Without the Trimmings

In the absence of required kit

we fear ourselves unready.

We lament the missing part of it

and hold ourselves unsteady.

.

We cast ourselves as counterfeit;

as fraud, or worthless knave.

We see ourselves as incomplete;

and as such, we so behave.

.

We dwell upon our weaknesses;

our deficits, and flaws.

We worry over pittances

and undercount our scores.

.

When need is an all-consuming quality

the gift is lost: ‘nothing’s trimmed with jollity’.

.

© Tim Grace, 2011 (WS-Sonnet 66: line 3)

(Revised: 7 November 2022 and 25 January 2025)