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A little attempt at poetry. Inspired by a friend who honored her life’s journey despite pressure to comply.
Your Life
Squat on the floorboards
And let your life surge out of you
Hot, sticky, and wailing for attention
Red fisted fingers raised with demands
Your life wants you undivided
In tree forts and toeshoes
Clarinet howling at the mounting moon
Gyrating disgracefully to an untamed song
Be luminous, scraped and scarred
In mud and blood and bright green glitter
She wants shameless love to burn her
Brand her with its valor
She will seethe and storm and slam doors
Strand you with your reasons
Forsake your obligations
And fearsome insecurities
Your life would rather be held against a raw heart
With all the ache and passion and mess there
Than sit cross-legged in some therapist’s chair
Wondering why her soul is barren
Why she won’t squat on the floorboards
And bring her life to birth.
Myths of the Mirror 
As has been mentioned, the clarinet howling at the mounting moon is genius and that it was inspired by your brother blowing his trumpet, something your modesty doesn’t allow you to do, just adds layers to the piece and the poet. Thanks D.
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Thanks so much for the kind comment, Phil. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Have a wonderful week 🙂
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My favorite line: “Gyrating disgracefully to an untamed song.” That describes my life! How DID you know… 🙂
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Ha ha. Yes. Why must we get all prim and proper as we age? The human body was made to move; music dwells in our souls. Let’s gyrate as long as we can (our grandchildren will remind us how). 🙂
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Love it ❤ And thanks for the follow!
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Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the poem and happy to connect 🙂
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“Your life would rather be held against a raw heart
With all the ache and passion and mess there
Than sit cross-legged in some therapist’s chair
Wondering why her soul is barren”…
Loved those verses from the last stanza. Powerful poem!. Truly liked it… “better that we should die on our feet rather than live on our knees”, As a leader from the Mexican Rebellion would have said. I think it was Emiliano Zapata FYI. thanks for sharing… all my best wishes. Aquileana 😀
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Thanks so much for reading Aquileana 🙂 Yes, and fortunately following the joy rarely requires our death. Perhaps a little embarrasment and a few aches, but the risk is worth it. Hope the rest of your weekend is wonderful ❤
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A lovely tribute, Diana. And I loved the clarinet howling at the moon. 🙂
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Thank you! My brother used to play trumpet to the moon and I always loved that. I think we need to keep the magic alive as we grow up. Have a lovely weekend 🙂
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A great friend you are to further honor her life’s journey…and, so invigorously!
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Thank you for reading. I’m all for busting out of conformity when it brings joy to one’s life 🙂 Have an adventurous day!
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You as well, D.Wallace Peach.:-)
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Powerful and accomplished. Why won’t she squat on the floorboards, indeed! Conformity cares less about passion and intuition. Enjoy the sunny days, Diana:-)
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Thanks for reading, Khaya, and for the lovely comment 🙂 Have a passionate adventurous day and happy writing!
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Our life definitely deserves our individual attention.
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Yes! Shutting our lives down in order to conform is sad, I think. I hope you’re having an adventurous summer!
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[…] Original Article: https://mythsofthemirror.com/2016/07/14/your-life/ […]
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Thanks for linking, Ian. Glad you enjoyed the poem 🙂
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Interesting perspective. Very powerful visuals. Nicely done. ☺
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Thanks for the visit 🙂 Have a wonderful and peaceful week.
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Thank you too. Hope you’re well. Hugs ☺ 🌷
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Powerful word artistry! You, my dear, are a poet extraordinaire! ❤️
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Thank you for the sweet comment and encouragement. When that rare inspiration strikes, I have to give it a try. 🙂 Have a wonderful week brimming with peace. ❤
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Something to be said for imagery. It must have affected my subconscious, because throughout the day, somewhat randomly I’m reminded of this poem when I’m thinking of how powerful it is to be engaged with my current emotions. And I’d like to take the opportunity to thank you publicly, Diana for sharing your gift with us. As a recent convert to reading fiction I often prefer to go to your books rather than to my usual forms of entertainment, and with a new expectation that I’ll be better afterwards.
