Let'splay harder
But it gets harder
to pretend
that we're not hurting
Joking through
the pain
laughing through
the tears
Easing for a moment
what has no anodyne
Yet we knowthere can be
no Ecstasy without
the agony
no Joy withoutdespair
Therein liesthe Promise
that everything
must turn
as
Night to Day
Equal & Opposite
in
Time
Author notes
"There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness."
~ Carl Jung
Written May 11th, 2004
In a list
What did you think
Comments
1 - 36 of 36
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deep!
You have nailed this and have said sooooooo many things on my mind lately...more so this thought
Joking through
the pain
Laughing through
the tears
It seems all of us try to put up front acting like things are fine...while inside we're crying.
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Thank you, shubs
But I have covered that in the last reminder that:
Therein lies the Promise
that everything
must turn
i.e. to its opposite.. therefore one must hold to the immutable fact that 'this too shall pass', as everything does. When we cannot change something around us, we can change our attitude towards it. The one thing we always have absolute control over is our attitude.
~Gen
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A poem which eulogises the merits and demerits of life in all its raw essence and the joy without despair is perfect but spare a thought for the human who cannot take the despair and is consumed by the gloom around and extremity has no limits..even as elation knows no bounds..
A good sound write up on the positively contradicting aspects of life....all the best in the contest..cheers Shubs
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Great representation for the bitter-sweet harmony of life
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Thank you for such a wonderful comment, d-m! It is most appreciated.
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wonderful
I have definitely found everything you've written in this poem to be very true - you don't fully appreciate what you have until you've lived life without it. I really, really especially love that last stanza - it has a certain calming effect that I can't quite put into words.
I just keep rereading it, it's so beautiful. Somehow that line about night turning to day gives me inspiration, because life will move on past the bad times.
Truly, a wonderful poem.
Fantastic job with this, and thank you for entering!
~dresden-moon -
...and what goes around comes around...Karma-the great equalizer. I have felt that my share of light and dark, the yin and yang of life, this speaks of that well. you are correct without pain there is no joy, without angst there is no peace, without frustration there is no satisfaction. this had a very calming affect on me as I read it, sort of a gentle reminder, thanks for sharing this with me Maat...peace Terry
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Copy of Yemassee's comment lost in the site crash:
System Message:
Feb 10, 4:07 p.m.
Yemassee made a comment on Hard Play:
"My last girlfriend dumped me in part because I prefered straight lines to angles.
Yes, that pertains to this poem (well, at least to me and this poem) but also it sounds Yemmish.
I see a contradiction in this poem--which reminds me of one yesterday that you wrote (I mean, that I read.) I wonder if this is a recurring style with you--take the reader one way and then shift 180 degrees. It keeps the reader off balance making him just a little less certain of the nature of reality (or at least as seen through your words.) In this poem, you set us up to assume that this dance between two people is becoming the end of them. That this pain that they cause one another will be their undoing. Then you shift and suggest that this is a necessary pain. It doesn't matter if I agree with this one example of the pain/pleasure principle, I'm more interested in your interpretation. Is there a scale as to how much pain is meted and to how much pleasure? My dad always said (remember, we're country folk, "Give away you a-- and sh-- through your elbow." Beyond the humor, I wonder if you can give away too much, just for the sake of a theory?
But what do I know--I sh-- through my elbow.
Sorry, most of my comments don't include fecal matter. lol" -
thought provoking
Ahhhh, yes, Gennelle! I see what you mean... I fully believe in what this poem has to say. This is a poem that vibrates with provocative thought-- one needing the other in order to exist...
Excellent!
Melinda -
an excellent and poetic way to define opposites. either extreme depends upon the other and without one the other does not exist. i love how you put this into words. a wonderful write.
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Thank you M!
I was surprised you weren't in there! I guess meter and iambs don't appeal to everyone 
C'est la vie
~ G
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Congratulations Gennelle! It's a well deserved award.
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Thank you for your lovely comment, Moses
I thought yours was
a sure winner, but we had some good competition. Glad to see you did get an Honourable Mention, though.
~ G
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Truly a remarkable and profound poem. Congratulations on the well deserved silver for such a great effort. One of the best free verse poems I have read in quite awhile.
Best wishes,
Moses
Edited on Aug 23, 7:52 because ''. -
Thank you so much, Andu! Woah, what a wonderful comment!
~ G
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this poem was a mind-shaker to me.. very deep and thought provoking. An intersting perspective of the opposite theme, I like it, but what I enjoyed most about this was the effect it had on me, it sort of widened the limitations of our imagination.. and that is something few people achieve with poetry, at least with me. Excellent write, well done!
Thanks for entering my contest and good luck! -
Thank you for your applause M I loved your earlier comment on this one too (1st page)
We've got some pretty good competition; I thought this one was worth putting in, being so 'on topic'.
