SONNETS of Love & Romance

Chapter 10

SONNETS of Love & Romance

Since I was just a little boy, I have had great respect and admiration for the Immortal Bard. As previously shared, my father gifted me the Complete Works of William Shakespeare for Christmas in 1989, when I was only 10 years old! Around that same time, I read the entire play: The Merchant of Venice. I didn't understand a word of it, but was determined to finish what I had started.

I was blessed to have been born to a family who both understood and venerated the talent, greatness, and wisdom of that remarkable Briton's prolific pen. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare also composed 154 sonnets. His sonnets were all crafted using the same style of rhyme and rhythm: 14 lines in iambic pentameter (10 beats or syllables per line) using the rhyming pattern of ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG. It is from a sense of pure, sheer, and deep veneration of the GOAT of English Literature and poetry that I chose to craft my own sonnets in this same format, as follows...

Sonnet 1   (Pure Unsullied Sweetness)

The pure unsullied sweetness in her face,
Unveils far more than just mere pulchritude.
Her every movement filled with perfect grace,
Hides inner beauty most have never viewed!
The eye alone so poorly judges light,
And oft ensnares mere senses in its grasp,
Rewarding far too much on simple sight,
Ignoring all that's held in a soul's clasp!
But when her inward majesty's revealed,
To one who recognizes Godly grace,
'Tis like a vision of a pure gold field,
Enriching outer beauty in her face!
   Alas, my most rewarding quest shall be:
   To find her grace and share eternity!

Sonnet 2   (The Best Kind of Me)

If I am to win the true heart of she,
And find victory upon the white shore—
Oh, then I must be the best kind of me:
Giving my all to a principled core.
There's no other way to woo and to win
The heart and soul of so mighty a dame.
Mere thoughts of her cause my young head to spin,
To marry such grace is better than fame.
There's no other way to equal the bill,
Than giving my all to the name of pure good,
Deomonstrating that I have a good will,
Doing my best to do all that I should.
   There's no better prize than her presence see,
   And nothing brings greater joy unto me!

Sonnet 3   (My Lovely Queen)

My lovely Queen to whom I give my heart,

Upon this day of promise I declare:

That I shall ever strive to do my part,

And vigilantly keep myself aware

Of your needs: I forthwith am your servant,

And equal partner in solemnity.

Witnessing that I shall 'ere be fervent

In the execution of my duty.

For as I kneel and make this vow to thee,

My promise is to more than just thee love,

Besides a witness to society,

This union marks an oath with God above:

   That I will dedicate unto the end,

   To honor, serve, and love my dearest friend!

Sonnet 4   (Long Distance Romance)

Of all the women I have ever met,

My (name here) tops the list for this lad's heart,

And on this day of romance I shall let,

My love for her begin to make its start!

Although it's true that we're a world apart,

And find myself away from her sweet soul,

I feel as though my heart beats with her heart,

To come nearer to her is now my goal!

And how I wish my presence soon will join,

With her great spirit now so far from me,

That somehow I might manage to purloin,

A tender kiss from her excellency!

   What bliss awaits for lovers true like we,

   It's like a taste of immortality!

Sonnet 5   (Romance in Old Age)

Though past by far her fair and tender prime,
And former silken locks have grown a-hoary;
While aged skin proves sovereignty of time,
And eyes blind, bereft the weight of glory
In store for this fair woman soon to be
Higher than the angels, yea—a Goddess—
Blessed again with matchless youthful beauty,
Putting mortal looks to shame. I'd confess
In this sphere has such beauty ne'er been viewed,
Even amidst the fairest in the land;
Yet grows by spades within women imbued,
With heaven's own goodness, so pure, so grand!
   That upon time's termination doth prove:
   That true love's beauty, and true beauty's love.

Sonnet 6   (Brightly Smiling Hope)

If hope still brightly smiles upon my chance,
And if her heart still lives within my grasp,
If somewhere in the future of romance,
We twain shall meet at last in spirit's clasp.
If light still boldly burneth at the end,
And she and I could yet be one in soul,
If she could condescend to be my friend,
In time, mid patience, we'd both find our goal.
If what appeared to be was a facade,
And burnished hopes triumphant voice did speak,
Proclaiming loud and clear the voice of God,
That anything can be unto the meek.
   My radiant heart would all but burst with glee,
   I'd with my Queen throughout eternity!