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Thanks for the lovely comment, Frank. I think there is great freedom and power in our ability to express our identities and let go of “how we’re supposed to be.” And though opening our lives to authentic experiences can be painful at times, love and a little wild joy makes up for it.
I’m glad you’re reading some fiction! George R.R. Martin has a great quote: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” Have a great week, my friend. 🙂
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Oh!! I came here so late! My apologies for that…I who have always found a streak of poetry in your prose… arriving so late is a shame. Well there must be a reason.
Diana, this is profoundly passionate…very well-written. Keep it up. I definitely see a poet hidden in those Dragons and stories you create! 🙂 Have a wonderful weekend.
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No apologies necessary. Blogging is a busy business and it’s hard enough to catch every post, let alone do it on a timely basis. Thanks so much for the sweet comment. I’m glad you enjoyed my poem! Have a wonderful week.
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Your writing is amazing always from the heart…and the gut! Wonderful!
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Thanks so much, Holly. That’s a wonderful comment and I’m honored. Hope you have a peaceful weekend. Happy Writing ❤
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Thank you D, you too! Have a lovely day!<3
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I’d call this more than an attempt 🙂 No doubt your eloquence with words is fitting for poetry. ❤
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Hmm. It just doesn’t come naturally, Debby, so I have to wait for that elusive inspiration. This one was bloggable and I’m delighted that you enjoyed it 🙂 Have a lovely, peaceful weekend.
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Thanks Diana. Yes, we must wait for the inspiration. Happy weekend to you too. 🙂
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Diana… that was downright magnificent! As someone with no talent for poetry at all, I’m most impressed, but even if I were an expert, I am sure I’d still be impressed. Mega hugs!
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I’m not a natural poet, Teagan. It just pops up now and then – like beginners luck 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it. Have a lovely weekend. Hugs ❤
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Wow. If that’s your “little attempt”…kudos to you, Diana. There is a major poet hiding (or not) in you. ❤️
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Thanks, Van. I am hit with poetic inspiration semi-annually. 🙂 The rest of the time, I’m sticking with prose. Haven’t seen a post from you in a while. I hope all is well ❤
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I took a break, went to visit my daughter and her new puppy. ☺
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Oh good. It’s been a tough few weeks too. Hard to be cheery on the old blog 🙂
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Words that cut to the truth of the matter! 😀
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Thanks for the visit and the comment 🙂 We only get this one chance, might as well live authentically!
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What a magnificent, powerful poem. Yes to grabbing life, I loved it. I’d say for sure…you are a poet!
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Thanks for the encouragement. I’m glad you enjoyed the poem. We’ll see if inspiration strikes again 🙂 Have a lovely, peaceful weekend ❤
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I’m hoping it strikes many more times :-). I hope you also have a wonderful weekend.
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Well done, Diana! Powerful and poignant to this mother of a teenaged daughter. Still weathering the storms 🙂
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Teenage daughters will do that! The struggle for authenticity is intense, and the risk taking can drive a parent to craft beer! Thanks for the visit, Julie. Happy gardening, parenting and editing (you are one busy lady!) 🙂
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Great poem, Diana. I’m not able to gyrate much these days, but I’ve found I have to meet life head on. It usually works out that way. I try to keep the fun in it. 😀 — Suzanne
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I can’t gyrate anymore either, Suzanne. Ha ha. But you are so right about meeting life head on – a great way to put it! Hope you find some love and smiles in your weekend despite the state of the world ❤
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Diana, this is an amazing poem packed with strong imagery. Raw, full of heat and the search for fulfilment in such a different place. I especially liked: ‘Clarinet howling at the mounting moon/ Gyrating disgracefully to an untamed song.’
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Thanks, Annika. A call to let loose a bit there and do what makes you happy. Love and happiness require a little risk, I think 🙂 Hope your weekend is full of love, happiness and peace. ❤
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My goodness, that is so powerful and evocative, Diana.
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Thank you for the lovely comment, Judith 🙂 I’ll have to try a little more poetry now and then! Have a lovely, peaceful weekend ❤
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And yourself, Diana. ❤
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Powerful and beautiful, Diana.
