A Winter landscape by Francois Koch‘No Going Back’ and Other Poetry by Peter Hartley The Society February 10, 2022 Beauty, Poetry 10 Comments . No Going Back We feel our lives are slowly closing round Us when the nights grow longer than the days, When winter brings us sadness and malaise, And all around us is a chill profound. Across the moss the hare limps and the hound, No heart to follow, with his master stays, And grazing the horizon all the rays Of Phoebus cannot gild the sallow ground. It only comes with wisdom and with age, The failings of our wasted lives engage Our thoughts, so full of longings that we might Have done things differently with second sight. A different tack we’d take, another track, Too late to find there is no going back. . . Knowing When We Are Blest The trick it seems to me it is to know Beyond a shadow of a doubt that we Are really truly blest as we can be And absolutely certain we are so. To know at any moment we can show That we are cheerful, revel in a sea Of bliss, not being barely briefly free From sorrow, for an instant clear of woe. To be aware our feelings at the time Could not be merrier: if we could climb Out of the Slough of Despond and could shout, With lungfuls of God’s clean fresh air breathed out, That “It is I, and joyful you can see, If I could fly no happier would I be.” . . Peter Hartley is a retired painting restorer. He was born in Liverpool and lives in Manchester, UK. 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. 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)Trending now: 10 Responses Gail Naegele February 10, 2022 I applaud the heartrending sentiments that only a true warrior and poet could pen, and recognition of that one spark of beauty, a last dream. Would life be different if young dreaming foresaw this fate?. Stirring and beautifully done. G. Reply Cheryl Corey February 10, 2022 I’m loving both of these, Peter. I think that winter, especially living in the northern latitudes, tends to be a time of self-recrimination and rumination. “No Going Back” grabbed me from the start. I re-read it several times. The second stanza is powerful. I like what you did with the closing couplet of “Knowing …”. The title says it all. I guess you could say that any day above ground’s a good day. Two philosophical gems. Reply Jonathan Kinsman February 10, 2022 Very fine metrically. And a melancholic painter’s touch. These are very good poems, but as a Poet wrote somewhere” Every day some soul is paired a burden to be borne, with a joy to be shared – and from every night each soul is spared with grace to bear the breaking mourn. This life cannot cull its disparate parts to frame a form time forgets to deface. Let us keep the Beauty that is creation in our ken, and all else falls into its proper place: not regret nor rue, but wonder as the principium, the lasting source. I always enjoy your contributions! Reply Margaret Coats February 10, 2022 “No Going Back” is an extraordinarily beautiful expression of a thought that can seem inexpressibly sad. I love the hare and the hound, clearly drawn from your long experience of animals and outdoor chill. The following lines are magnificent: “And grazing the horizon all the rays /Of Phoebus cannot gild the sallow ground.” What a turn for a sonnet! It’s good to have your answer to the first poem in “Knowing When We Are Blest,” with the implication that we are always blest. “If I could fly, no happier would I be” is a resonant line for both of us, I believe. It made me smile to think that I would like to travel, but can’t think of many desired destinations because airport authorities might lock me up in quarantine if not put me on a return plane. I suspect you can’t even think of making it to the airport–after having flown all over the world before now. But we are both very much blessed, and I thank you for composing the reminder to revel in my sea of bliss. Reply Jeff Eardley February 10, 2022 Peter, I read these two moving, philosophical pieces after watching a wonderful film, “The Alpinist,” about a young Canadian who travelled the world to climb solo some phenominal, and often ice-bound summits. His joy for life was snuffed out at the age of 26 in an Alaskan avalanche. I suppose he would never have known the reflections we oldies have on what might have been. Stood atop Shutlingsloe yesterday in a howling north wind, my own “Slough of Despond” was lifted and “God’s clean air” was certainly breathed out. I love these two Peter. Well done. Reply David Watt February 11, 2022 Peter, these are philosophical poems of great merit, and your second poem is a seamless extension of the first. The internal rhymes in “No Going Back” add one more element to an already captivating piece. Reply Adam Wasem February 11, 2022 That is one long, deadly, dark winter, in “No Going Back.” I can feel the chill from here. I can’t think of a better elucidation of the hopeless grimness of regret, that not only is it too late to go back, it’s too late even to find there’s no going back. It makes me hope for the narrators that they recognize that fact, and go forward instead. Reply Jonathan Kinsman February 11, 2022 Well, I’m glad someone else agrees with me….. Reply C.B. Anderson February 11, 2022 Both of these were elegant and poignant, though I did wonder for a moment whether, in line six of the former one, “heart” should have been “hart.” I like the way you bend sonnets to your own purposes, without necessarily sticking to any particular fixed type. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 11, 2022 Peter, the pairing of these philosophical sonnets is perfection. “No Going Back” reads smoothly, beautifully, an oh so sorrowfully. The chill winter backdrop enhances the poem’s message and paints a vivid picture of regret and realization. Like Margaret, I love “And grazing the horizon all the rays /Of Phoebus cannot gild the sallow ground.” A magnificent image that elevates the message to lofty heights. “Knowing When We Are Blest” makes me think of the fine line we tread between happiness and despair and serves to remind me of the wonders that shine amid the woes. Peter, you are a very fine poet indeed, and it’s a privilege to read your works on this site. Thank you! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website 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.