Sonnet 7   (Nothing Sweeter)

There is nothing sweeter than my Lady,

Whose blessed soul caresses me with love.

Her greatness and beauty is uncanny,

A selfless Angel sent from God above,

She emanates celestial majesty

To every child of God whom she doth see.

For me her countenance spawns ecstasy,

Burgeoning my heart residually,

Sustaining life and passion in my breast,

Inspiring me to always be my best,

And patiently await for what's in store.

   Alas, there's nothing purer than my wife!

   The sweetest single being in my life!  

Sonnet 8   (One and Only)

To the one and only woman of my dreams:

This day I pledge my heart to you!

No matter how drawn out the battle seems,

I will not faint nor falter; I'll be true!

Entirely dedicated thus to serve

You as my precious Queen you will remain,

Joined in a sacred union you deserve,

That'll ne'er be dissolved; I speak this plain:

That You, the tender sweetheart of my youth,

Whose name's inscribed in my heart next to God,

Shall sit upon a throne with me in truth,

Where I will heap glory, honor, and laud!

   Eternally upon your priceless soul,

   Whose light and life forever I'll extol!

Sonnet 9   (Richly Refined Elegance)

There is no finer woman on the Earth for me,

Whose richly refined elegance and beauty

Bespeak unto me the worth of her angelic soul.

My eyes they dance, and my heart doth melt

When in her presence. And what of my ears?

The sound of her voice supplies me with

Heavenly evidence of her majesty,

For which I rejoice! But deeper still is something

Much greater. To find and marry one such as her

Is the supremest of blessings to me.

How grateful I feel to be her sir—

The man she chose to love so tenderly.

   My love for her is like the burning sun,

   Excepting that our love will ne'er be done!

Sonnet 10   (When the Day Arrives)

When the day arrives and I see her face,

A face that doesn't turn away from me—

In spite of beauty, intellect, and grace—

I'll pause and softly question: can it be?

For after all the failure and the smart,

I'm hoping now for days of pure sweet bliss,

Beyond those days of old that broke my heart,

Where I can sit and savor her sweet kiss!

The joy I feel in making it this far,

Leads me to believe that I can finish

The journey that is leading to my start,

Where eternal joy will ne'er diminish.

   Perhaps the pain once felt too much for me,

   Yet enduring that pain has set me free!

—Dr. JJ

July 19, 2023

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 336th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 156th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

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Psalms of Love & Romance

 

Chapter 9

Psalms of Love & Romance

A female cousin of mine once remarked to me: "You know, Jordan, I have such a hard time falling in love!"

I marveled at her comment because I have always been the exact opposite; I have always been overly prone to falling in love too easily. 

I became enamored by ROMANCE at a very young age—as early as second grade (age 8)! In fact, with my steel trap of a memory, I can readily return to grade two in my mind and name you every girl and woman I ever had a significant crush on from second grade... right on up to when I met my wife, Lina, at age 27!

Part of the early onset of this passion for romance stemmed from the fact that my father and mother were both hopeless romantics. For example, I'll never forget accompanying my dad in August 1991 as he rented a fancy hotel room and then prepared it with flowers and goodies in preparation for he and my mother's 25th wedding anniversary. That act of his, and others like it over the years planted seeds that would spring into similar actions on my part much later in my marriage to Lina.

I was further influenced by my five older siblings, who ranged from four (4) to twelve (12) years older than me. They were all dating seriously and/or getting married when I was in elementary, middle, and high school, so I was continually seeing romance bloom among my older siblings and their adored partners—long before I was old enough to date.  

I was also impacted by literature, movies, and television. Many of my favorite movies, such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, First Knight, Everafter, and The Count of Monte Cristo all had love stories forming key components of their various plots, something that was certainly not lost on me.   

Click HERE to read my blog post about Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Click HERE to read my blog post about The Count of Monte Cristo

Suffice it to say, from the age of eight-or-nine-on-up, I was more-or-less obsessed with romance in one way or another. For me, thoughts of romance were not only exciting and mysterious, but motivating as well.

