Bridges

Inspired by the words of a friend whose words in a simple message are often poetry

An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend ~ or a meaningful day.

The Dalai Lama

 

                             ~~~

 

The emotions of days and days merge sometimes

      to resemble curled ribbon in fumbling fingers

tapping on my forehead like unfinished thoughts…

like the thought of leaving you

 

They become a paled echo,

a mirrored season of aching compromise;

    hours and nights lost to time spent

        and Lord . . . gone

 

. . . summers of robin’s eggs,

    a fall of winter clothes in colours of all the life

      that turns to . . . rain

 

      Life in small doses

      sifts

through landslides of vast alone

to settle like dust on my shoes

 

But then

    and then . . . again

 

    glimpses of true sincerity gleam so nicely

to form the pleasantly polished surface

of long friends.

 

Reviews

[SkinlessFrank]

this makes me want to cry inside....cry about all the compromises i have made, that i know my friends and children have made, must make just to go on living one more day not alone...sometimes i get lost in the atmospherics of your writing, but this one went straight to the heart ... the "glimpses of true sincerity" and "pleasantly polished surfaces"...we settle for these don't we, and maybe that is as good as it gets

[J]

and you make m.e. want to cry! you have a remarkable sensitivity to the way of the world. i like to think of this as the "homework" phase of life where one's own company becomes comfortable and small pleasures become joys that otherwise might go unappreciated. you leave me meaningful, thought-filled comments, frank. thank you so much for your heart. x

[Kelly Scheppers]

..girl, that last line applies to you and me...we've been together here, since 2008! You do "gorgeous" so fabulously...and I am always stumbling with what to say.

I miss you and think of you often...please remember that! x

[J]

oh dearest kel, the years have truly slipped away haven't they -- [you're making me feel so tearfully nostalgic!] i posted this a year ago and didn't like it, so it's been in suspension since. but the thoughts are heartfelt, so made some small adjustments and decided to repost. you and i are a testament to the powerful connections made online [how i wish the "experts" would catch up and stop trivializing these deep, meaningful relationships]. the flex and flux of life may cause hiccups in communication, but real friends never leave and somehow find each other again and again. you are forever in my heart, sweetpea. thank you for your ever-gracious, loving comments. love you, gf. xxoo

[Ken Simm.]

I love the phrases you use from the world to describe feelings. The Robins egg Summers, pale blue; the pleasantly polished surface of friends, old wood that you know. All these lead the reader into the deep matter of your poem with extrordinary ease. So we may see what the true matter of the work is and then understand.

[J]

oh ken, dear ken, your poet's heart is showing :) for all the songs you sing so beautifully, thank you for this one. your visits are such joy to me. x [and i was on your page reading Canon in D, to which i return!]

[Forest Green]

Departure is a veil drawn that melts details into looking back and missing the forward glance.
...landslides of vast alone do settle...mussing the gleam of fascination..

You've touched upon the magic lost through blemished retrospectives...very nicely!

A work of truth in art...

[J]

your words, no matter their context, inevitably kindle my wandering tendencies through the most unlikely back roads, past.times . . . unexpected tomorrows … mystifying and magical are your thought processes which nevva fail to intrigue and inspire. thank you for your gentle, kindly comments which tend to reveal more than riddle. lovely, dan'l. xx

[icelandicblue]

I just loved these lines:

Life in small doses

sifts

through landslides of vast alone

to settle like dust on my window sill

The entire poem is exquisitely beautiful in its imagery and sentiment.

[J]

aww you're a keeper, blue. thank you so much for your beautiful comments. :)

[Ed Hart]

there's a silence here i recognize; it's the one place (besides maybe hunting down mastodons) that we share true community, perhaps at fireside, perhaps at great distance, perhaps across ages...so when i say 'thanks for sharing', you know what i mean

i love it when your silence comes in words like this

[J]

exquisite acuity, dearest hart. [mastodons! only you!] you assure me that silence is not always a bad thing. :) thank you for you. xx

[emmajoy]

' Life in small doses ~ sifts through landslides of vast alone ~ to settle like dust on my window sill.. '

You, dear 'j', are a woman who has the special gift of magicking words into true poetry; even sadness becomes beautiful in your hands.

[J]

oh my lovely friend, your words always humble me ~ unfailingly gracious and encouraging. thank you so much for your golden review. xx

[Distant horizons]

What beautiful words. Love the line
through landslides of vast alone
Beautifully capturing the essence and bringing alive a painting from your words in my mind.

[J]

and you are so thoughtful in your comments, lorry. many thank yous!

[Distant horizons]

You're very welcome J :-)