to melt

Gazing at the frozen lake today,

noticing

one lonely, rushing stream

when the rest of the water was solid

unmoving--

 

it occurred to me

that no matter how warm the sun

 

the thaw can only happen

 

a little at a time.

Author's Note

it's a little thought, maybe it will grow

Reviews

[Collect-Eye]

it's a lot like the mind too..I've found in life and even in doing mind altering plant substances..you can only be shown so much at a time..whether it's subconscious visions or profound ideas..there's layers to the mind..there's reasons people go insane when they take in or give out too much at once..consciousness is a natural flow. Take it from me, I'm borderline manic-depressive.
But anyway, this imagery has the proper pace and poise and grace and flow to make your thoughts and the readers' come alive and converge at just the right spot..

[Emily B]

god I miss you

[Greg Skura]

Nice metaphor for all change as it can only happen a little at a time, the sluggish human psyche needs time to catch up to all decided or undecided change.

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAutho..]

On the surface, this is true. It's what we see at first glance. But you have, knowingly I think, captured and expressed this also with a certain type of innuendo that compels one to consider many other aspects of what is written here. The natural, physical... the human, relational metaphors. I like this quite a lot. Especially how you let us watch as you explore and discover your inspiration.

[Emily B]

the implications are endless aren't they?

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

That's another word like imagination, isn't it... endless? So easy to write, so difficult to grasp.

[Emily B]

folks try to show they know what the words 'mean', but archibald macleish said a poem should not mean, but be. Folks come and go and pin some meaning particular to themselves, but really the poem can only be what it is.

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

Have you ever studied or read how the mind/brain of a toddler acquires facility with its native language? Absolutely fascinating stuff (to me). Especially the contemporary thoughts on how the child's brain develops and the mind learns to deal with ambiguity and fluid, ever-changing contextual definitions of words; the nuance of language. That something like poetry can come out of it, even as a by-product, is mind boggling (to me).

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

We know so little about what constitutes a "mind."

[Emily B]

Robert Fulghum asks us to consider learning to read in one of his 'essays'. He says do you remember the Dick and Jane books? Do you remember that biggest word of all 'Look'? Language and the learning to express oneself fascinates me. I only found my own voice a few short years ago

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

...and I seem to recall that the President has just thrown support behind a "Map the Mind" national science project. {blink}

[Emily B]

i don't think i want the president to map my mind, thank you very much ;)

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

... um, correction, it was a "Brain Mapping" project. So, does brain = mind? The endless debate continues. :)

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

Ha! Nor do I wish to have my mind mapped. I'm rather afraid where it might lead. As you say, "thank you very much." ;-)

[Emily B]

the brain is that pink blob that you see on television, the storage device, where we keep our memories and our vast stores of knowledge, all the trivia and potpourri that we pick up as we go along; in my thinking, our mind is much wider, this is where the really deep stuff resides, our sense of self, our spirituality, our intuition, all the things that can't be learned by rote memorization

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

Hmm. Some thinkers have tended to separate mind and spirit. What is your take on that?

[Emily B]

they are twins, so close that one usually knows whathe other is thinking

[Emily B]

but tomorrow, my take may be diferent

[Greg Skura]

wow what a great thread i am enjoying this emmensely thank you Emily and UfoAuthor

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

Hi Greg! Please, feel free to jump in to the discussion. :)

[Greg Skura]

I prefer to separate the brain as the physical tool that the mind uses, which is the tool of the spirit, as the knower within is mostly silent.

[Emily B]

where've you been, Greg? haven't seen you around for ages.

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

Yes, and I find it most interesting that E.E. Doc Smith implied a similar position when he wrote of the Arisians in his SciFi "Lensman" series in the early part of the past century. Nothing too heavy, philosophically speaking but there's some substance there none the less.

[Emily B]

maybe i should take my cloud-seed and dandelion fluff over in the corner and pay close attention :)

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

Heh! Well, don't let me distract you from your work. I'm not great at walking and chewing gum at the same time. :)

[Emily B]

i have an affection for listening while philosophers discuss ideas

[Greg Skura]

I 've been spending a lot of time on facebot being an activist. working six days a week so i do not always have time. I have been looking up recipes on the net and refining them to make them healthy and wholesome, and well I have not written to much of late but I am sure that inspiration is only a heart beat away

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

Aha! Well, should it transpire, I hope you enjoy a philosopher (Greg) trying to hold a conversation with an opinionated woodpecker (me). ;-)

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

So, Greg, nice to meet you! Do you work for or on behalf of facebot and in what capacity? Are those food recipes or computer code? Seems like you're experiencing a bit of writers block, no?

[Greg Skura]

Nice to meet you too UfoAuthor I will stop by and check your words, no I do not work for face bot but i do have 5300 odd friends there and 508 followers due to my active nature and commitment to raise awareness among the masses and yes i require inspiration to write because i tend to bee a little lazy. Now for the baking my lovely wife and i have been becoming more conscious about the quality of food we consume so i started working it and really enjoy it. i will send you a to die for chocolate coconut honey date cake recipe that will have you baking more in a few short days lol!

[Emily B]

i've been looking more at the ingredients, chickens for eggs and meat, and a cow for milk and butter . . . and some meat rabbits, I want to be my own grocer as mch as possible

[Ufi Auttorri ~ UfoAuthor]

That sounds like a tasty recipe, Gregg. I've been known to do a bit of cooking and it sounds like fun. :) We used to do a lot of raising of "ingredients" too, Emily. I'm working toward getting back to that as well.

[Greg Skura]

Nice, when I was a child we had homegrown fruit and vegetables, eggs and chickens, could never figure which came first ducks geese and honey currently I have been looking for ways to get back to that life style or at least eat organic and non GMO.

[Emily B]

I think it is something we all should look at

[Greg Skura]

Yes we should

[Time's The Bond]

That is a thought that would appear inside my mind after looking awhile and daydreaming on a lake or sea, of anything really. This was to me a writing full of air it is light, it glows, and has a hint of charm. Nicely written.

Please do read/ review my poems as well. :-)

[Emily B]

not reading much just now, send me some read requests and i will get there

[Time's The Bond]

Friend me or I can give you the titles of my poems I have many but here are 2 for now: Thunder A Demon Sign
Going Through the Motion

[Emily B]

my hard drive crashed recently and i've only been keeping up with the bare minimum . . . I will be reading again soon

[Time's The Bond]

Okay take your time...

[Leslie Philibert]

A brillant observation of nature, set in a fine poem. Like this a lot.

[SkinlessFrank]

but there is power in those little rivulets

[Emily B]

and power in the word :)

[Tree]

A great example of how nature can still teach us about ourselves; a shame that humanity is shifting away from her. An interesting, and thought provoking piece

[Robin]

nature spoke , you listened

[Prolific In Verse]

In nature we find symbols of ourselves, to nature's art we shall return.

[Suze]

Very nice. Makes me think of how big changes in self and life start as that one little first thaw in the frozen expanse.

[Shaylynn H.]

Short, sweet, to the point and well written. Good job.