The past can be
neither seen nor heard
Yet covers the heart
in dust & memories
Author notes
Written November 29th, 2005
What did you think
Comments
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I came back just to tell you how nice this is.
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Thanks, Fool...
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Excellent!!!
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Thank you sahdanan
I'm glad it touched a chord...
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fantastic
ALLLL RIGHT!!!! Lovin' it!!! thanx for the sweet, short & oh so very power-filled reminder....
stay in the light...
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great work
This is a really good poem, how do you do such nice ryhme. Really good stuff. You make a really interesting point, and i agrre with the prfessor, it really is good, sums it up really concise and neatly, keep up the excellent poetry! -
professional poem
This is such an excellently concise poem which sums everything up into a single stanza. Excellent. -
Thanks Matt...too true, my friend...too true. I'm working on a little spiritual spring cleaning right now. We'll see if I do a little dusting
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Bravo!
Short and sweet!!!
The past haunts us all wheather we notice or not!!!
Great write!!!
-Matt- -
this is an astonding piece, im speechless. Great job! thanks for entering!
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Congrats on this well deserved victory.
Edited on Jan 06, 10:57 p.m. because 'probably needed it'. -
Fabulous chunk of instant wisdom... almost like you set out to write the world's best fortune cookie and actually achieved your goal. Well done!
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Congratulations on the gold. A well deserved trophy! A poigniant and profoundly touching poem. An exemplary example of less is more!
~Michelle~
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beautiful
wow...I love haikus and stuff...its so amazing how such little amounts of normal words can make great amounts of power...wonderful write
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A good piece, interesting.
James -
Awesome
Wow, that's true short beauty -
it's great
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nice, i was completely unprepared for the short-and-clear-down-to-the-point piece. But really nice. Great work.
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It's simple,but such meaning! You did a wonderful job on this
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Its short but it gets your point across very well..awesome poem
much luv
-GIR- -
Wow...I'm honored by your lovely comment. I think I may print it out and pin it to my wall as a muse when inspiration falls short. You have no idea how much you've touched me...thank you.
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Hmnn thought I had comment on this great peice before.
if I did forgive me
If I did not
forgive me.
Marvelous writing. -
*Sighs* This was breathtaking. So much in such a little amount of words. I loved the message behind this piece more than anything else. You have remarkable talent, and it shines though quite brightly in the beauty of this masterpiece. I am glad I have had the chance to read your work and I look forward to reading more. Gorgeous job with this one.
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haaaaaaaaah!
Well thats obvious. Great poem though. -
This is a fne example of something short yet saying so much. So deep and so profound! I am in awe of this poem and find myself reciting it over and over again.
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Wow! Beautiful and true! I try not to dwell on the past, like most, but it's true how it slows down the "drive" of the heart, if you know what I mean. Wonderful way of expressing this. Absolutely beautiful!
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This is a very deep poem. Your poem short yet has such a powerful meaning behind it. It really does say alot within these few lines. Nicely done...
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excellent
short to the point and wonderfully done!
I look forward to reading more of your work as I enjoyed this one very much! -
Well I like shortwrite's and this sounds well. Still if this dust covered heart would like to listen carefully and if it had eyes and would look. It would do both to history and past. To many hearts are to dusty to pick up the smell and senses the past layed upon us. To see what was achieved and in what way.
I see your good meanings but many times I am and was confronted with dust covered hearts. To many times I have seen people inventing the wheel again. So I am probably
the only one who doesn't applaud this one. But keep penning and follow your heart keep it glansing. 
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beautiful
This is a food for the heart to keep and hold, thanks for this soul food, well it all flows down why it is that way cos we all are glued to the weakness of our shadows or what do u think? -
great
Very well put. I think that you will find many of us who will agree with this philosophy. I believe that the past although reflective doesn't have to have the power to define us in the future. We are all in charge of our own destiny's and I have made it a point not to allow a moment in time to become my entire life! thanks for sharing. I liked your poem. Sometimes it only takes a few words to express an idea so clearly. -
I love these short but amazing poems that I read on here. So few words that convey so much. It's great!
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Lovely thought, Joshua! I agree with your words here.
Charishma
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good write i guess keep it up and good
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whew this is so good i cant help but come back to read it and show it to my mates, keep up this outrageous work!
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Excelent
Love the title and love the verse -
Hahahaha....I'm sorry....this is funny, it's so short but means so much. This is a nice piece that not only speaks true but goes right to the point in such a way that it's humorful. Don't know if that's a word but yes great work loved it!
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awesome!!
this is a marvelous poem! just like what everyone else said: WOW!
i love how you say that the past is old so it's covered in dust but is forever remembered. bravo! i loved it! , jsw
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Wow, Gen...I'm most honored that something I wrote kindled even the smallest of sparks of the Zen. Thank you for the encouragement, and your kind words are always highly and humbly appreciated
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Nicely done, Josh! Succinct, pithy and resonates well. The association it suggested for me is that although memories are inevitable, whether they are perceived as negative ("dust") or not is always our own choice.
