PS, forgot to ask, "where's your's ?"







I didn't offer one, becuase the challange wasnt a competition with me, but yourselves

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
wrote in the last stanza of "The Two Rivers",...

It is the mystery of the unknown
That fascinates us; we are children still,
Wayward and wistful; with one hand we cling
To the familiar things we call our own,
And with the other, resolute of will,
Grope in the dark for what the day will bring.

I believe it is better to reach out to the unknown than to suckle the familiar. Or, perhaps better put by a modern writer...

The Invitation
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.


It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

Written By: Oriah Mountain Dreamer

(((Bonny)))

some of my recent offerings

intermission

the play has not concluded
yet the lights are dimmed
piano accompaniment
as the scene is deftly changed

watch the mood shift
the darkness slowly lifts
overheard in an adjoining room
mystery unfolds off stage

where actors dramatically
reconstruct
directions and dialog
this is really life

splash

My heartbeats like swells
A pause
The water runs away tickling
With roaring laughter washes back
Right over me
Until I am laughing too

coming soon

soon i will be gone
air will bring no scent for me
soon all will be dark
only the nocturnal aware
soon the quiet
breaks with muffled footfalls
of those i will never know

soon it will not be my time
or my children's children's
soon the earth will cool again
helpless under her inadequate star
soon reality will surpass
imagination

sunbath

drowning yourself in crimson sunset
bathing on the asphalt street
lifeblood splashing off the trees
exhausted and heaving
this day dies
amid cognac shots born
in upscale bars
anesthetists
say
"drink deep"
"count back"

here i am

here i am
ax in hand
life surrounding me
challenged again
again and again
pursuing frivolity

look hard and you cannot
fail to find it
it is here
don't you see
fool honesty
alongside bravely fear

the verb

the occurence
the action
a state of being
what you write here
did not have to be read

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

tense
aspect
mood
voice
tell you what
she runs
he falls
it happens
all over
she gave him an idea
he read her a poem
time stopped
he held her
she touched him
they moved

WHAT NEXT

go

=-=-=-=-=-=

here is a list of some jsh poetry threads i've enjoyed:

A Mood
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/28493

Rumi
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/27576

Gallows
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/44868

Beans
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/44519

Locos
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/39533

Foolish Child
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/19596

Mine
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/18056

love is
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/58372

satan says
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/58373

post count
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/41232

showcase
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/92167

hit me
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/89743

let's play kids
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/80289

haiku
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/103223

BeansII
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/68243

and...
Lyrical Response
http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/95153

thanks slowhand, great pieces

I didn't offer one, becuase the challange wasnt a competition with me, but yourselves


I'm still asking.....Where is your offering ?

Hi s1ow, you know I always enjoy your poetic tapestries

This mourning i awoke with a terrible jerk,oh no got to go ,i'm late for work....So i rushed on through and woke up my son,my god a bad day,and its just begun....I hop in my car and drive to the local store,coffee and bun,and run out the door....Than i hit the highway off in a rush,as fast as i can go with out being a nut.up the road up the road cus cus cus....So i get to the job and theirs nobody there,hey if he don't know, why should he care....So i sit and i wait wait wait wait,my god it's monday and everybodys late....So i pull out my phone to make the call,MAN IT'S SUNDAY THEIRS NO WORK AT ALL.

intermission

the play has not concluded
yet the lights are dimmed
piano accompaniment
as the scene is deftly changed

watch the mood shift
the darkness slowly lifts
overheard in an adjoining room
mystery unfolds off stage

where actors dramatically
reconstruct
directions and dialog
this is really life




I love this, S1ow! It mirrors a lot of my views on people...

I'm still asking.....Where is your offering ?


Okay BonnyMiss, since you insist,
Evidently the 3 or 4 I posted last night,
Don't count for this..
It doesn't worry me,
For I never fear,
Here's a dity I call,
"Wish I was There".....



I find myself missing her,
She has always been,a part of my life.
Like a mother,
She rocked me to sleep.
Like a lover,
She shared my dreams.
Like a sibling,
We played.
She showed me her secrets,
And gave me precious gifts.
Such a wonderful woman,
The Ocean, I miss

LOL! Good one.

You and I

http://www.justsayhi.com/topic/show/120536

Okay BonnyMiss, since you insist,
Evidently the 3 or 4 I posted last night,
Don't count for this..
It doesn't worry me,
For I never fear,
Here's a dity I call,
"Wish I was There".....



I find myself missing her,
She has always been,a part of my life.
Like a mother,
She rocked me to sleep.
Like a lover,
She shared my dreams.
Like a sibling,
We played.
She showed me her secrets,
And gave me precious gifts.
Such a wonderful woman,
The Ocean, I miss


Nice work Blues. Sorry it took me so long to get back to this.................

The Challenge

To be challenged I write a piece,
Not of love and not of peace.
What to write for those who plead,
For a piece of prose indeed.

Though this is a fresh piece,
Long forgotten will not cease.
I could write of many things,
Of a wedding or the rings.

If I chose to write a blurb,
Would you listen to the word.
Could you see the words I write,
Or the prose within the light.

Maybe you would see in one,
Words of life or colors done.
Since you challenge one like me,
What words written are from thee?

I enjoy the written prose,
Smells of life as a rose.
Deeper in the words I write,
Hold the words full of light.

G