The darkness eats reflections of the warmth
from candlelights and dinner served inside
the house he used to call his home; he tried
in vain to mend the holes; with begging arms
enfolding voids; as afterwards his charms,
had crumbled at the altar of divides.
The doors to past are locked for debts unpaid
deceit can never be forgiven by the harmed.
Adulterers exposed can celebrate
alone, she thinks, and watch his company:
a bag that barely hides a bottle’s shape,
His street-light shadow moves, reverberates,
in echoes of his sins, in gluttony
of sex he always searched and found in rapes.
The third drunkard by Alexandre Benois
Today it’s Thanksgiving for those who celebrate, but the dVerse is open and I host OLN as if there is nothing that can stop us. Welcome the bar opens at 3PM CET.
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November 26, 2015
What a character, yikes ~ Opening lines are my favorite but this is a stunning sonnet specially with “altar of divides” ~ Well I am playing along, smiles ~
Bjorn, it has all the beginnings of a great song. Smiles…>KB
Thank you 🙂 Nice to have guests in the bar.
Such a dark and powerful sonnet! Kudos 🙂
I love the part about trying to mend the holes, down through to the phrase “altar of divides.”
A really well constructed sonnet on a character with no redeeming feature. The last line is horrifying.
This……..is STRONG
The creepiness of this kind of life as well as the deep sadness is very real in your marvelous words! Thanks for hosting!
Dark… street light shadows move wonderfully in this poem.
The dark side of holidays, for the outcast and misguided. Perfectly written.
A prodigal son in all ways – and one that may not be forgiven, by the sounds of it. You do dark well, Bjorn, must be that northern gloom…
Sheesh, this was creepy. So much darkness. “The doors to past are locked for debts unpaid / deceit can never be forgiven by the harmed.” This really hit home for me. Thanks for the read.
The lights have been turned down very low in the bar tonight it seems. The last line sent chills.
This was such a sad character. I wasn’t expecting the last line… we all have our failures and shortcomings, but that would be a difficult burden to carry.
I have often wondered if forgiveness is just obligatory lip service. The holidays are a gathering, & too often are rife with old rivalry, wounds, disrespect, & negative feelings. Yet we gather, & hope, often in vain, that tempers will not flare. Your dark sonnet is an imaginative counterpoint to the treacle & turkey that constitutes most holiday poetics.
Nicely done. Dark in tone, and especially dark at the end. I haven’t attempted a petrarchan sonnet for a long time (I tend to favour the shakespearean form), but you did brilliant with this. Great use of slant rhyme too!
This comes with a jolt. But it does not stop him vying for company even though there are dark secrets in the closet. Wonderful sonnet flavor Bjorn!
Hank
Powerfully expressed!
A really fine sonnet, replete with powerful images masterfully expressed.