~ G
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Wise and wonderful
That is an excellent way of putting it, which is that it is the height of the heights that make the depths so deep. We do experience all the opposites, and they make life complete. You said it better than I did!
Good luck in the contest!
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It's not really a matter of what "should be", but what is. If the purpose and goal of existence is perfection, union with Oneness, then it requires understanding of what that means. If we can only truly understand and Know something by experience, then that is what must be.
~ G
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ying yang...not sure if I agree with this. I know it's the popular thing these days, and i know it's a scientific law on a physical scale, but is that the way it 'should' be? I have always had trouble with the idea that sorrow is a neccesity. That's just me, and tonight is not the night to discuss it
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Let's
play harder.
But it gets harder
to pretend
that we're not hurting
Joking through
the pain
Laughing through
the tears
I love this Poem, especially this part of it.
It says exactly what I mean if I say; you don't know me..!!
They know the person that you can see just by looking at you, but they don't know the true you, the you that you are behind the smile that you put up every morning..
Damn, I love this Poem...
* Cevanme Nimue*
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Thank you Chris!
Your comment reminded me of the quote Taigaku posted on my poem 'As I AM' -
"Heaven drops a bomb between my ears
Squeezes all that fire into a spear
And throws it at my fear."
~ Stuart Davis (mystic songwriter)
~ G
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mind blowing :D
Immediately after starting to read the words, I could hear the walls surrounding my imagination crumble. In this poem you have created an atmosphere that is the dynamite we need to blow up the restraining boundaries that limit our minds. Limits are obstructions on our path through space and time, if only we'd be aware they are not there! This poem helps blowing them up. Let's break down each wall that obstructs our view or prevents us from trveling where we need to go. More dynamite poetry like this please! Thank you.
Chris -
Oh my, what perfectly poetic praise! "Done with the quill of a Lovebird's wing"? (swoon) Wooah...
~ G
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Yeah. All is balanced on the scale of life: love with extreme passion - be prepared for the scorpions smart. Done with the quill of a Lovebirds' wing..
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good write...it is great to read something of truth....i could say so much more...but this is not the time or place
keep up the good work
dark search -
Thank you, imjusbnme I'm pleased you picked up on the law of physics...the universe was created by the tension of opposites. How can we measure one, without the other - exactly.
~ G
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Very good write. Amazing how you can say so much with so few words. I believe duality is a universal law. It falls directly in line with the law of physics that states "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Joy would not exist without sorrow, hope without loss, desire without denial. We must know one to expeirenc the other. Your poem did a great job of stating this. Keep up the great work.
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This is a great poem. Truly each emotions is defined by its counter, as the day defines the night. Well sone.
Scott -
this, was great. it was like hearing one of those moving songs that just give you that feeling in your stomach. except it was a poem
i like how it trailed off toward the end, that's what gave me that feeling. the form you used was totally appropriate for this piece. it sets the tone and gives the reader instructions on how this piece should be read: softly and slowly. and if you do read it like that, and read it with intentions of reading it and taking it in, rather than just getting enough info to be able to write a one-sentence comment, like most of the other people here... if you actaully read it, it's quite moving. and so to you, i say: kudos. you've a gift for writing.
have a nice day
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Great write! I'm feeling a little like that today.Torn between depression and hope. God Bless,Patty
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Turn of phrase
I love parallels and dualist nature. It is hopeful, and deep and meaningful, further than just a personal sentiment. Well written.
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excells beyond words
never have i heard such feelings expressed so well in so few words!! this is a spectacular poem!! you have such potential to be anything you want,but truly you are gifted in the land of the poets!! keep up the fine work!! poetic janis -
Wise
As ever, you have expressed a great deal in so few words that I must meditate on them! Very well done!
What I think you have said is the old truth from Ecclesiastes: For everything there is a season. A time to laugh AND a time to cry.
A life without suffering is also without compassion for the suffering of others. Life is suffering, it has a cause, it has an end, there is a way to that end. To some extent we can control the suffering by putting aside the tears and laughing when the opportunity arises. As they say, pain is unavoidable, suffering is a choice.
That does not make anything easier, but with a promise comes hope. In the darkest night, we know the sun will come again.
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Thank you, Tom How can anyone who really feels empathy remain detached and 'tranquil'? (Not even Jesus could do that.)
Remember the Beatitudes.
~ G
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view the soul
Hi my friend ..So ~ ,my pilgrimage is their pilgrimage ..Nice write and yet so sad ,,tranquility should be much pleasure without pain ..I guess I'm dreaming again ,,oh well I'm covered with nakedness in the mirror ,a savage..Thanks for sharing ~Skinwalker
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