Blank Space

I notice random things & turn them into philosophy

With the new year, I removed the calendar from my wall

And now the space looks so empty and bare

In spite of the urge I feel to fill the void immediately,

I will sit with these emotions and reflect...

Understanding that emptying does not require refilling

Author's Note

I am experimenting with "poems" that don't rhyme or have any rhythm. Not sure how I feel about it.

Reviews

[Kathy Van Kurin]

'Blank Space'
D Connolly,
With any change it is ok to only move as fast as one can. Processing the things of life is not always super fast I think. Your poem was a good example of being given permission to be as kind to yourself as you would to others as we move through life seasons.
Blessings,
Kathy

[D Connolly]

Hi Kathy! I'm just seeing this. Thank you for your loving reviews, as always

[KeeD]

Got me thinking about life in a very retrospective way and then I realized that even though its a new year and I feel this emptiness that I've felt in a long time. It's time to move on to new things and experiences. The piece is actually pretty therapeutic. Thank you for this write.

[D Connolly]

thank-you Keegan, I'm glad :) I will look at your writing too

[Kathryn Smith]

Every time I read this I get blank space by T Swizzle stuck in my head. lol Well written! :)

[D Connolly]

thank-you Kathryn! Love the avatar LOL

[Tazeen Ahmed]

Elegant and frank lines!
Made me smile :)
Specially the last line was my favorite.
Thank you for sharing :)

[D Connolly]

thank-you Tazeen, I will read yours next :)

[An owl on the moon]

Reading your rich, wondrous thoughts, these inspirations of yesterday, and today, and these days that will flow after. Yes, we must learn to thrive in the silences and spaces and places that seem empty, for the music does not always lie in the notes, but in the landscapes between them. And paperclips, yes, they must be abolished and quickly in this new year.

[D Connolly]

haha, yes the paperclips must go ;) Thank-you!

[Einstein Noodle]

ahahaha i love this ... we always have 4 or 5 new calanders from the grocery, the hardware, the lumber stores and the Bank .. the emptiness is a blink of the eye ;) i appreciate your wisdom in closing .. so very true and should be practiced by all .. deep cleansing breaths ...beeeeee empty :)
E.
ps free verse is wonderful ...this has a very smooth flow ..not a hitch ..and its pretty surgical as the length is enough but not too much ..

[D Connolly]

thank-you Einie

[Lorry]

Ah, wise words yoda :)
I know what you mean Dani, the empty space can be louder than what was originally there, a calender especially. Full of important dates and events of the past, now suddenly remembered, that you had forgotten them until that blank space filled in the gaps for you. Sometimes I can be like rainman with change, the change driving me crazy until I finally give up and rely on my feeble memory to remind me of what the past really meant.....I like to think as writers, our words are our calendars, looking back through where we have been in the words we write and the emotions and memories they bring back to us.With me, that thought is usually "Hmm, maybe I am crazy. I'd go see a shrink, if only I had a calendar to remind me of the appointment." :)

[D Connolly]

HA! Thank-you Nemo

[. serah .]

~ this piece doesn't rhyme but i disagree about rhythm... ~ i read it aloud several times and was able to sense the rhythm of a little girl heart embedded in a thinking adult mind... craving for meaning, depth and simplicity... while at the same time wondering about whether or not all kinds of empty spaces on the wall or within need to be filled... ~ this piece, for me, is about the anatomy of change... about letting go of time that has elapsed... about symbols... and whether they have symbolic value or not... ~ it has the rhythm of a human being's heartbeat... a gentle whisper in the corridors of time... which seeks to ascertain the significance of space/time and how it need not be filled in an expected way... and hence about how it need not be filled at all... ~ i feel that when we put a calendar on the wall, we habitually look at it and spend time thinking about chronology... i once wrote something where i said that "i am a victim of chronology; of date and time stamps"... and i was... as i was too consumed by when a certain event was taking place in my life rather than actually living life... and at that point... one fine day... i got rid of the calendar... and gradually realized that i remember the date anyway... but that suddenly i had created more space for me to live spontaneously... your post reminds me of that epiphany rather rhythmically... it's the quintessential human existential question but it's expressed in a unique way... in your unique voice... ~ thank you for sharing this post...

[D Connolly]

wow, Serah, your review is like poetry! I'm glad that this thought of mine was able to resonate so strongly with you. I think you've summed up my desires so nicely, "craving for meaning, depth and simplicity". Maybe the most lovely review I've ever gotten actually. Thank-you

[. serah .]

~ you're very welcome, D. ... ~ i'm perpetually looking for meaning in my own life and words of course... p.s. a review is merely a river of mirrors in which a piece is reflected... my words are inspired by yours... :)

[Gee]

Unless it is a glass that once contained a wee dram.
Hi Dani, you should feel fine, there's nowt wrong and much right here

[D Connolly]

haha, Hi Gee, thank-you

[Lyn Anderson]

Ah this is a lovely sentiment. A successful experiment, I would think. Though I wouldn't know you weren't a free verse poet by reading this just one.

[D Connolly]

Thank-you KL! I am so hesitant to call this poetry because I'm very comfortable with poetry being structured a certain way. But after reading other work on this site, I'm going to branch out and give it a try. Can't say I'm completely at ease already, but old habits die hard with me. :)

[Lyn Anderson]

Interesting. I write a mix of both, and sometimes, somewhat of a hybrid -- form and free. I try not to stick to labels, but content first. I also have a book called True to Form, in which I struggled with proper sonnets (iambic pentameter and all) and dabble in senryu etc. I enjoy senryu most, although sonnets are a particular challenge I had to prove to myself I could do. Good is good, no matter the form.

[D Connolly]

I will have to read more of that. I think I could learn a lot. Don't mind me stalking your work ok, I won't bite unless I'm paid well.

[Lyn Anderson]

Stalk away. I have a ridiculous amount of work posted on here.

[barleygirl]

It's hard for me to forego rhyme & rhythm when writing a poem, but sometimes it can add a whole different feel to your message. I like your straightforward style of observing the ordinary aspects of life & conveying these thoughts with a touch of philosophical pondering!

[D Connolly]

thank-you! I once thought it was a curse, but poetry is showing me that these expressions are possible without people thinking I'm a whacko. I can finally put my thoughts into a language.

[barleygirl]

I've always heard the saying: "write what you know" . . . but I never experienced the truth of this like it's been happening since I joined this website last Feb!