williamszm

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V. Guinevere by williamszm, literature

Literature

V. Guinevere

Then through the quiet room a knock rang loud Upon the oaken door—and much relieved,Gawain stood up, thanked Arthur, quickly bowed, And stopped to see the hall held Guinevere. She smiled as she entered, waved them downAnd with a voice that seemed to ring with cheer Proclaimed: “my husband and my nephew—come! What are you doing here, while all draw near?Indeed, the feast already has begun And you are sitting here! Gawain, you mope, Whatever choices you have made are doneAnd you returned, when we had little hope— Now come! The night is lightened with their joy And mine, and Arthur’s too—the bards devoteEntire songs to you. I know you are ann...

Afterwards by williamszm, literature

Literature

Afterwards

We didn’t mean for you to rise Up into the ashes of a martyr But you did;No one will criticize Now that your weight is lifted From the crushing earth.I feel all my groundedness— Roots tangle my feet, The soil grabs my breaking heart,My lungs clot with dirt. How must it feel, gazing down Wide and expansive,On our fragile, gasping bodies Buried under the ground We walked and knew and loved and fought—You lost. The grave resigns its hold On every martyred cause:Engulfed in the awful hope Of almost-victory And no reality to re-inscribeThe weight of victory’s cost.

Sonnet L: The briefest overlap by williamszm, literature

Literature

Sonnet L: The briefest overlap

Midway between the wild and the tamed Enveloped with the smell of berry buds While herbs below so carefully are named On sunlight-burnished wood staked through the mudAnd where a living veil of shade withdraws To dapple scattered green on every stone I sat beneath it once, and there I saw A rain of silver blossoms overflowed.Now I am grown beyond that wistful child Who saw and never thought to wonder how A cultivated place could be so wild With leaves and blooms together on one boughAnd now I sit and breathe the depth of wonder Of worlds somehow between—and somehow sundered.

From childhood by williamszm, literature

A storm in springtime by williamszm, literature

Literature

A storm in springtime

No draft of wellspring draws the same effusive sigh as wildflowers on the grass when windstorms fly in violent, happy, gusts through speckled shoots of blooms and cattail reeds bent over banks cut deep with clouding plumes.I feel in weathered breaths this sudden shock of spring: then drops of rain; your parted hair to which they cling, and suddenly the flush of overburdened clouds all rushing to the drier ground to weep their desperate joy aloud.The dampened scent of sweet enthralling gentle flowers enraptured in the air, weighed low from bowers of starlit blossom trees now settles on your skin and draws between your dusted touch to cloud ...

The heart of a steamboat by williamszm, literature

Literature

The heart of a steamboat

Now I am toiling in a sea of ruin against the rush of waves, and tearing grasp of algae underneath the clouding froth and battered up against the cracking rocks I reach and find my finger-tips are tornand every bulwark that I build is lost in shattered spars, and iron nails all scraped on beaten stone, and splintered wood. They fall to rust amongst a sand of crumpled shells.I build and build and all is swept away into the raging sea; into the fray of shipwreck sores on putrefying reefs where long-lipped fishes float, and spotted tails of swaying eels decay. An octopuscrawls deeper in the darkness of his cave. I try to swim; the salt keeps ...

Defense of Gawain (IV. The King) by williamszm, literature

Literature

Defense of Gawain (IV. The King)

His uncle stepped away, and slowly sighed “Gawain,” he said, “I don’t know what to say— You tell me that you wish that you had died,That fear of death has led you to betray Your honor and the oaths you once had sworn—“ He paused, and looked down where his nephew stayedHead bent over his hands—a ring adorned In gold, and cut with Orkney’s royal seal Lay there before him, sunlit-streaked and warmUpon the wooden table. Arthur kneeled Beside his silent nephew, took the ring And said, “Gawain, you tell me that you feelAs if you failed yourself, and me, your king But that cannot be true, for you are here Alive. You said you told me everything:Th...

The world forgets by williamszm, literature

Literature

The world forgets

The world is beyond my description no power can take from its grasp the flood of a sliver of sunlight between the tall trees, or the rasp of foam on the sand covered lakeshore caught up in its battering spray no, nothing is deep as the darkness nor kind as the day.And soon in the riotous springtime when hawthorn shall flower, and blooms alight every branch, and the lilies grow dappled within gentle gloom; when night shall be filled with the bruising of dew on the grass, and the trees then I shall imagine the glories you must once have seen.The world moves beyond all enduring you left, as the stars when the sun first rose overhead and the d...

Sonnet XLVI: Wetland by williamszm, literature

Literature

Sonnet XLVI: Wetland

We saw a crane. Its dipping beak broke through the brush of cattail stalks, and bent the slip of waves on weeds; of waves on sprawling blooms that rose against the swell, then fell. The limpof fungus-dusted foam flowed after it. We saw the arching flash of murdered fish its sun-caught scales a pierce of flame new-lit with all of beauty we could ever wish.You waded in the algae-green that grew on every scrap of shore. You sloughed thick mud beneath your feet, and let frayed roots crawl through each step—and you kept moving towards the blood.I know we are not water-birds, but I seeing you striving there, dreamed you could fly.

