But Those Who Hope Will Renew

The past is a whitewashed tomb
we visit ill-prepared to well appraise
our days in that grim room,

door closed tight lest foresight illume
the relics, shelved within the gloom—
elegiacally strewn, glazed
with dust no mortal hand can clear
away, decay’s detritus drear
as the pale shade here arrayed.

From these former days, exhume
only what profits. The dim past betrays 
all who gaze at its doom

unwarily, those who enwomb
it in the present, who assume
bygones would consume the gray
that adheres to each day, that smears
the color from your sky. No cheer
could adorn the bier you’d raise.

You’d impede today’s bright plume,
pause its anthesis sunward to display
hope’s blaze—this moment’s bloom.

Keep scrolling for an explanation of this poem’s form

Photo by Peter Herrmann on Unsplash

---

This poem is structured using two Welsh forms. (Surprised? If you’ve been around here for a while, you’re probably not.) The tercets are in englyn byr cwca and the sestets are in cywydd llosgyrnog. I’ve used the same A/B rhymes for both, and the sestets include a C rhyme that I’ve restricted to those stanzas. There are no meter restrictions—these are syllabic forms.

englyn byr cwca (translation: “short, crooked englyn”)

• Englyn denotes various Welsh tercet forms

• Line 1: 7 syllables

• Line 2: 10 syllables

• Line 3: 6 syllables

• Lines 1 and 3 end rhyme

• Last syllable of line 2 rhymes with an internal syllable in the 3rd line

cywydd llosgyrnog (translation: “cywydd with a tail”)

• Cywydd denotes a sestet incorporating two linked tercets

• Lines 1, 2, 4, and 5 are 8 syllables long

• Lines 1 and 2 end rhyme

• Lines 4 and 5 end rhyme

• Lines 3 and 6 are 7 syllables long and end rhyme

• Line 3 internally rhymes with lines 1 and 2

• Line 6 internally rhymes with lines 4 and 5

---

The poetry here is always free to read, but I do offer paid subscription options for anyone who would like to support my work.

If you wish to show your support but a paid subscription is out of reach, you can simply “buy me a coffee” and help me stay awake so I can write more.

Whether or not you choose either of these options, I’m grateful that you’ve chosen to spend time here. Your presence is support enough!