"Israel in Egypt" by Sir Edward John Poynter‘On Formal Slavery (to a Nation of Free Verse)’ by Kristin Garth The Society October 9, 2017 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 7 Comments On Formal Slavery (to a Nation of Free Verse) For there are those that call us slaves. How poor and simple we must be to cling to ties that stretch us, bend our purpled backs before some ruthless lash and ask for more. A slight psychotic tendency, a dream of youth, and we persist with fingers jammed inside our ageless ears. We toil above reproof. Indentured servants, maybe, to masters high above the clouds. We bow to Milton, Donne and Williams S. and feel their lips upon our fingertips. And when our labor’s done, Petrarchan angels bathe our wounds with bronzed Italian tears. For we work best restrained, and by the wisest hands have we been trained. Lionhearted The last of them a lion, roar so rough to shake a forest, gingham commuter in braids. Dispatch a harlequin that’s stuffed with straw and hay, stoic pewter suitor, with just a paw but cowers at a girl who bumps him on the nose? And had he not, what then? Which witch, in pink or pitch, in curls or jade redeems, destroys her lucky lot that’s let to run away? She’d have to stay in darkest dungeons with monkey minions never know her strength to wash that witch away. A deigned defeat bequeaths dominion. His cowardice, a role he has to play to show a lionhearted girl the way. Kristin Garth is a poet from Pensacola, Florida. Her poetry has previously been published in Anti-Heroin Chic, Quail Bell Magazine, Infernal Ink, Mookychick, Occulum, Digging Through the Fat and No Other Tribute, an anthology. Follow her at twitter.com/lolaandjolie and her author site at kristingarth.wordpress.com NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. CODEC Stories:Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 7 Responses Amy Foreman October 9, 2017 Wow. I really like “On Formal Slavery (to a Nation of Free Verse)”. Perfect imagery. Bravo, Kristin! Reply Nathan October 9, 2017 On Formal Slavery is fantastic! A great and intelligent response to those who call formalist poetry poor quality. Reply Joseph S. Salemi October 9, 2017 The poem “On Formal Slavery…” is brilliant! I normally look askance at slant-rhymes, but in this case they are so well done and seemingly inevitable that I refuse to say a word against them. Excellently done! Reply Kristin Garth October 10, 2017 Thank you so much for the kind words. Sonnets are my passion of life. 🙂 99 percent of what I write, so that makes me feel so good. Reply David Watt October 10, 2017 ‘On Formal Slavery…’ is a read again and again poem for me. Very well executed! Reply David Hollywood October 11, 2017 ‘On Formal Slavery…..’ is Terrific. Reply Leonard Dabydeen October 15, 2017 Kristin Griffin has given us a beautiful and sensuous write in this poem, “On Formal Slavery.” The imagery and flow of thought bring a vivid picture to reflect on “purple backs” slaves… “For we work best restrained,/and by the wisest hands have we been trained.” TFS. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Captcha loading...In order to pass the CAPTCHA please enable JavaScript. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Amy Foreman October 9, 2017 Wow. I really like “On Formal Slavery (to a Nation of Free Verse)”. Perfect imagery. Bravo, Kristin! Reply
Nathan October 9, 2017 On Formal Slavery is fantastic! A great and intelligent response to those who call formalist poetry poor quality. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi October 9, 2017 The poem “On Formal Slavery…” is brilliant! I normally look askance at slant-rhymes, but in this case they are so well done and seemingly inevitable that I refuse to say a word against them. Excellently done! Reply
Kristin Garth October 10, 2017 Thank you so much for the kind words. Sonnets are my passion of life. 🙂 99 percent of what I write, so that makes me feel so good. Reply
David Watt October 10, 2017 ‘On Formal Slavery…’ is a read again and again poem for me. Very well executed! Reply
Leonard Dabydeen October 15, 2017 Kristin Griffin has given us a beautiful and sensuous write in this poem, “On Formal Slavery.” The imagery and flow of thought bring a vivid picture to reflect on “purple backs” slaves… “For we work best restrained,/and by the wisest hands have we been trained.” TFS. Reply
