Eternal Spring (A Poem)

While I love to use a bit of symbolism in my poetry and almost always want to allow the reader to interpret my writing how they see it, this one is a bit different. It is heavily metaphorical, while also holding some literal meaning and is really meant to mean one thing and one thing only. I also reference two English Renascence era poets in specific lines and phrases. If you’d like a bit of an explanation, please read the notes after the photo below.

Please enjoy.

Eternal Spring

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With the winter

All foliage does fade

And decay under the weight

Of frigid air and show

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Everything hides in waiting

Under the soil of the earth

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Then comes the spring

And all rises anew

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In the grand scheme of the cosmos

The longest winter has seen its end

And the eternal spring has risen

Resurrecting all things to new life

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This eternal spring shall never fade

Even against winter’s bitter sting

As the warmth of the sun’s love

Has truly set all free

Courtesy of Free13k.com

Explanation (or at least partial clues) as mentioned above:

Stanza 1 – “Winter”, the fading and “decay” of foliage and the “weight of frigid air and snow” all have direct metaphorical meanings.

Stanza 2 – The phrase “in waiting” and “under the soil” are representative of a specific state of being.

Stanza 3 – “Spring” and the phrase “all rises anew” also have direct relation to a desired state of being.

Stanza 4 – The “grand plan” and “the cosmos” refer to a specific entity. The “longest winter” further emphasizes the theme in stanza 1. “Resurrecting” has a fairly obvious connotation in my opinion and the phrase “new life” goes along with it.

Stanza 5 - The phrases “eternal spring” and “sun’s love” again refer to a specific entity. The “winter’s bitter sting” is a metaphor for the cause of the metaphor for winter.

The referencing of the eternal spring “shall never fade” is also a nod to Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and the aforementioned “sun’s love” also is a tribute to something in one of  John Donne’s works from his Corona.  Feel free to check them out.

Artists and criticism – don’t take it personally

Everyone wants to be liked…

generally speaking that is. And of course, artists of all varieties are no different. Whether you are a writer or a singer, painter or photographer, whatever the case may be, it’s never easy when someone doesn’t like your work.

But one thing we all have to remember is that for the most part, criticism of our work as artists is not something to be taken personally. While there may be a few people out there who do attack artists on a personal level, my honest belief is that this is vary rare in the grand scheme of things.

As the old adage does, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thus the appreciation or lackthereof  for any kind of art is subjective.

So, in my humble opinion all artists should try to:

1. Avoid becoming defensive or overly sensitive about criticism

2. When possible, use it to your advantage

After all, it doesn’t benefit anyone when an artist turns away from his or her craft. Imagine the loss to the world had Shakespeare given up after his first negative review. But, when you use critical information to your advantage, it can provide another perspective and maybe even convince you to work harder at certain aspects of your craft.