It also reminded me of a famous verse by the sixth Patriarch of Zen in northern China, which said:
This body is the Bodhi-tree,
The soul is like a mirror bright;
Take heed to keep it always clean,
And let not dust collect on it.
~Gen
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Thank you, Katie...true, there are many ways to look at this...if something I wrote made you think, or ponder the human condition deeper, then I'm happy I'm so glad you stopped by...Thanks
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The past cannot be seen nor heard! I feel that's not strictly true, I guess it's how you look at it. We can see the past as we remember the memories that are stored up in our minds, we can hear it when we listen to a certain piece of music that has stayed in our memory because of a certain association with it. Then I read the last couple of lines and it answered what I just said... so, yes you are right!
Well Done, I enjoyed pondering over this.
~Katie~
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Thank you so much Cheryl...BTW, I love your motto...so true!!
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Short and sweet but so true, they will always be there guiding and effecting us, and this poem goes so very deep.... I love it
Edited on Dec 07, 1:58 p.m. because 'no need for swearing among poets'. -
short and snappy but how very very true nice write well done and good luck in the contest xx Cheryl
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Wow
wow great job you sumed it up in just a few words. Great Job this is so very true. I really like it. -
very nice
Yeah, this is practically a whole book of poetry compacted into a few lines. Very nice. Simple is good. -
awsome. it was 4 lines long and look at all the love you got you got. 4 lines packed with knowlege and meaning. exellent.
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Good
SO true, no one else can feel the weight of our pasts but ourselves. Yet, it marks our very personalities and souls. -
Perfect
Blunt. Great job! -
excellent
wow..awesome..i love it..wonderful phase..and a very interesting thing to say..u know...my history teacher was telling me..we learn history to not make the same mistakes..yet we still make dumb mistakes..hmm..while the past can be heard by tape recorders..lol..but i get ur meaning..i like it..good job -
Interesting. You did a nice job with the theme for the contest, I think. Your poem was meaningful and it was a catchy phrase to me, at least. Good luck in the contest!
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Checked this out again - love the words you have written.
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Well done!
You are right about the past.... it cannot be seen nor heard. A tricky thing... Isn't it??? But you know what... PAst cannot be literally seen or heard but it can be seen as in memories... Memories that can never die...
I liked this piece very much. I think it is very deep and meaningful. Well done! -
*nods in agreement* Very deep.
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It is very true and very catchy defination of the life through and through.The thoughts are very deeply touching the philosphy of this great nature . The structure of the write in seems to be very small ..i mean there are only four lines but the depth of the write can be defined in forty lines even. The beauty of the lines lies in its tight focus on the concept chosen for the poem. The flow of the write is very impressive and just to the point too. I really apprecaite this work.prabhudayal khattar
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omg your really good at writtin keep on writin bye tash
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worship hehe :D
very nice indeed! -
OUTSTANDING
I love your short to the point, packed with wisdom words of knowledge. Yoy have certainly orchestrated this with the tune of a keen eye! Such great imagery and atitle that is perfectly fitting, along with your great background.
blessings
ICUlookn -
Thanx.
Deep Shit. Real, cause all things are in one way or another are simply dust, coating our minds. The past and present seem to blur sometimes, cause the hurt of the past, yet we neglet the hurt of the present. And the pain both present and past will unleash upon our future. Beutifull thoughts. -
Sometimes the past is noisy blocking out reason, like heavy metal music. sometimes you can't block it out even with your ears covered.
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Very captivating! I like it, keep up the good work!
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Hi smallmonk. I've only been in college for one semester now, but I've seen professors go off on a rant about the word 'I', among other minutea. So I think I'm pretty well indoctrinated in how subjective things can be (I thought the professor was being quite ridiculous). Anyway, my review was for your enjoyment. That's my purpose. I enjoy writing it, but at the same time, I hope that it helps you to see your poem differently. Of course, it was a pretty solid piece.
I subscribe to an ideal of subjective objectivities. So I feel like there is some standard to which we could hold poetry to. Maybe I'm just too proletariat, but to me the measure of good poetry is how hard the poet worked on it, as evidenced in the continuity (or something like that) of the poem. I'm all about effort.
Mike -
Mike...thank you for your feedback. You picked up on some of the more minute details of the piece...I'm impressed. Poetry (both the writing, and the reading) is so subjective. It's always interesting for me to see how different poems affect different people. Thanks for taking the time to share your true feelings on my hubmle little piece. Cheers...smallmonk!
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Ah, the difference between dust and memories is that dust is inert, while memories continue to act and affect the future. Many, many memories, however, like silly old photos, are quite a bit like dust, in that they just sit about for ages, doing nothing. I would say that it depends, though, on how strong that part of the past is, as to whether we can see or hear it. Particularly strong memoires, often tied to guilt, are quite vivid.
