Portrait of the poet as a young man

This experimental sonnet is intended as a tongue-in-cheek reflection on my transition through puberty. It is written (with exceptions) in iambic pentameter with an abab cdcd efef gg rhyme. I’ve used classical references to compare myself to Michelangelo’s ‘David’.

‘Bianco ordinario’ is a second-grade marble that Michelangelo used for David. ‘Contrapposto’ is a pose whereby the hips and shoulders lie at opposing angles with the body’s weight bearing on one leg. ‘Abbozzo’ is a rough-hewn draft or model, and a ‘blocco di marmo’ is a raw, unshaped block.

I, a preening youth before my window,
glimpsed a likeness of David, well-favoured,
with flesh sublime in bianco ordinario,
my face, an image of resolve unfettered.

My limbs, like David's graceful contours, framed
my ripened fruit beneath budding flowers,
and puberty’s change to manhood proclaimed
my nascent ardour for impassioned lovers.

And like a muse in studied contrapposto,
opposing my sculpted hips and shoulders,
Alas, I remained a rough-hewn abbozzo,
unfit to stand among the finest sculptures.

I am, like David, ageing now, and as likely
to kindle passion as a blocco di marmo!

Photo: Steve Barker at Unsplash















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