In other words, thoughts and feelings of romance drove me to succeed, excel, and achieve in all areas of my life.   

For example, the epic "Robin Hood Group Date" that my friends and I organized and then carried out on Saturday, August 1, 1998, was motivated by one gal in particular. Like so many other girls and women, she didn't fall for me the way I fell for her, but I must thank her for providing me with the drive to organize and carry out that memorable production, which was enjoyed by 18 couples and several supporting cast. 

Click HERE to read more about our epic Robin Hood group date held on my dad's land in Monticello, Utah, on Saturday, August 1, 1998.  

Given these lifelong proclivities and propensities, it is no surprise that romance would find its way colorfully and prolifically into my canon of personal poetical works.

Of all the wondrous adventures and experiences one can have in life, few (if any) can match, much less surpass, the magical experience of romance—and especially when that romance is authentic and mutually-reciprocated. It's worth differentiating between one-sided and dually-shared romance because I have a great deal of experience with both; and my poetry was also inspired by both!

For me, there is just nothing else quite like the rapturous experience of having an authentic crush on, or being in love with a girl (when I was a boy) or a woman (when I was a man). And having that woman love me back just as tenderly and passionately is mystical beyond expression. That is what has made marriage so wonderful for me.  

Now, when it comes to being "properly in love" to borrow the words of Piers Morgan (1), I can honestly say that that truly magical experience has only happened ONCE—and that was, is, and ever will be with my Lina Marie.

With Lina Marie on South Beach
March 2007

However, I didn't meet Lina until I was 27 years old, and I'd be lying if I claimed I had not had scores of different "crushes"—some of them very deep, sincere, and prolonged—in the two decades before I met Lina. However, I cannot honestly say I was never properly in love with any of these girls (when I was a boy) or women (when I was a man) because none of these previous associations ever blossomed into a serious romantic relationship. Indeed, Lina is the only girl or woman with whom I have ever enjoyed that ultimate relationship status.  

Despite this fact, I confess that there were many others who, had they given me even half-a-chance, I might very well have been married long before I ever met Lina! At the very least, I would have had one (or more) serious romantic relationship along the way. But, as fate would have it, Lina was truly the only ONE for me.  

I am one who firmly believes that Almighty God plays a prominent role in the events in our lives—and especially the KEY events of our lives. Only HE knows the full story behind why things worked out with Lina and why they didn't work out with so many others.

All I know for sure is that I am so glad it all worked out the way it did!

Lina is my closest friend, and the romantic love of my life. I adore her. She has been, is, and will ever be one of God's choicest blessings to me. Nevertheless, before I met Lina, I went on several hundred dates with 100 different girls/women, beginning at the age of 16.

That's right... Lina was the magic number #101.

The next two chapters share romantic sonnets (Chapter 10) and poems (Chapter 11) I wrote before I met Lina. The chapter following (Chapter 13) will share poems I wrote either after I met Lina, and were therefore specifically inspired by her, or that were inspired along the way by "the woman I would someday marry," and would eventually be dedicated and gifted to Lina.  

Before sharing my own attempts at romantic poetry, I'd like to reprint a few of my all-time favorites from great poets of yesteryear. I begin with one by Walt Whitman, who succinctly summarizes both my experiences with and my gratitude for all the girls (when I was a boy) and women (when I was a man) who motivated me to think, say, do, be, and believe BIG—leading all the way up to the nonpareil pinnacle of my dating experiences—my wife to be: Lina Marie Tucker.

Some of these motivations sprang from the hope and anticipation of potential romance with a whole bunch of different gals over the years. And some of these motivations sprang from the smart and sting of rejection, which is something I experienced most of the time until I met Lina.      

Click HERE to read about Dr. JJ's Rocky Road of Romance

Old Uncle Walt
1819-1892

Sometimes with One I Love

Sometimes with one I love I fill myself with rage for fear I 

            effuse unreturn'd love,

But now I think there is no unreturn'd love, the pay is certain

            one way or another,

(I loved a certain person ardently and my love was not return'd,

Yet out of that I have written these songs.)

