The Ballade of Three Sisters
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Beat breaks between trombone blasts, syncopate
Swings left then right, a swivel broadened blast
Of brass; wide eyed fair ladies dressed to date,
Gents, shoulders back, stand straight as jugs of iced
Cucumber strawberry - décor - fruit fast
To fall but gently, one by one to fall
Below the spigot; spirits rising fast,
Three sisters, three have wed, one summer ball.
/
But grinding, lurching preludes; fugues, Bach; fate
Was begging: “You! Surrender! Chase your lust!”
With winding beaded prayers she made; to make
Intentions to her Maker: “King and Christ
My intercessor: Chaste, I’ll pray and fast!
This dearest husband, shield him from the fall
And keep him kind until we meet at last.”
Three sisters, three have wed, one summer ball.
/
Bated breath, wait! Ah, the groomsmen are late!
Be patient, stay strong. Look! They’re here at last!
Horns blaring, blasting; ball in full swing. Great
This pace, cascading brides and grooms at last
Now lead; the sound of silk swish swirling past;
The dancer’s whirring, outer boundary gowns fall
Then fill; guys spin and catch their gals. At last,
Three sisters, three have wed, one summer ball.
/
These gifts of selves - we’re one - we’ve sacrificed,
The joys of children fill our house and hall.
Vocation - vows now honored, praised and prized.
Three sisters, three have wed, one summer ball.
/
- Gary Edward Geraci
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Author:
Gary Edward Geraci (
Offline) - Published: August 4th, 2018 17:46
- Comment from author about the poem: Inspired by the article “Three Sisters, Three Weddings in One Summer” by Patti Armstrong. A true story! I wanted to publicly recognize the joys of sacramental marriage between a man and woman and the much good it imparts upon civil society. The poem is written to be a high energy celebration of this reality and good as ordained by God from “the beginning” (Genesis 2:24). A classic Ballade, repetition is an underlying theme in my poem. Given three sisters as our protagonists, multiple uses of exact rhymes (fast, last, blast, fall, ball) and “st” sound rhymes (last, iced, Christ) are used. Once you realize this slight break in rhyming convention, you will be able to recognize the following rhyme scheme, ababbcbc, repeated in three stanzas of 8 lines with a four line envoi (bcbc) to wrap things up. As this was how I wrote it, this one is best read when listening to big band swing music like something from the Glenn Miller Orchestra or Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra during a big band horn section break out session. But only during the high energy horn solos! My wife and I were preparing a birthday party for our son, his 25th, filling a decorative dispenser with fresh cucumbers, strawberries, and ice water and listening to big band swing/jazz when the impulse to start writing flooded over me (see the concept and brainstorm notes that I’ve posted in Instagram). Oh yeah, a slight detour was taken to open the second stanza. Here, a more ominous mood is required to understand the devil’s temptations assaulting the young ladies with confusing and conflicting messages as they attempt to remain chaste and pure for their future husbands. Several days later, a Bach piece on pipe organ just ripped open this sentiment with “grinding” and “lurching” melodies on the pipe organ; a Bach Fugue and a psychological “fugue”, defined as “a state or period of loss of awareness of one's identity, often coupled with flight from one's usual environment, associated with certain forms of hysteria and epilepsy.” All glory to God for the “spousal meaning of our bodies” and the institution of marriage.
- Category: Love
- Views: 17
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Comments3
A fine write Gary.
Thank you Orchidee!
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