Sonnet XLV: Guinevere by williamszm, literature

Literature

Sonnet XLV: Guinevere

"Is there none will tell the King I love him though so late?" -Idylls of the King, Tennyson You never knew; if any saw him sail away to fairer lands, it was not you— who trapped inside endured the crushing view of empty plaster-wall. Instead you paled and wept, and watched the years passing away in folds around your veins, and rosaries of weathered beads, and in the way your knees shook as the stones grew colder every day.You never knew if he would come again; if you would join him there and speak of love and be anew all you once both had been but sometimes knowing nothing is enough. O Queen, you found your faith in bitter tears and now be...

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Deviation Spotlight

DRAFT: Orpheus by williamszm, visual art

DRAFT: Orpheus

williamszm

Deviation Spotlight

Sonnet XXIX: An ending by williamszm, literature

Literature

Sonnet XXIX: An ending

The world bent towards the end I would have written then like a harp-string snapped—the twisted threads unwound, and all sprung back to what we had been now I am gutted—and you, I think, are dead.What use are harps when vaunting horns of silver proclaim the world has ended; what for me is left amongst the ruin and raging rivers of blood and ash, and every tie cut free?And yet—when your song wound through empty halls and through your melodies all was reclaimed I loved it then; that strain; its dying fall-- but tunes are lost, and only words remain.Yes, only words remain. I cannot write the wonder in your song—the world alight.

Sonnet XXIX: An ending

williamszm

Group Member

About williamszm

Artist // Student // Literature

United States
Deviant for 13 years
She / Her

Badges

Favourite Visual Artist

William Morris, J. M. W. Turner, Vincent van Gogh

Favourite TV Shows

The Office (U.S.), 30 Rock

Favourite Bands / Musical Artists

F. Couperin (le grand)

Favourite Books

Ninety-Three, Les Miserables, Crime and Punishment, Sir Gawain & The Green Knight, The Alliterative Morte, Idylls of the King, The Iliad

Favourite Writers

Hugo, Shelley, Gerald Morris, Naomi Novik

Tools of the Trade

Sheaffer balance, Pelikan m400 & m320, spellcheck

Other Interests

Fiber arts

Posts

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williamszm

Mar 4, 2015

Thank you for the DD--it was such a great surprise!

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williamszm

Feb 7, 2015

Update on Defense of Gawain

0 min read

Hey everyone,I have a (possibly?) exciting update. "The Defense of Gawain," a poem I have been quite seriously but extremely sporadically working on for the past 5 years now--which I realize seems completely insane--is almost completed. The poem is now around 70 stanzas, which to me doesn't actually seem too long. It is in four parts (possibly 5--I haven't decided whether to split the last section yet). Anyway, I do intend to post the completed poem here, in sections. The second section will be up after a bit more editing, but look for it in a week (or even a bit less).Meanwhile, I'll share the current titles of each section. We have: I. G...

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williamszm

Feb 27, 2013

Back from my unannounced hiatus--sorry about that

0 min read

Hi everyone,You may have noticed I haven't been active in a couple months, and I'm very sorry both about that and about not mentioning anything until now. To be honest, I have had a lot of very time consuming things to deal with in the past half-year and just didn't feel like dealing too much with poetry and writing.But I am back, and I promise to at least let people know if such a thing happens again!Anyway, thanks for all your continued support, and most recently for my second DD--I am unbelievably honored.Thanks again! MW

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Profile Comments 86

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BATTLEFAIRIES

Edited Aug 5, 2015

Thank you for Favouriting my journal! Here's your invitation to come and ask the Djinn a question -->

<-- clicky clicky

Mind if I peruse your gallery some more? It's the damn sonnets, yousee. I can never say no to those.

williamszm

Aug 6, 2015

Of course, go right ahead.

thanks for the fave

Welcome to CRLiterature!

We are so happy you have joined. Our Journal is filled with community news and features that many find incredibly helpful! Our #CRLiterature chatroom is always open for you to connect with fellow writers, provided you read our Chatroom Guidelines. The gallery is open to News Articles that are in some way related to the literature community and the guidelines can be found here. If you’d like to contribute writings, please look at our Favorites Submission Rules. Any other questions should be directed to the admin team via notes.

Thank you,

WeirdAndLovely

Jade-Pandora

Feb 13, 2015

For adding me to your devWatch!

LadyofGaerdon

May 26, 2014

You've been featured on my blog!

Come check it out if you'd like.

LaBruyere

Sep 8, 2013

Featured! labruyere.deviantart.com/journ…