In honour of the 1st day of Spring 2015, I am posting a poem I wrote in 2002 while learning the art of writing poetry with Tom Torrance.
The Promise is my variation on the Sestina form, written about the changes taking place underneath the ground in the garden, during the transition between the seasons. I hope you enjoy it!
The Promise
Cold blizzard winds and winter snow
White flurry blowing soft and deep
Illumed in quiet moonlit glow
A springtime promise yet to keep
As bulbs and flowers far below
Embrace their long-awaited sleep
Embedded silently and deep
Untouched by warmth of sunny glow
The life-signs of the dormant, keep
A splendid secret far below
In frigid beds, new beauties sleep
Unconscious of bone-chilling snow
The charming blooms of future glow
Regrettably will have to keep
Though moisture trickles down below
To wake the drowsy as they sleep
Just one more blast of icy snow
Delays new growth in snow piles deep
A fresh beginning soon to keep
With new roots stirring far below
As sprouting takes the place of sleep
Sun warmed soil where once only snow
And spring rains making puddles deep
Create a wholesome springtime glow
And so from dreamland far below
Reaching upwards from restful sleep
Towards the clouds as white as snow
Fragile flora out of the deep
A soft and misty verdant glow
Becomes the promise now to keep
Caressing all, once rapt in sleep
Like tulips, white as winter snow
From clouds above so soft and deep
Bright sunlight shining amber glow
And in the garden, secrets keep
Forever changing all below
And when again the snow is deep
This glory keep from summer’s glow
While below, new promises sleep
I’m not acquainted with William Shatner, the actor; and, the only things I know we have in common are our Canadian heritage and our passion for Star Trek; yet, this week I've gained new respect for this multi-talented and generous man, particularly as he faced the deaths of two close friends and a barrage of tactless comments.
Criticism of Mr. Shatner's inability to attend the funeral of his close friend and fellow actor, Leonard Nimoy, due to a previous commitment made me wonder at the insensitivity of so many wholly unrelated yet seemingly entitled people who thought they had a right to judge another person's motivations or choices.
In this case, Shatner's justification for missing the funeral - that he "chose to honor a commitment [he'd] made months ago to appear at a charitable fundraiser" - should have been taken at face value, if only because any explanation to the judgmental and undeserving masses was fundamentally unnecessary. After all, Mr. Shatner is an 83 year-old man who’s earned the right to make his own decisions. He's also shown himself to be a rare man who believes in honouring commitments, something that should be applauded, not condemned.
It's very likely that Nimoy and Shatner had said their personal good-byes prior to Nimoy's death, and that Shatner had spoken privately with Nimoy's family about this unfortunate conflict. It's certain that the pain of losing his dear friend and the distress of not being able to attend the funeral must have weighed heavily on his mind, as his daughters were on hand to represent the Shatner family at the funeral.
Given that Nimoy's Star Trek alter ego, Spock, is famous for the philosophical line, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," Shatner's choice to honour the fundraiser commitment would seem to be an eerie Star Trek parallel, of which Nimoy would have approved. Either way, Spock would have called Mr. Shatner’s decision to honour his previous commitment, “Logical.”
