SERENADE

Distractions and diversions sheer me from
The steady centeredness of pure aplomb,
Which, in the quiet middle of the night,
While sitting placidly in this dim light,
I may regain and take a truer way
Leading me from the onslaught of the day.

But only when melodious accord
In verse arrives have I my best reward,
For then I own an emblem of this time
When measure rules and lines conclude in rhyme
And tongues no longer clash equivocally
In dissonance, but sing in harmony.

Yet all too soon the dazzling day begins
To frazzle me with discords and distractions.

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