I really shouldn't argue against the content, though. Don't feel as though I'm saying you should change your poem based on that. I'm just thinking, as I'm wont to do.
I see you're articulating a disconection here, and yet a lingering effect...
I think the end effect of this poem is something you can feel in your chest as something of a sadness and a loss. Our past is lost to us, though is stays with us. It is not revisited. Many people, great and small, are lost to us in the past.
If it weren't for the last line, I wouldn't be bothered with this poem... But the last line activates and actuates the rest of the poem, and makes it worth rereading a few times. Good work.
Mike -
Hello, Rae...
I've never heard "damnable" used as a compliment...but if so, I'll take it Thank you for your kind words...smallmonk
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Short...
precise...
and very true...
...this is what makes a good poem a damnable one(yes, it's a compliment)
Rae -
outstanding. i loved the way you sais everything in 4 lines. those words are words to poder too. they deffinatly make you think. i didn't think of the past like that but now it kinda makes it fit better when you think of it this way. nice job. and keep it up.
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This is just great - so short, so profound and so truthful, all in four little lines and so few words - very well written.
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wow.. only like four lines yet a whole peom Good job
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wow short and sweet and sooooo true !
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monk, very nice little write and good word to really live by. there is one section that really makes this stand out in a comfortable sort of way. (in my opinion anyway) 'neither seen nor heard Yet covers the heart' to me this represents deep words of wisdom like coming from and old sage. nice little write and words of wisdome, that are more than a catch phrase. image and Visions
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Few words, but the words are ingraved in my heart, this is such an amazing outstanding poem. Lovley job.
Love my darling,
andie -
The past can be
excellent write i love the lines......
neither seen nor heard
Yet covers the heart
in dust & memories
this is a deep thought and well penned -
When you can say it in 4 lines why use 8? Marvelous write.
~~~POO~~~ -
Amazing ... to echo what the majority of others have said, short but powerful. Although, I think it's a slight contradiction because you say that the past cannot be seen, and then you say it's covered in memories - and most memories are visual ones ... But apart from that, this was quite good - nice job!
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lovelyyyyyyyyyyyyy
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Short and powerful! You did well at getting a message a strong message out there to the reader in so few words. That is not easily done by most but you seemed to capture doing this quite well!
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24KT
Extremely short, but says it all, and so eloquently, too!!! I think you have captured the essence of life experiences. Thanks for sharing and good luck in the contest!!! -
lovely
This was very short but yet very poetic. I liked it. -
that is an amazing poem. it speaks
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A very deep description of past! Great Job! Thank you for entering!
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very insightful. niether possitive nor negative... just the simple statement of truth. its one of those promts you'd see on the board for a highschool righting assignment. O.O
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wooo....
great poem.. it stirs my soul with something undescribable.. Its so short but gripping if you take my meaning. Great work -
This is an awesome poem. The incite has awakened knoledge in my mind.
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so short but so amazing!!! Great job putting all of that emotion in to just a few words and four lines!
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short but powerful ! i love the words choice, like dust. soft but it covers a surface completely and totally just like the dark memories. I really enjoyed reading this... it was very nice.. good job!
-kim -
short and to the point. Very simple, yet so profound. I like the use of dust... Soft, delicate, if you disturb it it goes everywhere and if there is enough of it, it engulfs you. Much like the darker memories of the past. Nice write and thanks for sharing it.
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i agree with cgirl this was a very good peice and sometimes few things can say a whole lot, good job
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WOW, so little but yet it can say alot to you wile you read it. I was reading it and yet it is kinda short the shortesnt things can mean much more than something so long in writting. Keep up the work, id like to read some more from you........
~Nina~ -
Brava!! Two thumbs up!! Excellent... memora
This is truly remarkable it is pure poetic wonder; eloquent simplicity with the power of pure truth becomes the most memorable of words... as they are the stroke of pure thought and become the validation of you and your talent Totally awesome!! Wishing you much success in all of your endeavors and a joyous Holdiay Season to you and yours!!
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woerful
few words but speaks volumes -
Wow, this is simple yet truly elegant. So true too!
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oh wow...absoultly amazing...short and simple...but it carried such a powerful meaning...keep up the fantastic writing...nice work
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Excellent job! For some reason the title reminded me of an old beaten rag doll and now you've inspired me to go off and writr about just that - an old beaten rag doll! lol
Thanks for sharing. Such a lovely poem. -
very, very true. great job.
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Bravo! So profound and wise with so few words. Loved it!
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WoW! What very profound words you have flowing from your pen here Joshua. This is so true. Some of us would do well to blow away some of that dust, eh? Great job sweetie!
Touchof1der
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Very pure in its sincerity and simplicity. Refreshingly short too
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