Lord Staniforth...San Diego's finest poet? The Woeful Moon When I studied the romantics of the early nineteenth century, I discovered there was a dark side to romanticism. As well as the capacity of poets (such as Robert Burns) to immortalize their women through poetry and (such as William Wordsworth) to breed their delicate words on nature, there was also a fixation on the bleak. The mythology of the dark ages was revived. The heroes of such plays as Lord Byron's Manfred was the product of some dark act, and the unhappiness of love was as manifest as its retrograde. This last thought, the melancholic, was the inspiration for most of the first section of my book, "The Dormant Age." As the moon has a dark side, so does love. To the romantic, the dark side of love is as inspirational as the side that shines. However, in reflection, it inspires thoughts as dark as its deepest craters. Let me explain When one compares the romanticism of the nineteenth century with that of the present day, they do agree on one loose issue - that romanticism involves a feeling between two lovers. However, the social norm of the present would hold that this feeling is inspired by a candlelight dinner, a bouquet of roses, or even, yes, making love on the spur of the moment. I do not concur! There is affection, and there is affectation. The former should be the very chord of love, and the latter is the pretense which the norm sells through such mediums as the modern romance novel. The key word is "inspiration." Two lovers should not be inspired by things such as bouquets and expensive dinners. The natural affections between them should be the inspiration to make such moments shine. In the case of relationships, that is the bright side of true romance. Nevertheless, the loneliest spells in my life have been spent in relationships where affections are lacking - the dark side. During these times, I wrote most of my poetry for the first section of my book. I call this "the dormant age" because those times were as a dead volcano. Instead of that explosion of feeling which most of us secretly long for, I was cold, hard, and empty in the middle. It was as if I almost became a reflection of my surroundings. I began to see a world devoid of romance. I understood what the stares of unhappy couples sitting at dinner tables meant. These predicaments not only reflect the lack of affection in relationships, but also in society. During these dark stages, I blamed such things as demented lawsuits, gun laws, disregard for the environment and the follies of our president on an incapacity for man to care for his fellow man (or family). I cannot wholeheartedly agree with everything I wrote in these poems, but I will not change them. To change them, would change the feelings, and, therefore, ruin the themes. From the dark ages in my life I give you two poems, and leave you with the words of the great American romantic, Nathaniel Hawthorne: "Caresses, expressions of one sort or another, are necessary to the life of affections as the leaves are to the life of a tree. If they are wholly restrained, love will die at the roots." Lord Staniforth San Diego's Finest Poet Click here to read Lord Staniforth's poems. Next week, Lord Staniforth rescues us from those dark moments with the next section of his book, "Hope Poems." If you have any questions for his Lordship, you can contact him at lordstaniforth@england.com ©1999-2000 Lord Staniforth Copyright © 2000 Lord Staniforth. All rights reserved.

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