The longer I live, the more I realize
That all the favorite subjects of poets -
The moon, the wind, the stars,
The seasons, the clouds and flowers,
The human heart,
And all the thoughts and feelings
That crowd our minds
Are nothing more
Than a reflection of ourselves,
A reflection which changes
From moment to moment.
Have you ever been sad on a sunny day?
Did it matter that the sun was shining?
Have you ever felt so spiritually desolate
That you resented happiness in others?
Pain seems to feed on itself.
But . . .
Have you ever been happy and noticed
How friendly everyone else seemed to be,
How all the streetlights changed for you,
How even animals came bounding over
And every flower leaned in your direction
As if to taste a little of your essence?
It had nothing to do with them.
It's a great mystery.
We see the world as we are,
As we feel,
And the world seems to know it.
There are many types of consciousness
Beneath the surface we can see.
Love is no different.
We give up on it, not the other way around.
Love will never knock at a hermit's door.
To the embittered and distrustful,
Love is like an eager customer
with pockets full of cash
peering through the window of a closed shop.
The cure is simple.
We must open the store,
Pull back the curtains,
Clean the place up,
and turn on all the lights
So nobody passing will say,
"Oh, it must be closed."
We must be willing to take another chance.
Yes, the great, mad spectacle of life
May have pain as well as pleasure,
Sadness as well as joy,
But never taking part in it is worse.
It's better to sing your heart out
And receive a few bad reviews
Than to never know how it feels
To sing your heart out.
Heartache isn't the worst fate, dear friend.
Emptiness is.
Author notes
"There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread."
- Mother Teresa
An article you might enjoy, Blaze -
www.ofspirit.com/natashamunson1.htm
Written April 30th, 2006
In a list
A contest entry
- Show Me How To Love Again by Cadee Blaze.
500 points, ended May 1, 2006, 6 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 23 of 23
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deep
Mark this is stunningly beautiful in its exquisite simplicity. Your words are so relatable and ooze snippets of insightful wisdom like honey on a hot summer day. Your metaphor for love as the customer with cash looking through a closed shop window is so apropos. The truisms resonate deeply with me and I absolutely loved this line "Love will never knock at a hermit's door"
I will be back to read more of your work.
Namaste,
Henri -
Robin,
Thanks very much for your wonderful, encouraging comments. I think poems about love have a greater impact on people because it's the most important thing in our lives and we all need to walk through its fires so often before we find the one we'll spend our lives with. Many never do, but as the poem says, I think being alone is usually a choice caused by bitterness and the desire to avoid being hurt again.
I hope you're having a happy day.
Mark
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Nice picture change, too! -
enduring
Mark, I read all of the comments related to this write and it is amazing how when one writes something that is incontestable it is obvious. The voice of the piece is squarely aimed and fired at its target with precision. Sometimes you just know when you write verse that it has that certain something. It is almost unexplainable and it is not just an idea that can be placed any ole time you want to. You captured an idea here and managed to make it swim in water, fly through the air or drill through the concrete. Almost no stone was left unturned as you pursued the hearts of men and what is of genuine value. Congratulations not just on the contest, but on the chance to grab the hearts and minds of your fellow writers and readers. god bless. RC -
lov ya
This poem is amazing. It brings out a lot in me! I love your words and beauty that you put into this poem. I am speachless and breathless, please give me your mercy oh great poet! I love singing a song when life gets me done. It brings out the magic of music. Your words are powerful and leave me amazed at your art for the qwill.
-Empty- -
really good
A great common sense write very interesting and refreshingly different. -
WOW!!Absolutley wonderful! Positive and inspiring work! Keep it up! Great write!
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This piece is very interesting. I saw it on the featured, and came in expecting maybe a poem about singing, but instead I found a hidden treasure. This poem was wonderfully eloquent, and oh so inspiring. It dripped with the essence of brilliance and made many connections to myself, which made it a great read. I enjoyed every line and word of this poem, for it was just the uplift I needed on such a day. Great job.
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yours words ring so very true , a most eloquent write.
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pretty good man..pretty good..i like your style...its pretty slammin! good job!
