Hope, Heartbreak, and Healing: A Trilogy of Sonnets

by Laura Joy Griffith

I recently wrote three Shakespearean sonnets about three stages of growth in my life.  The metaphor changes slightly with each one, but they are meant to be read together.

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Hope

Two years of winter ‘cased my heart in stone,

The frozen ground beside my frozen soul.

Content was I to live my life alone

As endless winter calmly took its toll.

Against my will the trees began to bloom;

The warmer weather nudged my heart awake.

Protested I, “But spring has come too soon!”

But still it comes with chaos in its wake.

The seed within my heart begins to grow;

Emotion dares again to show its face.

There seems to be a chance for me to know

The kinds of things that cause my heart to race.

With blossoms blooming, spring has come betimes;

My heart responds with hope and cryptic rhymes.

Heartbreak

Half-frozen, craving warmth, I ventured near

To see the dancing flames and hear their pop.

Extended hand, I took it in my fear.

My frozen self was telling me to stop.

But hope prevailed and to the fire I turned,

And in his arms my heart began to thaw.

Aware was I that I could soon be burned,

But risk was still the only path I saw.

The flames were hot; my spirit in me cringed.

I knew I’d have to tell him soon to leave,

But I hung on until my brows were singed.

He thrust me off; my heart had no reprieve.

I tasted fire and felt the sting of pain.

I needed love; he repaid me with shame.

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Healing

Been running for too long; it’s time to stop

Forever fleeing from intrinsic pain,

For I can’t stay outside, can’t climb on top

Without cursing my heart as sure as Cain.

The rains will come when clouds are dark and full,

And sure all rivers do flow to the sea.

To have the part, I must accept the whole.

It’s only in the cycle I can see

That love is great, the faithless can be true,

That in the dark the light shines brighter still,

That desert skies are e’er the brightest blue;

In tragedy my cup of joy is filled.

I’ll never lock my heart in stone again;

It’s only through the fire I reach the end.