Peripheral Happiness (Sonnet)

Rocky Lagou

Full embrace of the hilly scenic view,

I feel a cycle of living.

The dwindling leaves paint pictures of you,

They spirally fall, slowly giving...

 

Themselves to the Earth’s art,

Like a subtle breeze, they will rise again.

For the Autumn leaves reflect their bark -

With an eventual inward ascend.

 

Full embrace of the halo shine - on the vine,

With all the things that could’ve been done.

A Pupil of Hope, an Iris of Life; they forget the time,

Descending under the sun.

 

I think I’m sick of searching for bliss, I’d prefer to live in the now

Yet with every mournful gale, the leaves fall and rise somehow.

  • Author: Rocky Lagou (Offline Offline)
  • Published: March 31st, 2022 09:31
  • Comment from author about the poem: This is my second try at a sonnet! (more specifically a Shakespearean sonnet.) The first one I made was for my theatre class last year, and no I don't plan on posting it, it's pretty cringe. Nonetheless, hope you enjoy this one. It's a reflection on life and the way that nature, with its ability to die and recycle itself into new life, mirrors us humans in a more spiritual sense. There's also an underlying theme that refers to eyes, hence the title and third stanza, that supports the central theme of life. Hope you enjoy! ✨
  • Category: Spiritual
  • Views: 60
  • Users favorite of this poem: Laura🌻, Paul Bell, theneophiles_words, DestinysPerspectives
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Comments +

Comments12

  • dean langmuir

    Very nice Rocky,sonnets are very interesting to write,good job.take care poet on.

    • Rocky Lagou

      Thank you kindly Dean for you kind comments! I really appreciate your feedback and it encourages me to push on! "Poet on" as well dear poet, and have a wonderful day! 💛

    • Caring dove

      A great writing )) I like your words . I’ve never tried writing a sonnet before ,

      An engaging read

      • Rocky Lagou

        Thank you so much! I love hearing from you as you are truly an amazing poet and I am inspired by the way you incorporate nature into your poems. I wanted to give my own little take on nature but this doesn't even come close to your picturesque imagery. Nonetheless, I'm happy to see that you enjoyed the sonnet form and I'd recommend writing one. It's actually quite simple and isn't as restricting as some other poetic forms. Have a lovely day!

        • Caring dove

          Thankyou for saying I’m an amazing poet 🙂 lovely of you to say . I like the way you have expressed yourself in this .. we all write in different ways , I guess ,

          My days been ok ,

        • Christina8

          Very good sonnet they are hard to do!! I like your take on life and nature. This is great! (speaking of nature it is snowing today! Yikes!) Great job!

          • Rocky Lagou

            Wow. As a Floridian I've forgotten what snow even is! No but seriously, any poetic form definitely requires more concentration and more revision, so it took a little longer than my normal free verse poems. Anyways, thanks a bunch for your kind remarks! I wanted to present life as fragile but also hopeful. Have a beautiful day!

          • dusk arising

            I wouldn't know what a sonnet was if it walked up and bit me but i know what this is... it's darned good.

            • Rocky Lagou

              hehe. Thank you kindly Dusk! To hear that from you is really meaningful, your poetry is so inspiring and your command over words is astounding. I hope I was able to take you on a little journey of reflection and nature. We all begin as leaves under the sun until it's our time to dwindle and become one with the Earth. Have a great day!

              • dusk arising

                Did you know that earthworms drag fallen leaves underground.... i'm sure that's happened to me somewhere along the line too. Thank you for your kind complimentary words Rocky.

              • Laura🌻

                Rocky,

                A captivating write which I’ve enjoyed reading. You are a very talented writer. Onward and upward with your poetry my dear poet.👏

                Thank you for sharing.😄

                Laura🌻

                • Rocky Lagou

                  Hi Laura! It's actually such a pleasure to see you around! I most humbly accept your uplifting compliments on my works. I truly strive to create poetry that'll connect with others, so to see you enjoyed it really encourages me to move forward! You, too, are such a blessing and know that I haven't forgotten to check your work out as well. Have an amazing day!

                • Bella Shepard

                  I've never read a Shakespeare sonnet, but now I know I must. As I read each stanza aloud, with the inflection that it deserves, I feel the pure beauty of what you are describing. I think Shakespeare would be proud of such a worthy apprentice. Well done dear friend!

                  • Rocky Lagou

                    Wow! I'm truly taken aback with your wholehearted remarks! Thank you so much, I actually find it funny you mention the inflection of this poem because recently I've been a little blue of the fact that in poetry, as opposed to singing (another one of my aspirations), you can't really dictate how each word is going to sound in the reader's head. And honestly, a big part of poetry that makes it interesting and engaging is the cadence of the voice that is reading it. So a poem read in a monotone voice isn't going to do the poem justice. So to see that ,somehow, I was able to transport that passion I had writing each word down to you is actually so fulfilling. Thanks a bunch and have a great day! 💖

                    • Bella Shepard

                      I always find in reading poetry verbally there is so much more to find. I think poetry is meant to be spoken, it's as beautiful as singing. Thank you for making music with your words.