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heismysong,
I don't mind you sharing your Christian beliefs with me. Your faith is a beautiful thing to witness.
Thanks,
Mark
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Yvette,
It was worth writing the poem just to read your response. Truly words to live by.
Thanks,
Mark
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Hi Dee,
Couldn't have said it better myself - - -
"We are what we belive ourselves to be, and we can do what we believe we can do. Life isn't really so complicated, we just tend to make it that way sometimes."
Thanks,
Mark
P.S. Color change in progress. lol -
Oops... now I see that the contest is already over and you won a trophy Congratulations!!! This is a very deserving piece.
Dee
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This reminds me of one of my sister's favorite sayings... I don't know if she originated it or found it somewhere but it's:
"Happiness is something we plan in advance"
We are what we belive ourselves to be, and we can do what we believe we can do. Life isn't really so complicated, we just tend to make it that way sometimes.
When we open up, we might let in a little flack, but mostly we let in light and love. Try it
I really do like this piece, Mark. It says so much about life, about love and what we bring to the table.
An excellent write Good luck in the contest
luv and
Dee
P S ... the colors hurt my eyes, though.
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Beautiful!
I hope you don't mind if I check out that article later, too.
Ya know, I started counseling with a Christian friend's mom, AND my church started a Sunday School class for the ladies entitled "Lies Women Believe", based on a book by Nancy Leigh Demoss.
Every since I've started these, I feel like God is opening my eyes to whole new beautiful and wonderful truths, about how life really can be, about how valued I am, and how much God loves me- just me as an individual.
One of the first verses they talked about in the Sunday School class was the one where Jesus is saying, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." And that's really how I've felt- FREE!
This piece made me think of all that.
Please for give my "Christianese" ramblings, Mark- you're so patient with me!
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Dear Mark,
this well written write is certainly worthy of a trophy win,congratulations.I agree with the sentiment herein.
When one is at peace with ones self that is felt by others,
when two people feel a sense of belonging together it is not
the traditional romantic ideals that are valued as much as
sharing moments with a partner that enhance even ones own delight in the every day things.The mutual sing a longs to music
in the car,sharing the crossword puzzle,reading passages aloud to each other snuggled up in bed.It is that which is shared in love that doubles the pleasure,to give and to recieve.
How right you are about taking the chance on love or
feeling the void of emptiness.Each relationship teaches us something about ourselves and others.Even if it didn`t work
would we rather have not experienced that which was good before
love left?Love doesn`t introduce itself nor say au revoir,it is simply felt or it is not.
I believe the desire to be loved and to want to be loved is as strong within us as is the need for all the other
things which sustain us like food and water,these nourish our
bodies but love nourishes our soul.
As humane beings we need our spirit fed by faith in ourselves and in our beliefs,we need our minds fed by knowledge and understanding and we need our soul fed by that which is not seen or heard but felt,we need to both love and be loved.
Well done again,
Yvette -
My jaw was slightly dropped after reading this. Everything you said spoke volums to me. Nicely done, thank you for entering my contest and sharing this with me. Great job ~blaze
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This really is a great piece- I have not read it before and I loved it.
david
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I predict your staying at home with your children will pay off in spades in too many ways to count. One modern expression I can't stand is "quality time". Kids need quantity time. I know I did when I was a little ankle-biter. My mom stayed at home and look how I turned out. Wait a minute. Forget I said that. lol
Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders, and a good heart in your breast (even if you did pick on me before.) haha Okay, I'll stop now.
Thanks,
Mark
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Thanks, Timothy. Glad you enjoyed it. I hope you're happy and well.
Mark
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I think the quote you use from Mother Teresa is most apt in the developed world. It seems some 'poor' kids have all they need in the material sense but are pressured by the media and insufficiently loved and approved of. I'm a stay home mum and it's financial suicide but my children and all their friends know how much I love and care for them. (Spose you might look on this as my Nice CV....!) x d
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Very well expressed my friend, thanks for sharing such a beautifully penned piece here, I enjoyed the read, and I wish you all the best, peace, take care, Timothy~
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