—Walt Whitman

      (1819-1892)

Robert Browning
1812-1889

Summum Bonum (2)

All the breath and the bloom of the year in the

             bag of one bee:

     All the wonder and wealth of the mine in the

             heart of one gem:

In the core of one pearl all the shade and the

             shine of the sea:

     Breath and bloom, shade and shine,—wonder,

             wealth, and—how far above them—

                 Truth, that's brighter than gem,

                 Trust, that's purer than pearl,—

Brightest truth, purest trust in the universe—

             all were for me

                 In the kiss of one girl.

—Robert Browning

           (1812-1889)

Love's Philosophy

The fountains mingle with the river

   And the rivers with the ocean,

The winds of heaven mix for ever

   With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single;

   All things by a law divine

In one spirit meet and mingle.

   Why not I with thine?—

See the mountains kiss high heaven

   And the waves clasp one another;

No sister-flower would be forgiven

   If it disdained its brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth

   And the moonbeams kiss the sea;

What is all this sweet work worth

   If thou kiss not me?  

—Percy Bysshe Shelley

           (1753-1844)

Edgar Allen Poe
1809-1849

Annabel Lee

It was many and many a year ago,

     In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

     By the name of Annabel Lee;—

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

     Than to love and be loved by me.

She was a child and I was a child,

     In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love—

     I and my Annabel Lee—

With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven

     Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

     In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, by night

     Chilling my Annabel Lee;

So that her high-born kinsman came

     And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

     In this kingdom by the sea.

The Beautiful Annabel Lee
And other vestiges of Poe's poetry

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

     Went envying her and me:—

Yes! that was the reason (as all men know,

     In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud, chilling

     And killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

     Of those who were older than we—

     Of many far wiser than we—

And neither the angels in Heaven above,

     Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

     Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:—

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

     Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes

     Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide. I lie down by the side

Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride

     In her sepulchre there by the sea—

     In her tomb by the sounding sea.  

—Edgar Allen Poe

           (1809-1849)

William Shakespeare
1564-1616

Sonnet XVIII

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date;

Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometimes declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st.

   So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

   So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.  

—William Shakespeare

           (1564-1616)

William Wordsworth
1775-1850

She Was a Phantom of Delight

She was a Phantom of delight

When first she gleamed upon my sight;

A lovely Apparition, sent

To be a moment's ornament;

Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;

Like Twilight's, too, her dusky hair;

But all things else about her drawn

From May-time and the cheerful Dawn;

A dancing shape, an Image gay,

To haunt, to startle, and way-lay.

I saw her upon nearer view,

A Spirit, yet a Woman too!

Her household motions light and free,

And steps of virgin-liberty;

A countenance in which did meet

Sweet records, promises as sweet;

A Creature not too bright or good

For human nature's daily food;

For transient sorrows, simple wiles, 

Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.

And now I see with eye serene

The very pulse of the machine;

A Being breathing thoughtful breath,

A Traveller between life and death;

The reason firm, the temperate will,

Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;

A perfect Woman, nobly planned,

To warn, to comfort, and command;

And yet a Spirit still, and bright

With something of angelic light.  

—William Wordswoth

           (1775-1850)

—Dr. JJ

July 12, 2023

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 333rd Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 155th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 332 FF Blog Articles 

Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL QUOTES  

Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL POEMS   

Click HERE for a complete listing of Self-Action Leadership Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Fitness, Heath, & Wellness Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Biographical & Historical Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Current Events, Cultural, Philosophical, & Miscellaneous Articles

Click HERE for a complete listing of Dr. JJ's Autobiographical Articles

.........................

Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.  

And if you liked this blog post, please share it with your family, friends, colleagues, and students—and encourage them to sign up to receive future articles for FREE every Wednesday.

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Notes:

1. From 2011-2014, Piers Morgan hosted a television show on CNN called Piers Morgan Live. On this show, he would routinely ask his guests if they had ever "properly been in love." This nightly schtick unique to his show would promote repartee regarding the guest's romantic memories and relationships. 

2. Summum Bonum is a Latin term that means the "Ultimate Good."