Welcome back. I took last week off due to the holiday schedule and the births of two more grandchildren.
This week’s selection draws its title from a great malapropist from the 20th Century, better even than Norm Crosby. If you’re from the 20th Century you’ll know which one of his malapropisms (well, it could be one of two) it’s referencing.
This is a basic Elizabethan Sonnet, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
To Yogi Berra #184 The desperation claws my very soul From each and every side I cast my stones Upon myself, for that's all I control I'm seeking for that something that atones. Adrift upon that same old darkling sea I find myself again, so what is new? To cling to flotsam that's my life's debris? Or is there some goal that I can pursue? War weary, lacking, can I stay afloat To hold my head above relentless swells? Or just release my grip and fill my throat, Soliloquize surrender with farewells. I'll not do that, I know, for I'll not quit, As long as breath remains I'll not submit. Frank Garnick © Copyright The Archer's March 21 October 2022
We all face difficulties in life. They’re often severe and they can penetrate the depths of our souls. I am often very hard on myself and that’s because I really have no control over the actions of others. Since I’m not capable of affecting much outside myself, I hammer the one person I can influence, the guy in the mirror. How did this difficulty come about? What can I do to remedy the situation from within?
I find that I’ve used the phrase “darkling sea” five times in my sonnets (so far). I draw that phrase from “Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold which was published in 1867. I first saw that poem in Mr Soderberg’s English class in my (second) senior year in high school. I was very moved by that poem and that phrase in particular. He used “darkling plain” and I think the reason I changed it to sea is because a plain is a solid base. I got the feeling of being trapped with nowhere to run. Desperate enough that, but I sense a more dire situation in using the sea. Surely nowhere to run but add the cold, dark depths in which to sink. It feels a more bleak description.
So here I find myself again (does it never end?) and can I find a way out of this? Can I organize my thoughts in such a way that a newly formed goal will guide me forward?
I am tired, I feel I haven’t the means to survive. Tread water until something comes up or just give up and say goodbye?
Heaven forbid! As long as we’re still breathing we cannot give up.
See “Suicide is Painless” #214 for a more direct view of the absurdity of giving up.
Thanks for reading and have a great day.
I would ask for you to peruse my website and choose a sonnet for a future newsletter.
I’m still waiting for someone to choose a song from my Playlist for a new feature here at The Archer’s March. I know that 3 people clicked the link, so let’s get it on.
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