The Gilded Hour

Here are two original sonnets by the blogger ibikunle Abraham Laniyan. The first is written in the traditional Shakespearean form (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG), exploring the swift passage of time. The second is a Petrarchan sonnet (ABBAABBA CDECDE) about the quiet beauty of a night sky.

1. The Gilded Hour

A traditional English sonnet exploring the impermanence of time.

When morning mist surrenders to the sun,The fragile dew departs without a sound.We count the golden moments one by one,Before the shadows stretch across the ground.The rushing river scours the ancient stone,And winter strips the branches once so green;Yet in this rapid flight we are not prone,To lose the quiet beauty we have seen.For memory weaves a net of silver thread,To catch the light before the daylight dies,And though the fleeting years are quickly sped,Their vibrant colors live within our eyes.So let the ticking clock its secrets keep,While we embrace the waking and the sleep.