Occasional Poetry - 54. Misadventure

I perceive this poem is meant to be a challenge to the reader's complacency. The old fashioned notion that 'higher powers' will judge and condemn our in-born capacity to love is a not meant for our times, thank God. And yet, many torture themselves needlessly with this line of thought.

I thank you for writing a masterful Ballade, for it's one the most challenging poetic forms ever devised, and it's better than any Ballade I've ever attempted to write : )

Bravo!

I'm impressed. How I struggled with Ballades... and you mastered it so beautifully.
I always had problems with that court of judgement being a bit of the carpe diem type.

On 11/16/2016 03:13 AM, AC Benus said:

I perceive this poem is meant to be a challenge to the reader's complacency. The old fashioned notion that 'higher powers' will judge and condemn our in-born capacity to love is a not meant for our times, thank God. And yet, many torture themselves needlessly with this line of thought.

 

I thank you for writing a masterful Ballade, for it's one the most challenging poetic forms ever devised, and it's better than any Ballade I've ever attempted to write : )

 

Bravo!

Your words mean a great deal to me. Thank you. The court that sits in judgement is so often within our own mind, and so often harsher than any other tribunal. To the angels of our better nature, or to others' better nature we might appeal, but who can release us from our private hells? I am very glad you could see beyond a literal reading of judgement days. Thanks again for reading...

On 11/16/2016 03:27 AM, aditus said:

I'm impressed. How I struggled with Ballades... and you mastered it so beautifully.

I always had problems with that court of judgement being a bit of the carpe diem type.

No, my own private internal tribunal is likely to be far harsher than anything anyone else sets up. But thank you for your kind words, my friend.

Words don't often confuse me, and it's with some shame I say I'm not certain of the full meaning in this. I don't fault that to you... I find the ballade in form often hard work to decipher... there is no denying( on my part) the structure takes much import... sometimes more so than the message, to me, because it is sometimes buried within the form. I have written a ballade, and I understand the appeal... I know you enjoy them and are good at them... supremely so, but they do frustrate me as a reader at times. That said, I'll take a stab at my interpretation. The narrator regrets his one dalliance, and that regret, and maybe what he has been taught, ruins what his mind says should have been enjoyable... sort of a war within... he knows what he should have felt, and maybe what he should have followed up on, but his own roadblocks are insurmountable... he pleas for help or the strength to change... I have no confidence I'm even close, but I tried . I did truly enjoy much of the intricate phrasing, and by the fourth reading I found the rhythm... I'll shut up now... you are a consummate crafter, Parker... this one challenged me, but in very weak defense, I am tired hehe... cheers, my friend... Gary....

On 11/16/2016 06:29 AM, Headstall said:

Words don't often confuse me, and it's with some shame I say I'm not certain of the full meaning in this. I don't fault that to you... I find the ballade in form often hard work to decipher... there is no denying( on my part) the structure takes much import... sometimes more so than the message, to me, because it is sometimes buried within the form. I have written a ballade, and I understand the appeal... I know you enjoy them and are good at them... supremely so, but they do frustrate me as a reader at times. That said, I'll take a stab at my interpretation. The narrator regrets his one dalliance, and that regret, and maybe what he has been taught, ruins what his mind says should have been enjoyable... sort of a war within... he knows what he should have felt, and maybe what he should have followed up on, but his own roadblocks are insurmountable... he pleas for help or the strength to change... I have no confidence I'm even close, but I tried . I did truly enjoy much of the intricate phrasing, and by the fourth reading I found the rhythm... I'll shut up now... you are a consummate crafter, Parker... this one challenged me, but in very weak defense, I am tired hehe... cheers, my friend... Gary....

I am really grateful to you for the time you spent on this, and for your really generous review. Your interpretation is on the mark. You have the story essentially right. You did really well, even tired. This is what I like about this form: it's long enough for a story to develop, if the task of telling it can be managed within the structure. Many, Many thanks for your review and kindness...P

OK, you know how dense I can be, at least when it comes to poetry.
And I must admit, I was quite at sea as I repeated reading each of the first two stanzas. Why I did this before reading the third is as much a mystery to me as it must be to you. I just needed to understand what I could not see.
But then the third stanza passed before my cloudy eyes and the sun broke through -- finally. That, by the way, my friend, is one hell of an octet. It made everything clear, but also stands alone in its beauty.
Thanks for sharing this lovely Ballade with us (me).

On 11/17/2016 12:29 PM, skinnydragon said:

OK, you know how dense I can be, at least when it comes to poetry.

And I must admit, I was quite at sea as I repeated reading each of the first two stanzas. Why I did this before reading the third is as much a mystery to me as it must be to you. I just needed to understand what I could not see.

But then the third stanza passed before my cloudy eyes and the sun broke through -- finally. That, by the way, my friend, is one hell of an octet. It made everything clear, but also stands alone in its beauty.

Thanks for sharing this lovely Ballade with us (me).

You were not alone in having to re-read in order to parse Misadventure. I can hardly blame you for hesitating and puzzling over the first two stanzas before proceeding to the third. I am very pleased that the third helped make things clearer; even better pleased that you found it good. Thank you so much for taking the time to wrestle with this, and to respond to it!