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Thanks, Sue. I don’t venture into poetry much, so I’m glad this one was a hit 🙂
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Perhaps you should wander the poetic realms more often 😉
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Oh, Diana! Yes, to independent opinions, expressions and bravery! Never settling for mediocrity or silent, unexpressed thoughts. This was an awesome dynamic poem. Leave it to you to bring me to my feet and say, “Bravo!”
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Thanks, Robin 🙂 I’m so glad it spoke to you. I think we craft our lives and taking risks is part of that even though at times it hurts. Have a lovely weekend, my friend ❤
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We are in charge of part of our life, sometimes other parts are out of our realm of possibility. Being realistic has been a challenge to this “dreamer!”
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Yeah, our dreams don’t always come true, and facing life head on doesn’t guarantee success. We’ll be hurt and disappointed, but at least we will have lived with everything we’ve got to give 🙂
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This is a valid point to remember, that what we attempt to accomplish is much better than living inside our heads and not even trying!
I came back to tell you, here, the tree branches and the way they surround each blog post are amazing, Diana. A wonderful way to accentuate the natural forces you incorporate in your writing as well as the wildness sometimes found in the action plots! Have a fantastic weekend!
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Thanks, Robin. I’ve been changing my background with each full moon post and forgot to this time!!! I’ll do it today 🙂 But I’m glad you like the branches!
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Beautiful poetry. I think it resonates with me well. 🙂
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Thank you, Izrael! Me too. I think our lives want us to live to our fullest and risk love and happiness even though sometimes it hurts 🙂 Thanks so much for the visit.
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I’ve always said you have a way with words, and this prose is no exception. I can’t wait to read your new book!
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Oh Ha, I guess I need to order it first. That will happen soon. 🙂
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😀 😀
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Thanks, Kathryn 🙂 You always know how to make me smile. I’ll certainly make a little fanfare when the new book comes out. Have a wonderful, peaceful weekend ❤
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This is so wonderful, D! ❤️
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Thanks, Dorinda. I’m honored when a poet thinks so! Happy Writing, Dorinda, and a peaceful weekend to you 🙂
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You should write more poetry! A very peaceful weekend to you, too ❤
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It’s amazing writing, Diana. Very powerful. I knew there poetry in you… it’s noticeable in your prose. 🙂
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Thanks, Steven. I try it when the inspiration strikes, which doesn’t happen often. Hope your weekend is kind to you 🙂
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Thanks, Diana. And the same to you. 🙂
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I am not a poet, I have written some poems but this one was fantastic. I loved it. :o)
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Thank you 🙂 I’m also a non-poet who occasionally writes poems. I’m glad this one hit the mark. Have a peaceful weekend.
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Such a wonderful poem. I really am becoming quite a fan! 🙂
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Thank you, Al. I can whip one of these off whenever the inspiration strikes – once every couple years or so 🙂 I don’t know how you poets do this every day. 🙂
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It’s an affliction as much as anything… I don’t know how you novel writers plot a novel, slowly building characters and tension over time and thousands of words!
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It’s wonderful that we all are different and bring our unique brands on creativity to the world. I like that 🙂
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It’s inspiring, in a very literal way. I should co-credit you on a whole bunch of ideas for poems! 🙂
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🙂
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I’m not always good about commenting but I wanted you to know how much I liked this. Very much!
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Thanks so much for taking the time, Karen. I appreciate it! Happy Writing 🙂
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I love this D! Oh you should write poetry more often… simply amazing!
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I don’t know how you poets do it, Michelle. I have to wait for a poem to appear, which is around once every two years! Ha ha. Thank you, my friend 🙂
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You’re most welcome! And well… like you said D, you have to wait for one to appear. Just like dreams, you never know when a good one will come along. I’ve discovered it’s all about inspiration. Without a good source of inspiration, I could never write another line of poetry again.
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I’ll stick with prose between my semi-annual inspiration. 😀
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I figured you would! 😉 And you’re amazing at it, so don’t stop!
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Fabulous!
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Thanks, Steve. So glad you enjoyed it. 😀 Happy Writing!
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Wow!
