Catherine Chandler's Poetry Blog

Thursday, April 16, 2026

SEVEN DEADLY SONNETS: ACEDIA

The second sonnet in my series.

Acedia is more than laziness, it is one of the “seven deadly sins,” a subtle but toxic form of sloth, or spiritual weariness. 

Note: Twitter is now called X. 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

Acedia

 

 

You’ve seen him at the gym, the puffed-up puppy

on the treadmill, going nowhere fast;

the Volvo-driving, Twitter-texting yuppie,

the DINK, the wine and cheese enthusiast.

A trainer and a personal assistant

plan his every move from A to Z.

Blasé, his urbane life is child-resistant;

designer drugs dispel his deep ennui.

 

But nights are something else. The masquerades

have tired him out. He mouths a lame excuse

for love; and when Orion dips and fades

he asks the morning silence, What’s the use?

She finds him, later, hanging in the stair-

well. He didn’t care he didn’t care.