                    • Vamsi Sudha

                      Dear Rocky,

                      A thought provoking one for sure.
                      Loved these line..
                      They spirally fall, slowly giving...
                      Themselves to the Earth’s art,

                      Very artistic and very true !!
                      Thanks for the wonderful sonnet !!

                      • Rocky Lagou

                        Hi! You are so generous Vamsi, I truly appreciate your words! I wanted to express that life as a whole is just one piece of art that repeats itself in a cycle, so to see you grasped that is really nice. Everything will pass and the world will move on, but what matters is to find peace while you are here. Have a lovely day! ✨

                        • Vamsi Sudha

                          You are truly spiritual Rocky !! And life has so much to teach us, if we have the keen eye to see it. Thanks for your riveting comments !!

                        • orchidee

                          Good write Rocky.
                          How is the cringe-worthy one?! heehee.
                          Parts of the UK almost forgot what snow is this winter. Then I goes and get caught in a snow flurry, and then a hailstorm today! Ouch, like little stones thrown at ya!

                        • orchidee

                          And furthermore - some of us were taking our coats off in the UK last week, in a mini-heatwave. Was still chilly first thing in mornings though. Now we've got them out of the cupboard again!
                          Here ends UK weather report. lol.

                          • Rocky Lagou

                            Hehe! You're so quirky! I gotta admit the weather here in Florida is also at a constant unpredictability. You never know when you're gonna get a beautiful sunny day, or mini hurricanes strewn throughout the cities. Also on the "cringe-worthy" poem, I'll think about posting it. It's honestly not "too bad" but like it is one of the first poems I ever wrote so it's not that pleasing to the eye. Anyways, thanks a bunch for your comments! Have a great snowy day! 😅😁

                          • Paul Bell

                            I like this.
                            Death is a painful subject and needs to be gently trodden. The writer is in a reflective mood, but also wants to move on. Alas, moving on can never really happen, not when seasons return each year.

                            • Rocky Lagou


                              Wowwwww! Omg you're literally a genius, "moving on can never really happen, not when seasons return each year." is going to be my mantra from now on. Like it should be emblazoned on a t-shirt or something. No but seriously it is really tough to write about, I wanted to express that at one point in our lives we have to accept that we can't keep "searching for bliss" (or that sense of complete recovery from a loss) and just accept that we are in the "now." We can't go back in time, so we just have to push on. You really dug into this poem very well and found levels of interpretations strewn throughout. Thanks a bunch for your comments, have a great day!

                            • sorenbarrett

                              Life limits the light of hope. Everything is a cycle. Instead of waiting for hope live the now. Time will bring everything back around,

                              • Rocky Lagou

                                Exactly! It's nice to see your finely grasped the message of the poem! Hope is often obscured by witnessing all the sadness there is in life; like the "rise and fall of the leaves," or in other words, the passing of people as they go by (either death or eventual seperation.) So it's always best to focus on that "now" and to not worry about when someone will leave your life. But rather cherish them the most "now." Great analysis. Have a lovely day!

                              • Doggerel Dave

                                Hi Rocky; You have a good poem here, full of rich imagery and a deep underlying theme....But Shakespearean sonnet it ain't.

                                Stick to what you do best, write your poetry which is interesting and lively.

                                • Rocky Lagou

                                  Hello! Thank you kindly for such sweet remarks. I truly embrace your encouraging words and as I mention in my bio, I'm totally up for constructive criticism. However, a Shakespearean sonnet is defined as "a poem comprised of three quatrains and a concluding couplet, rhyming abab cdcd efef gg." So I'm a little uncertain as to why you wouldn't consider it one as I maintained that format throughout the piece. The only part I didn't incorporate was the common iambic pentameter that is seen in most Shakespearean poems, but despite the lack of a meter I followed the other rules. It may not be the best, I usually write in free-verse anyways, but sometimes I like to experiment new forms as I feel poetry is a diverse field that shouldn't be confined. Nonetheless, your words are truly appreciated and I wish you an amazing day!

                                  • Doggerel Dave

                                    Rocky: I know you invited constructive crits from the beginning, otherwise I may not have bothered – poets can be so sensitive………
                                    You have the definition right, so all I want to query is the rhyming – I cannot get rhymes out of the second quatrain and roughly only a little in the third. I can only put this down to different dialects: you have confessed 😊 you are American, while I, on the other hand am English/Australian.
                                    The iambic pentameter is a fun one: I can’t work metre, to be honest, just as I don’t get the formal rules of grammar (so what? Some good musicians don’t read music) but I do try for uniform syllable line lengths and strive for a line to be non clunky. In the case of a sonnet I do think it is owed ten syllable lines.

                                    I should ignore this if you wish – on the evidence of contributions above you are on to a winner.



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