Sometimes the world around us seems unable to stand still
It dances and dodges, and like the red queen we must run to stand still
Courtship led us together like water falling down a hill
And in the moment when we kissed, my heart seemed to stand still
Summer breathed benediction, each deep inspiration a thrill
But autumn fell calamitously – time can never learn to stand still.
I watched falling rain on the window – heaven’s mournful spill
Wishing that the endless drops would reverse, or at least stand still
Slowly your words wrapped me in poison, tightening until
They trapped me in the deafening silence, which I cannot stand, still.
Through the ages the ancient ring of stones encircles its hill
Storms and sun assail their strength – and yet they stand so still.
The words singing in my heart were not silenced by being hurt so ill.
”This too will pass.” At last I am glad that time does not stand still.
I wanted to explore the Ghazal form again - this time dispensing with the pre-refrain rhyme but introducing a rhyme at the end of the first line of each couplet. It’s not easy, but easier than the pre-refrain pattern. And the refrain itself came from Simply Snickers’ prompt to write something using exactly those words.
