sense, I don't think poetry can be measured in an objective sense. Nice discussion, though! :)

[Aethereal]

This is correct! Mathematical structure isn't always in the form of meter. Non-metered poems may have Mathematical structure too. Mathematics involves much more than numbers, and geometry. Every system of thought has structure. A good poem is just a beautiful flow of thought like a winding river flowing from its source into its sink, the sea.

[Abdul Aziz]

Doesn't everything have a mathematical structure? Don't mathematicians have a measure of randomness? I'm just curious

[Aethereal]

There’s pseudo and non-pseudo randomness. Pseudo randomness is generated through the use of a logical algorithm whereby this number stream repeats over and over again. Non pseudo randomness has no logical generator . I wish they would build a non-pseudo random function into our digital computers for it would be fun experimenting with this strange number stream. Thermal noise translated into digits should do the trick, but computers are made for business men and not for Mathematicians. I suspect that our brains generate non pseudo random digits that are somehow used to evolve creative thoughts and intuitions.

[Abdul Aziz]

I'm sorry, you lost me there at thermal noise. Too much to comprehend for a poor doctor :P

[Aethereal]

Thermal noise must be present in the human brain since thermal noise is present in every bit of matter that's above absolute zero in temperature. What part it plays in human cognition is a matter of experimentation. A thermal noise digital output is one of the things that our digital computers lack, and one of the reasons why our computers lack the ability to make truly creative decisions. Someday what I'm saying here will make complete sense to everyone, but for now we're still living in the Dark Ages of Technology.

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

This is elegant , beautiful . I like the use of 'old English', seems to give it more
of a voice . The last couplet is gorgeous. Music does say so much.

[Abdul Aziz]

Thank you! And that last couplet.. well I wouldn't be presumptuous enough to take credit for that. I've almost lifted from Percy Shelley there, with some minor alterations.

[Chloe..Across the Universe]

Still it is lovely and Shelley would think the same . You are welcome too!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

very nice piece, uplifting...there is hope for love...even if we have found it failed us many times before...someone will come along to make our heart sing a song of contentment and love.

[Abdul Aziz]

Thank you very much. I'm just happy I haven't begun irritating people with so many love poems..

[Ayvid N]

The first and third stanzas are just too good. If love was a poem it would be just this one! You have a superb, unique style! Lovely poetry, with a difference!

[Abdul Aziz]

Thank you for the enchanting review

[Ayvid N]

You are most welcome.