The snow falls down
Like kisses
I lick them up
Taste you
It's on the television silly
You're eating the carpet again
There is a lot to forget
Nothing to remember
Part worn
Part tired
Silent
Sad
Reduced
I want to be held
I think
A propos of nothing
At least he left before the storm came
The world works like that
Sometimes
We are treading water
Spilling flies
Small stones of reality
Dragging us down
The fall
Pathetic
Ridiculous
Seamless
Not as engaged in the game as we once were
Not brave enough to leave
Not brave enough to be
You know what our problem is
Only one I think
We have no normality markers
That’s why nobody understands
She has a point
She usually does
I want it so badly Alice
It never goes away
Because you won’t let it silly
Just like you hang onto me
I respect your courage
The good lady said
I respect your courage
The good lady said
The blue ballon
Falls down
On the string is tied a golden key
I reach for it
My wish radical
I think
Waiting to be held.
Waiting to be held.
I like the nose, reminds me of one I used to have but that is life we change. I am not sure that markers are useful which like borders are crying out to be crossed. Advice is not what you need either but determination. Alice though is probably good in making you think harder as she comes up with her diverse thoughts. Your writing Jae always contains so much depth that this reader often feels like he's tumbling down the rabbit hole too.
ReplyDeleteThank you Old Egg - as noses go it serves its purpose! markers can be counterproductive..it's having the courage to step away from them i guess..please stay on solid ground - we need people up there...for when we get out
DeleteAt least he left before the storm came
ReplyDeleteThe world works like that
Sometimes
There is a lot of pain and truth in these lines. Often the people who enter into our lives tend to leave behind a huge impact. Beautifully expressed!
Lots of love,
Sanaa
Yes - exactly so - thank you kindly Sanaa
DeleteWow, this vision gets tangled up in one of my own. I am currently locked in by the fifteen inches the last storm left and thinking about a thing I did in 3D of men trapped in snowballs falling to the ground and bouncing back up until the snowballs cracked and the men fell out. Love is like a storm that can leave you frozen in the fear, I guess. Unless you keep at it until the ice cracks and lets you in.
ReplyDeleteI am honoured to be tangled in one of your visions Nara - thank you - yes waiting for the big melt - but not meltdown - seems logical..the image was inspired by the TV humming in the background..we just have grey skies falling here..
Delete"Not as engaged in the game as we once were
ReplyDeleteNot brave enough to leave
Not brave enough to be"
Most certainly a situation for the injection of COURAGE Jae
much love...
Yes - we hope it finds us soon - thank you very much Gillena
DeleteHeartbreaking and inspiring simultaneously.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Rosemary - much appreciated
DeleteLove the metaphoric first verse.....snow falling like kisses...
ReplyDeleteAnd also the verse that there are no normality markers. So very true..what is normal anyway? Sigh.
I wish I knew - thank you kindly Mary ... I'm guessing everything that's a little bit dull!
DeleteSuch a great style. Courage seems like a real struggle.
ReplyDeleteIt does - maybe that's why it's important - thank you Brother Ollie
DeleteI agree with Rosemary. It takes great courage, in the place where you are, to Be. Like the good woman in your poem, I respect that in you. I think the wanting to be held shows great promise .......a reaching up and out. That takes courage too. I hear the tiredness, and I relate. One wishes for less struggle.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sherry - that is a good wish - may it be granted to all of us who struggle..thank you as ever for finding the shreds of light xo
Deletesometimes we have to find ourselves and our own strengths delving inside oneself to find these things can be hard it takes a lot of courage and determination but when we do we find we're stronger than we think.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sheilagh - this feels like a comment written from experience for which I thank you even more
DeleteWe all want to be held. That's normal. But sometimes we have to hold ourselves, love ourselves. To let that be enough takes courage and I don't know if I'm that brave. I think you are though. I think you have been holding yourself for a long time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a kind comment thank you so much Myrna - sometimes it's not bravery but the only thing that can be done - I suspect you and most of us do it at some point in our lives..thank you
DeleteLove the flow of thought in this poem....so raw and rich to what fears are inside us.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Carrie
DeleteWe can never be enough. That's why we are called imperfect human beings. All we can do is try to be the best that we can be in any given moment. And you can bet that someone will tell us we should or could be better. Grab that key, hold it close. Visualize your dream, build it slowly, nurture it daily. That's how it needs to be held.