Gail Naegele February 10, 2022 I applaud the heartrending sentiments that only a true warrior and poet could pen, and recognition of that one spark of beauty, a last dream. Would life be different if young dreaming foresaw this fate?. Stirring and beautifully done. G. Reply
Cheryl Corey February 10, 2022 I’m loving both of these, Peter. I think that winter, especially living in the northern latitudes, tends to be a time of self-recrimination and rumination. “No Going Back” grabbed me from the start. I re-read it several times. The second stanza is powerful. I like what you did with the closing couplet of “Knowing …”. The title says it all. I guess you could say that any day above ground’s a good day. Two philosophical gems. Reply
Jonathan Kinsman February 10, 2022 Very fine metrically. And a melancholic painter’s touch. These are very good poems, but as a Poet wrote somewhere” Every day some soul is paired a burden to be borne, with a joy to be shared – and from every night each soul is spared with grace to bear the breaking mourn. This life cannot cull its disparate parts to frame a form time forgets to deface. Let us keep the Beauty that is creation in our ken, and all else falls into its proper place: not regret nor rue, but wonder as the principium, the lasting source. I always enjoy your contributions! Reply
Margaret Coats February 10, 2022 “No Going Back” is an extraordinarily beautiful expression of a thought that can seem inexpressibly sad. I love the hare and the hound, clearly drawn from your long experience of animals and outdoor chill. The following lines are magnificent: “And grazing the horizon all the rays /Of Phoebus cannot gild the sallow ground.” What a turn for a sonnet! It’s good to have your answer to the first poem in “Knowing When We Are Blest,” with the implication that we are always blest. “If I could fly, no happier would I be” is a resonant line for both of us, I believe. It made me smile to think that I would like to travel, but can’t think of many desired destinations because airport authorities might lock me up in quarantine if not put me on a return plane. I suspect you can’t even think of making it to the airport–after having flown all over the world before now. But we are both very much blessed, and I thank you for composing the reminder to revel in my sea of bliss. Reply
Jeff Eardley February 10, 2022 Peter, I read these two moving, philosophical pieces after watching a wonderful film, “The Alpinist,” about a young Canadian who travelled the world to climb solo some phenominal, and often ice-bound summits. His joy for life was snuffed out at the age of 26 in an Alaskan avalanche. I suppose he would never have known the reflections we oldies have on what might have been. Stood atop Shutlingsloe yesterday in a howling north wind, my own “Slough of Despond” was lifted and “God’s clean air” was certainly breathed out. I love these two Peter. Well done. Reply
David Watt February 11, 2022 Peter, these are philosophical poems of great merit, and your second poem is a seamless extension of the first. The internal rhymes in “No Going Back” add one more element to an already captivating piece. Reply
Adam Wasem February 11, 2022 That is one long, deadly, dark winter, in “No Going Back.” I can feel the chill from here. I can’t think of a better elucidation of the hopeless grimness of regret, that not only is it too late to go back, it’s too late even to find there’s no going back. It makes me hope for the narrators that they recognize that fact, and go forward instead. Reply
C.B. Anderson February 11, 2022 Both of these were elegant and poignant, though I did wonder for a moment whether, in line six of the former one, “heart” should have been “hart.” I like the way you bend sonnets to your own purposes, without necessarily sticking to any particular fixed type. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 11, 2022 Peter, the pairing of these philosophical sonnets is perfection. “No Going Back” reads smoothly, beautifully, an oh so sorrowfully. The chill winter backdrop enhances the poem’s message and paints a vivid picture of regret and realization. Like Margaret, I love “And grazing the horizon all the rays /Of Phoebus cannot gild the sallow ground.” A magnificent image that elevates the message to lofty heights. “Knowing When We Are Blest” makes me think of the fine line we tread between happiness and despair and serves to remind me of the wonders that shine amid the woes. Peter, you are a very fine poet indeed, and it’s a privilege to read your works on this site. Thank you! Reply
