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Poetry
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Three Births Past
By patterjack
04 May 2007
I  was  asked   to  provide    a  midway  sonnet   ,  between  Out  of  the  Winter  Darkness   and the  Mirror  Sonnets . So here  it  is  ,  with a  side  reference  to  Six  Maiden  Aunts . 


Midstream  in  marriage


They then would name her wantonly unchaste,

the corseted aunts who tried to shape her youth,

so tightly in their religious whalebone laced

that they could not accept her new found truth  .


It almost seemed that their vindictive wishes 

would wrap like spiders' webs around her choice ;

poison her life with acts malignly vicious

traduce her with malevolent whispering voice.


But as she flowered with the growing years,

ignored their threats foretelling her damnation  ,  

and put aside their bile engendered fears

that she could find no personal salvation ,

she built her  world ; and through her family's love

left them within the dusty webs they wove.

Reviews

Written by Fledermaus (3281 comments posted) 4th May 2007
Not entirely clear what she did. Did she convert to another faith or did she marry someone outside her own circle (because of the marriage line)? 
Still interesting though.

Written by Sunny (12 comments posted) 4th May 2007
I quite like that it's not clear, her character comes through really well. 'would wrap like a spider web around her choice' brilliant line, and works well along with the last line.

Written by Phil (6713 comments posted) 4th May 2007
Completely different in tone and purpose to 'Out of the winter darkness.' I'm left with a picture of several Miss Havishams, only a little more twisted.  
 
Phil.

Written by Witzl (1585 comments posted) 5th May 2007
Perhaps because I am familiar with the story, I did not find this hard to understand. The woman here simply lived her life according to her own plan and conscience, rejecting the impositions of her aunts. In my own family we had a very similar situation -- my mother had to reject her sisters' ideology and live with their constant disapproval.  
 
I agree with Sunny that your line 'would wrap like a spider web around her choice' works well with the ending -- and there are some lovely images in this sonnet.

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