Saturday, December 09, 2006

Romancing the Stone

Perhaps I am in the sad minority when it comes to this but I might be one of the few guys who finds himself inevitably put off by an saccharine-sweet overdose of sentimentality. :) Though I might harbour a secret fetish for sappy romances judging by the volumes I have in my personal library, I don't actually believe in reciting such overblown surreal haikus of the heart seemingly favoured by those drowning in the dissipations of love - much to the chagrin of my endlessly patient paramour.

Seriously. Faded literary aspirations aside, I haven't even penned a single romantic stanza - unless you count the bawdy limerick I wrote about naughty bishops back in high school. Though I know it's all metaphorical in nature, I really doubt whole mountain ranges or rushing tributaries could be moved by my passionate ardour nor do I think that any inspirational words I pen could possibly describe the sheer six-fathoms-depth of emotion that I feel.

Amour
Pledging amour beneath the balcony

Till I met Charming Calvin and his other lovelorn ilk online of course. Though he would vehemently deny such an unpardonable accusation, I know the man secretly sighs and swoons over literary phrases that counts the many varied ways of loving him while comparing his beauty to a summer's day.

Which I find odd since I've never actually believed in the purported might of the pen. Despite being an extremely voluble writer, I've always been a firm believer that actions inevitably speak louder. Perhaps there's a strong vein of practicality in me that prefers a piping-hot bowl of chicken soup when I'm sniffling to a beautifully written ode to my curly-tressed raven locks.

Paul : If I gushed all over you, praising your virtues to the sky, what would you think?
My ISO : That you were drunk or high on some new designer drug?
Paul : Precisely what I'd say! What's wrong with us?
My ISO : We're just cold-hearted realists?

Is that it? Have we become too cool for mushy romance? Has the general mode of remaining perpetually blase and unaffected changed us into such unfeeling stubborn cynics that we only seek to mock when hopelessly dewy-eyed lovers pledge their troth forever and always? That sentimental sonnets from the portuguese recited beneath the sighing boughs of a willow under a balcony leaves us hardly shaken, never stirred and perhaps more than a little embarassed by the sheer mawkishness of it all.

And that's even if I don't start searching for solid objects to stone the unfortunate swain and his accompanying troubadours. :)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I realize that Dashing Dan is also quite the poetic type. And I'm the one sitting in the corner, unimpressed going: "Uh huh..." =P

Francis Ford Faggola said...

I think we're too jaded... I get queasy every time I read/hear all those sappy schmaltzy stuff too...

Or maybe I am just jealous... :P

Anonymous said...

Here's the thing - I do appreciate mushy love declarations, but not from someone who hasn't gotten to know me well enough to actually understand what he's attesting to. I don't think that makes me cynical or jaded. But perhaps it means I'm old :P

Anonymous said...

Oh man...you got to love sap!

Vengelyne said...

I've been swooned over before by words so sweet that I started developing a fear for contracting diabetes... but what are those words when a man forgets all that he's ever said over time?

I still prefer a man with fewer words, but with more integrity in his actions.

Besides, momma said a man who's suave with words isn't trustworthy as he'd be just as flirtatious with other women. =P

Anonymous said...

Shane: Hmph! See if I ever write anything nice to you again.

Paul: Hmmmmm? Maybe you save your fancy writing for your stories and blog, but what about your little touches and carresses with Charming Calvin, hmmm?

Anonymous said...

I think we get jaded as we get older? Not sure but movies like "While you were Sleeping" still ekes a tear or two each time..

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Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

I only swoon if the declaration is original and better than my own creation and it's proclaimed at the right setting...

hrugaar said...

I think there's the theory that often the ones who most pour scorn on romance and/or idealism are those who are actually deeply romantic/idealistic but have met with disappointment along the way (in other words, the pooh-poohing is a kind of self-defence mechanism).

I think it's also partly to do with modes of communication. Some people need to express how they feel in words or thoughts, either to celebrate it or better understand it; others might paint pictures or compose music; for others it is in the unspoken doing that they express themselves.

And actually, no, I don't like saccharine or mush - but not all literary protestations of love are that bad. ;oP

savante said...

One and the same, shane :) Though I am sure Dan is unamused.

Holden, think it's a little bit of both. Jaded and jealous.

Hardly old, man. You're still young and sprightly, I'm sure, drownedglass :)

Depends on the time of day, rick!

And I agree with vengelyne. Guys who are too slick are kinda suspicious.

Ooh. I love Whlie you were Sleeping, coolgardy!

Think lots of guys would look hot only in their underwear, mark.

Ah, swooning... would take quite the original words to make me do so, alex.

True. Maybe we're just heartbroken souls, ru!

Paul