Stay Rooted!!!!!

Okay, this blog is a little different, but here it goes anyways.  This is a poem that I recently wrote while reflecting on life and some of the situations and circumstances we find ourselves in. From illness, death of family members, losing your home, to winning the lotto, being in Love, finding wealth, raising kids or even buying or selling a home.  There are so many major events in this complicated journey of life! So what keeps us strong? What keeps us standing even through adversity and what is that keeps us grounded when we strike it rich??? That is what this Sonnet is about.

  Now if  most of my friends new that I like to sit up at night with a glass of red wine and study philosophy and try my hand at writing poetry they would get a good chuckle. Actually it probably be a loud laugh!  I have to give you a little back ground so that you can also find the humor in this.

 I have studied martial arts all my life.  I recieved my black belt at age 16 and began fighting in tournaments at 14. I joined the Navy straight out of High School to become a Navy Seal.  I went through Seals training (BUD/S) with class 179.  I made it through Hellweek but cracked my femur. I then went into dive phase but eventually my leg gave way and I was discharged from the Navy.  I began working construction and started fighting semi-pro Muay Thai Kickboxing. I've trained in Thailand and owned a Mixed martial arts gym for a while. I ride a Harley Davidson. I have been shooting all my life and have even hunted Grizzly/brown  bear in Alaska with a pistol. I love challenges and adventure.

This is not some braggadocio rant just letting you in on why some might find it humerous that I like Sonnets, other poetry, philosopy and yes, even chick flicks!  My favorite is Sweet Home Alabama, by the way. haha

Now, back to the poem. This is a "sonnet" more particularly a Shakespearean sonnet. A sonnet has a particular structure which is what makes them so fascinating to me. The Shakespearean sonnet is 14 lines long. Each line contains 10 syllables. And follows a rhyming pattern of  a-b-a-b,  c-d-c-d,   e-f-e-f,  g-g. That is the jist of it. There is the iambic pentameter but that is proving difficult for me. :(

The interesing part to me is to develop a thought and be creative while following such a strict set of rules and structure. Sounds a bit like bussiness, huh. ;) 

So here is my attempt at a Shakespearean sonnet:

" Remember Your Roots" 

 Seasons changing, sunlight rearranging (a)

 We see the golden jewelry of your leaves (b)

 There stand naked, beauty slowly leaving (a)

 As winter comes to steal your gold like thieves (b)

 Is it from thy web of brambled branches (c)

 By which perhaps your stature is defined (d)

 Yet winds do roar and the thunder matches (c)

 Then with your fallen limbs the ground is lined (d)

 From where then does your strength and beauty come (e)

 The simple minded look upon your shell (f)

 Just to find what withers and age makes numb (e)

 It's from the lack of depth that many fell (f)

 For it's in ones roots where these traits do lie (g)

 But if the roots be rot the soul will die (g)

I aplogize for the spacing I could not figure out how to change that.  But this is it and you can check to make sure there are exactly 10 syllables and that I followed all the rules. But hopefully you'll find some meaning and maybe take something away from it. My thought was that like a tree a person can lose outer beauty with time or accidents. We can lose physical attributes from all manner of things,  war, stress, age etc. Many people crumble under the storms of life e.g., bankruptcy, cancer,lost loved ones. But some stay strong, not swaying in these storms and are there for others when they need it. There are those who keep humility even with success and stay positive even with loss. These are the "Rooted", the ones who have not forgotten who they are. The strong in spirit!

I will leave you with two quotes by two of my favorite philosphers.

"Unrhymed poetry is prose gone mad."  Immanuel Kant

"The unexamined life is not worth living."  Socrates                      

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. An No Heather did not write this...Haha

Brian

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