14 December 2016

The Twelfth Night is Love


Cooloring.com



If music be the food of love, play on.
Give me excess of it that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
   ~ Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act I sc i


How peace turns upside down
until this night’s Epiphany,
when music shows its reason and
Lord of Misrule ends his season.

If music be the food of love,
play on, calls Orsino in pain
who loves his Viola in vain ~
too much, too little to be sane.

Yet music feeds a greater love
than daily truth allows, admits
pathways of possibility
beyond human mortality.

Before the Comedy can end
Shakespeare allows his characters
to see their folly and enter
sober into Love’s deep center.

That’s where harmony turns the spheres,
celestial tunes play without end,
false lust transforms into kindness,
and peace and justice start to dance.  

And off the stage that mirrors us
we have this chance again to hum
remembered hymns af Joy and Love
and right the wrongs that caged the dove.



For Sumana's 

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Music

Inspired by Parker Palmer's Bringing Christmas Back Down to Earth 
and by this song: 




My blog poems are rough drafts.
Please respect my copyright.

© 2016 Susan L. Chast



17 comments:

  1. false lust transforms into kindness,
    and peace and justice start to dance.

    If only peace and justice can act in tandem the world is a great place to be in

    Hank

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love that music "admits pathways of possibility". It is no wonder that people on protest lines sing songs together, to shore up their spirits. I LOVE when "peace and justice start to dance." May they begin soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a profound serving on music; my favourite lines

    "Yet music feeds a greater love
    than daily truth allows, admits"

    Thanks for the video, I luvved it gonna share it too

    much love...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh Susan how beautifully you respond to Shakespeare. May the music of peace and justice play loudly so all can hear.
    (Thank you for your comment on my blog. Of course you can share my poem. It's an honor.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Right the wrongs that caged the dove...indeed!

    I am pleased you used the Shakespeare quote. You have constructed a wonderful poem inspired by it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Caught in that ending - "we have this chance again to hum"
    As good as this is, that one line took me away

    ReplyDelete
  7. love the shakespeare reference, woven so beautifully into your message.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well I loved this--If Music Be the Food of Love is one of my favorites--and Purcell (among others) composed some beautiful settings of this text--

    I teach them often--I am sorry that I missed this prompt--but your piece is wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love where this poem goes, and the beautiful language it uses to get there.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It is a lovely place where peace and justice can dance. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  11. ah...every word of the poem is coming from love's deep center that the world so direly needs today...every line is my favorite...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yet music feeds a greater love
    than daily truth allows, admits
    pathways of possibility
    beyond human mortality.

    Gorgeously penned, Susan❤️ I am sure Shakespeare must be smiling right now❤️

    ReplyDelete
  13. A wise reading of a very deep comedy, the serious business of Love and the bars we must get through to free the dove (perfect final line). The real tragedy is that we're all such fools at love. Great stuff, Susan.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I can't claim to understand Shakespeare but peace and justice seem like the very best roots for music and joy

    ReplyDelete
  15. Susan this is a very good one! I loved reading it, seems to be perfect for the season! I am touched by, "love's deep center."

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh I do hope that the lord of misrule will soon end his season.... Waiting for the curtain of his stage to go down.

    We need to bring on that dance of peace and justice, the dance that seems to have gotten lost, and hopefully we can all sing hymns of joy and love and mean them....as we celebrate peace on earth good well to all!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for sharing such a nice content. Your post was really good. Some ideas can be made. About English literature. Further, you can access this site to learn more about Shakespeare’s Use of Disguise in The Twelfth Night

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog!