"Ode to a Sunny Day" - a poem
"Ode to a Sunny Day" is another poem I wrote in college for one of my literature survey courses. I decided to share it with you because many of us in the U.S. are still dealing with stubborn, grumpy Winter. It's 40°F/4°C here (feels like 34 due to high humidity), and I know much of the northeast is still dealing with snow. With this poem, I shake my fist at winter and dream of sunnier, warmer days to come.
I attempted to write this poem in the same manner that Percy Shelley wrote his "Ode to the West Wind". Both he and I use what is known as the terza rima sonnet. The terza rima sonnet is made up of three tercets (three line stanzas) and one rhyming couplet at the end. The rhyme scheme for the tercets follows the aba, bcb, cdc pattern, where the rhyme for the first and last lines of each tercet comes from the last word in the preceding tercet.
Reading my poem after so many years, I felt that I was unable to get the format of each tercet correct for every sonnet. I'm not sure why this is, but I do know that emulating Shelley was no easy task. It inspires me to play around with this format a little more. Perhaps in the near future, I'll have some new poetry in this format to share with you. :-) This poem is presented in its original form with the exception of one or two typos I corrected. I hope you enjoy.
I
O bright yellow sun that makes days worth much
Shining on the ground with effortless being
Giving thy subjects the lightest touch
A gentle swift breeze lays out the green
With gently rolling clouds scattering rays
Sun thou tells never anything mean
O ageless sun, living long triumphant days
What reasons do you evoke these feelings
And give us the never waning gaze
Thy gaze that commands simple seeding
And warms dew off the sweet green grass
Thus making a spot perfect for reading
My heart’s truest yearning that lasts
With thy light gleaming as polished brass
2
O for the days when thou reigns supreme
Making all hearts burst with suspended glee
And silent brooks bubble all the way to their stream
The days when scores of creatures come to see
Thy striking beauty upon the dew stained leaf
And birds sing happily yet only free
For today they want not of any grief
Or anything that would slash their heart
For today they can only see with strident belief
You sun have given them their start
Prompting a sweet breath of life again
So all may feel the renewed beating heart
Thou givest strength but never in vain
Don’t let thy great light ever wane
3
Thankful to thou, many lay on warmed floor
Napping, watching, wishing but most dreaming
Thy mere presence providing so much more
And though the day appears to be weaving
Thoughts lazily through the mind’s own soul
Only our conscious appears to be deceiving
O great light delivering from the body toil
Sensing our frayed and stressed persons
Have been falling though a dark hole
Thy light renews us if only for a while
Making all about nature seem sweet
And forgetting how things easily worsen
O great sun how perfectly neat
Your true warm light can never be beat
I really like this sonnet. I was never much good at writing poems and this is simply lovely!
Thank you! It both made me feel better and made me long for warm, summer afternoons.