Spring

SESTINA

Spring

 

 

Sunshine in the early morning dawn

Rainbow above, a kaleidoscope of color

Flower bows its head to the sun

Meadow spreads out in glorious green

Brook winding slow rippling harmony

Whisper in the breeze says all is well

 

Sunshine and rainbow glow in the sky

Flowers in the meadow a lovely display

Brook will whisper a gurgling melody

 

Whisper my darling in the evening hour

Sunshine is bedding down for the night

Brook sings its rippling song of love

Rainbow still seen in the twilight sky

Meadow as silent as in the break of dawn

Flower yawning in sleepy repose

 

Sunshine chases the rainbow across the sky

Flower sings to the meadow its sweet lullaby

Brook in a whisper calls out good night

 

Flower wakes with the fresh morning dew

Whisper its dreams to the trees above

Meadow breathes with new life today

Sunshine gives warmth to another sweet day

Rainbow stretches with color from a night of rain

Brook giggles and laughs flowing over the rocks

 

Sunshine compliments the rainbow of colorful hue

Flower of the meadow send an aroma in the air

Brook will whisper of this gloriously beautiful day

 

 

Brook, the life force to creatures of the wood

Flower blushes in the sunlight because of dew’s kiss

Rainbow smiles it upside down smile with cheer

Whisper to all the valley that rain is no more

Sunshine rose high in the sky at noonday

Meadow grass wilting as Mister Sun sings his song

 

Sunshine and rainbow bathes the wood in colorful light

Flower hums to the meadow its happy wake up song

Brook with a whisper quenches a little fawns thirst

 

Meadow cries out for the cooling rain to fall

Brook pays no attention; he knows it won’t burn long

Sunshine holds its head up high, smiling on earth below

Flower stretches to catch each tiny sparking ray

Whisper softly the rose in its noonday delight

Rainbow now gone, but will come again after a rain

 

Sunshine so hot that the rainbow retreats

Flower tells the meadow that the sun helps her grow

Brook will whisper an ever sweet little sigh

 

Rainbow just waiting to stretch color across the sky

Meadow breathes easy as the sun moves on its way

Whisper sweet nothings in a green sort of way

Brook wasn’t worried and wasn’t scorched by the sun

Flower in full bloom wishes for a soothing spring rain

Sunshine burns much cooler in the mid afternoon

 

Sunshine and rainbow resting in the cool of the day

Flower is parched and the meadow is too

Brook in soft whisper says I bet you wish you were me

Author's Note

The Sestina, a French form, is an intricate form of six unrhymed stanzas of six lines each, followed by a Tercet (three lines.) This type of form works well for the poet who wants to examine a subject from different viewpoints. The Sestina depends on the repetition of end-words, but be aware that only the end word repeats, not as in other French forms where the entire line repeats.

Choose any 6 words, such as:

a) sunshine, poems, c) sister, d) silk, e) wood, f) flowers

The pattern:
Stanza 1: a, b, c, d, e, f. Stanza 2: f, a, e, b, d, c. Sanza 3: c, f, d, a, b, e. Stanza 4: e, c, b, f, a, d. Stanza 5: d, e, a, c, f, b. Stanza 6: b, d, f, e, c, a. Tercet : ab, cd, ef.

The words I chose are
a)Sunshine b) rainbow c)flower d) meadow e)brookf)whisper

Let me know if I have done this right

Reviews

[Dalaina Renee]

This is a beautiful poem too. Well expressed!

[JohnL]

Yes, the sestina is an interesting form which is useful to add emphasis to a situation. You have not a mere situation here but a whole season! It has always been one of my pleasures to blend natural things into each other - flowers, colour, light, sound, scent. The senses are a wonderful incentive and inspiration to poets and writers, and you have literally and metaphorically 'made hay while the sun shines here' using rainbows, sun, plats, verdure, even animals. I also defect a rather clever drift towards summer in this spring as the sun gets hotter and the earth more dry as it progresses. I am not familiar enough with the sestina form to offer an opinion on this technically but it is a joy to see someone analysing poetry and attempting something ambitious rather than just slinging it together as we so often see. I'll certainly try to brush up my knowledge of it. It is not unlike the villanelle in purpose. To see a wonderful example of that, see Dylan Thomas's 'Do not go gentle into that good night' written for his dying father. Thank you,
John