The 99 Poem Challenge
Fox-Trot-945. Ballade — Tears for My Father
1
It's taking you from me: relentlessly
But slowly by the slightest cuts each day,
The Reaper's scythe expunges memory,
And you are left with fewer words to say;
You gesture with your hands in your dismay
T' express the thoughts you hold inside your head,
But more and more, they come in disarray;
It's times like these that make a tear to shed.2
And yet you take it all in gallantry,
Fighting it back, still charging through the fray
Of mist-shrouded thoughts with happiness for me;
You joke around, you keep good cheer and play
The fool, you keep your humor anyway,
Leaving me speechless with relief instead;
But I know well your words will slip away;
It's times like these that make a tear to shed.3
You cannot know the horrors that I see
Unfolding ere my eyes the sad display,
Marking out all the moments that decree
The lingering death of days I cannot stay,
Nor ask of Time for further years' delay;
I know those days of darkness lie ahead,
When your life's candle flickers in His sway;
It's times like these that make a tear to shed.(Envoi)
I try to hide my tears, for tears betray
Your son's weakness to keep such thoughts at bay,
When words come hard and strength has fled;
Just leave me to my tears when I'm this way:
It's times like these that make a tear to shed.(To be continued...)
A/N: The ballade is a fixed French, consisting of three 8-line stanzas and one 4-line envoi, with the last line of each stanza and envoi forming a refrain. The tone and form is similar to that of an ode, though subjects vary greatly.
Meter: Iambic pentameter
Rhyme:Stanza 1: ababbcbC
Stanza 2: ababbcbC
Stanza 3: ababbcbC
Stanza 4: (Envoi) bcbC
YOU ARE READING
The 99 Poem Challenge (Fox-Trot-9) ✓
PoetryGenre: Poetry. Summary/Credits: This poem collection is for Warrior_Prophet's 99 Poem Challenge. Special thanks to cristinaaragon for making the book cover. All poems in this collection comprise of different poetry styles. Hope you enjoy! ( ^_^ ) St...