ReplyDeleteSending both of you hugs,
Elizabeth
Thank you for those hugs Elizabeth..we will hold it tight..as we do the kind words
DeleteThat last line segues so nicely with the title of the previous poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you Alice - i do realise i repeat myself (often) - glad it was a connection rather than my usual dithering around! ;)
DeleteAnd to me, this poem is a marker of normality - wanting, needing to be held. We all want and need that at various times in our lives. And I myself have felt that hesitancy to leave a relationship that is just finally at the end, civil silence between strangers. And I finally learned how to hold myself. That was hard. Many times I have found, it takes being alone with one's own self to find the you within and to reach out and hold that self. Like I said, this poem is a marker of normality.
ReplyDeleteThank you Toni - Thank you for repeating 'this poem is a marker of normality' ..it helps explain..Yes i suppose we have to be alone to know our selves and be able to hold ourselves in a good way - not back..thank you for showing me the light of the next step in this process
Delete"We are treading water
ReplyDeleteSpilling flies
Small stones of reality
Dragging us down"
Yai! What an image! Wasn't it Lily Tomlin's bag lady character who said that reality was overrated? But then it was Virginia Woolf whose stones dragged her down. So thank God for courage and for the key and for the "maybe" you give these characters.
Thank you Susan - I was never sure where 'reality was overrated' came from but use it a lot (of course)..Sylvia's stones...hmm written like that i guess the meaning could work either way! But maybe is a small window..thank you kindly
DeleteThe longing is palpable and the resistance, too...I love the image of the blue balloon and the golden key. Excellent poem, Jae.
ReplyDeleteWe are stubborn it's true! Thank you kindly Hannah, much appreciated
Delete"Small stones of reality / Dragging us down"...i don't like the reality that drag us down, how i wish it could be avoided....it does take a lot of courage to be in such space though...
ReplyDeleteIt isn't a nice feeling for sure - thank you very much Sumana..hopefully it will pass..
DeleteToo often another's reality weighs heavy.
ReplyDeleteAt those times perhaps a procrastinated break could save us?
The elusive key... may we all have the opportunity to find and use it.
Thanks as always for stopping by.
And thank you too Jules - a break and a key..hmm sounds like a plan ;)
DeleteSomeone, somewhere always respects our courage...
ReplyDeleteThank you Magical
DeleteNot brave enough to leave
ReplyDeleteNot brave enough to be
It is not easy to face reality when it comes to separation. One must muster all the courage to make an impact.
Hank
Yes reality is hard but there's no escaping it - thank you Hank
DeleteSometimes it's not fear but a sense of needing space to recover before heading out to try the game again.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great way of putting it - thank you James
DeleteA gripping narrative. Very powerfully written!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Carol
DeleteI tried commenting earlier but it didn't work...google doesn't much like me! I loved the images you paint in this as they evoked some very tender memories for me. (using my defunct google account)
ReplyDeleteThank you Victoria - I think I used a defunct Wordpress account to comment on your piece - I appreciate the comment and the effort to post it thanks (I do use comment moderation so that may have also been why) or did you ask about their taxes ;)
DeleteIt's a cruel Wonderland that poor Alice finds herself in with simply not enough courage to leave it, and not enough even to be... Well-penned, Jae. These conversations with Alice are taking us to dark places, but we all are learning and feeling more and more each time.
ReplyDeleteThank for sticking with us Nicholas - yes, i think it is a Wonderland which lacks bright wonder..hopefully there will be lighter days..thank you
Delete