“Time stays long
enough for anyone who will use it.” - Leonardo da Vinci
Poets United this week is looking at the topic of “Time” and Sumana is enjoining participants to think about time and its ambiguous nature. My ideas turned to language, words and grammar and how we perceive time’s vagaries grammatically. A rather academic viewpoint, but one that is required in order to express the subjective nature of time’s passage for even the most romantic and poetic amongst us. Here is my offering:
Grammar Lesson
Poets United this week is looking at the topic of “Time” and Sumana is enjoining participants to think about time and its ambiguous nature. My ideas turned to language, words and grammar and how we perceive time’s vagaries grammatically. A rather academic viewpoint, but one that is required in order to express the subjective nature of time’s passage for even the most romantic and poetic amongst us. Here is my offering:
Grammar Lesson
Past, present,
future:
Tense is the sea
of time,
That little boat
is me.
Past continuous,
present perfect,
A storm brewing,
The boat is
struggling.
Future and
aorist, present continuous,
The battle
unequal,
The boat sinks
and the waters are calmed.
My world is
lost,
Your world is
changed,
My boat sunken,
Will never float
again.
Past continuous,
past perfect,
The wind abates,
The still waters
rot.
And yet, if one
parts
The glassy
surface of the indicative,
If the
imperative is to dive
Deep into the
sandy bottom
Of subjunctive
and conditional,
The boat is
there and passively awaits
For one active
voice that will command
And raise it
from the depths…
Such an intriguing piece.. loved your take on this prompt :)
ReplyDeleteHa ha, yes it's tricky to navigate all right!
ReplyDeletesea of time .............really nice one...............the waves toss us up and down
ReplyDeleteWONDERFUL! Yes, I am an ex-English teacher, but more, more, Language is magic in action, and changing passive and past into active and future has a remarkable enabling quality. I think that comes through here despite the "academic terms'!
ReplyDeletethis is a brilliant and unique way to look at time in grammatical terms..the rise is possible only when the voice is active...wow...a great message :) also love the sea image...
ReplyDeleteWhat an intriguing look at time. I really enjoyed your look at time, especially all of the grammatical terms, wordsmiths that we are. Very well done.
ReplyDeleteThis plays time with life with words and really captures the infinite.
ReplyDeleteA fun way to explore how we express time and how this expression might constrain our understanding :)
ReplyDeleteHow wonderfully you depict time through language. My favorite is the present perfect.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this so much, it's so smart.
Ha, the past, present, and future of grammar is difficult to navigate! I don't think I really learned English grammar until I learned Latin. The subjunctive and the conditional confuse me still!
ReplyDeleteNicholas,
ReplyDeleteA fine example of the motions and the passage of time, in a linguistic mode of explanation. So important, especially if accuracy is to be imposed upon timely frames of thought. Time shifts so much, not only our placement, living and concepts..
Eileen
Ha....I loved this...very clever. I like your little boat.
ReplyDeletedeep into the sandy bottom
of subjunctive and conditional
the boat is there and passively waits
for one active voice
yoohoo!
c'est moi
the gerund:)
What a clever piece...i could never get the hang of grammar...you sailed this home beautifully..
ReplyDeleteI like the grammar lesson wrapped in time and the boat is classic.
ReplyDeleteInteresting idea carried thorugh very well.
ReplyDelete