Had I Known

Had I known love before my heart was broken,
I would not thus be dreadfully forlorn:
My days would nightly leave a tranquil token
That all would still be bright the morrow morn.
Had I known life before ’twas cast in shadow,
I would not thus be drifting here and there:
Mine eyes would see the world was never fallow;
My soul would feel the warmth within the air.
Had I known me before I fell to pieces,
I still would be as one as once had been:
My steadfast will would straight have smoothed the creases
Where shyness and unease had sown chagrin.
Alas, the past hath sent my road astray,
Yet still I strive to straighten out the way.

-EDP

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i really like this...and it hits hard.
being abused is not love....and it warps the sense of what love is...and gives us a skewed barometer from which to measure when real love comes to us.
I was with someone who had been abused...and it was so hard for her to trust...to really love because she always expected the other shoe to drop...that the abuse would sooner or later rear its ugly head once again. Most don't get the fairy tale ending, but some at least get to experience a little of the fairy tale for a time.
j.

[emipoemi]

those times for me are mere blips of light amidst hours of darkness. I was never abused physically, but psychologically, and an abuse that was gradual and purely out of ignorance of my psychological composition, so I'm not so much angry as I am disappointed. Thanks for reading. Glad you enjoyed it.

[barleygirl]

This is a beautiful poem on many levels. Just to expound on one thing that hit me . . . two of my older sisters & I were raped regularly by my dad . . . in my young life, I had already experienced halfway decent feelings about my body, being into outdoor adventures, etc, & I had some body-image issues, but nothing like my sisters, who had never had any positive self-esteem experiences previous to the abuse, so they hated on their bodies, fiercely & lifelong. It really does help to know a little bit of success in something, anything . . . then we can more readily visualize ourselves winning or surviving. Such a powerful poem, 20 people could read a similar life-moving experience into your words (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[emipoemi]

It's the whole reason why I make my poems universal. Even the ones where an "I" is present, I never go directly into my life, but make even that "I" a universal one so everyone can interpret the poem as they please, and even put themselves in that "I". It also serves to show that to some extent I'm like everyone else. Thanks for reading. Glad you enjoyed it (and it pains me to learn about that tidbit of info. That is rough - [un abrazote]).

[McEltic]

This is life, teaching us that we seldom get any do overs.

[emipoemi]

I guess so. Thanks for reading.

[Beccy]

I like the variant syllable count, unusual and it can jar if not properly done, (which it was here,) and the refrain was maintained really nicely throughout.

I tend to write whatever takes my fancy, but of all forms, I do like the sonnet pretty much the best and have written one or two in the past.

Beccy.

[emipoemi]

So glad you enjoyed it. This was a heavy topic for me, and the words simply flowed out. Thanks for reading.

[@_av_poetry]

A broken heart can change you. Things are not quite the same. Some bitterness remains and we become cynics. I wish we could see that if someone failed to love us it was not our fault, they just weren't the right person and go on trying to find exactly that. Nice poem Emi. :)

[emipoemi]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

[mattavelli]

Hello, emi! :)
When poets mix modern and archaic languages I tend to sneer and move to something else, but I really enjoyed this sonnet. You've written a relatable character, depressed yet hungry for a reason to brighten up. It reads as if spoken matter of factly, clear and lovely.

[emipoemi]

It just goes to show you that in order to understand the new, you must first understand the old (a factor that no properly published poet or publisher for that matter seems to understand). The style never matters....it's the execution of the piece in that style that does. I'm not that big of a fan of Free Verse, for instance (because after all it is the hardest form to write in, and I've read many people who fail at it despite publisher appeal), but I still give people that chance to prove themselves (and so far the best Free Verse I've read has been on WC, from people who aren't published yet, but deserve to be far more than the wannabes that are). So glad you enjoyed this, though. I've heard it said that all my stuff have that knack of pleasing anyone despite being somewhat archaic. Thanks for reading.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

We are all like broken China dolls, chipped or broken. We hold ourselves together through tears, heartache, and heartbreak; and in some cases, we just fall to pieces. The human condition demands resiliency when, at times, we simply want to break.

[emipoemi]

So true, Linda, and it gets harder the more pain is piled onto the plate, and the longer one remains in the pit of despair. Thanks for reading. Glad you enjoyed it!

[Talia]

I love this!!

“Had I known me before I fell to pieces”
Is my favorite line because I feel like that simply summed up the whole thing. It doesn't matter how you fell apart, but you don't really know yourself anymore.

Good write!!

[emipoemi]

Still trying to get these things out there so people can understand the pain of a shadow. Still hoping to burst from the shadows soon.

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.

[Talia]

I know you will!
And your welcome