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Oh, thank you! I’m smiling 😀
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You are welcome!
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Nice. 😊
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Thanks for stopping by and reading, Kev 😀
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Always a pleasure, Diana. 😊
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Reblogged this on Art by Rob Goldstein and commented:
“Your life would rather be held against a raw heart
With all the ache and passion and mess there
Than sit cross-legged in some therapist’s chair”
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Thanks for the reblog, Robert! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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Damn! Those last lines are like a punch to the heart.
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I hope that’s good! Love involves opening the heart and taking risks. Sometimes painful, but alive and vulnerable to love. ❤ Thanks so much for the visit 🙂
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It’s good. It’s powerful and it the music of the lines reach a crescendo at the close
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And I can feel the torment of each. Well done, Diana!
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Thanks for the visit, Sue. I think if we want to live an authentic life full of passion, we have to open our hearts. That’s sometimes painful, but if we are also paying attention, it makes room for plenty of wonderful 🙂
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I can’t help but wonder — does the love between the “you” and “she” open up to wonderful or does their pain and anguish cut deeper for the bond between them than what you and I can feel in all our authenticity and passion? Do such choices leave a scar that forces them further apart than either of them might wish?
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Good questions, Sue. I think our lives (the “she”) want to live authentically and to the fullest, rather than play it safe. Love and happiness require risk, which means, to me, that occasionally there will also be pain and we accept that pain as part of an authentic life. So the “she” is the life inside us that battles against conformity, refusing to bend to the will of others. In this case, the scars are the badges of a life lived well. That’s what I was thinking as I wrote this, anyway. Ha ha. Have a lovely weekend, my friend. ❤
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You are a light in dark places, Diana. I also see a story of a mother and daughter, which is also true because the child is mother of the woman, isn’t she? 🙂 You have a lovely weekend, too. I hope you have pleasant thoughts to outshine the world’s darkness. ❤
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I reread this from your mother-daughter perspective and YES! Thanks for the fresh interpretation! I love how poetry speaks to us in different ways 🙂
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That it does. You’re welcome! 🙂
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This is amazing and I love the ending! Always passionate!
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Thanks for reading, Lynn. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 Have a wonderful day!
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Have a lovely day xx
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You’re quite talented, Diana. This is wonderful.
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Thanks, Mary. I almost never write poetry, but this one sort of popped into my head. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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Well, it’s an excellent “pop.” 🙂
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Every Mom should remember that last line. Wonderfully written my friend.
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Thanks Bernadette. I think we all are faced at times with choices where we are going to disappoint someone(s). They are painful and yet we have to make those choices anyway. Life is not easy but it can be wonderful. 😀
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Eloquent and powerful.
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Thank you so much for reading and for the lovely comment 🙂
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It’s a masterpiece, not a little attempt.
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Ha ha ha. Well, thank you! I don’t write poetry much, but when the mood strikes… Have a great day and thanks for the visit as always 🙂
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Have a great day Diane, enjoy the weather, treat yourself nicely and write 🙂
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I bet your friend loves this. A wonderful and inspired poem Diana!
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Thanks for the visit, Antonia. I hope she likes it too. I have a few friends that are struggling with choices and the big ones are never easy 🙂
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What a wonderful poem!!! Kudos to you. It’s very powerful and inspiring.
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Thank you! I don’t consider myself much of a poet, but when the impulse is there, I take the leap. Have a wonderful day 🙂
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“Be luminous, scraped and scarred … Your life would rather be held against a raw heart”.
Very powerful words Diana. They talk to me this morning 🙂
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Thanks, Joanne, for the sweet comment. I hope your recovery is in full gear. Hard to follow your passion with a broken collarbone! Have a great day, my friend 🙂
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Thanks Diana. My progress is quite good and I can’t really complain, but you’re right. This month I feel like I’ve been stuck in a holding pattern
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I know it must be hard for someone so active! I’d lounge around and love it (other than the pain). Take care and you’ll be off on new adventures soon. 🙂
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I think she’d be honoured herself by that. 🙂
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Aw. Thank you. I think we do have to honor our passions and trust our intuition. 🙂
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Definitely
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