These Have I Loved

You did this in Jr High too? This is great :)

a nice exercise

Just Beautiful !!!!!!
:)
You covered All.
Love n Hugs for You.
__/|__

that's nice datura :)

Now see here, Tasmint....

hat pins!!!



LMAO!!

I have lots of sentiment to things from the past.



I love women aged 40 to 56, heheheee

Um....here's where I have to make a little confession....um....actually, I'm a Virgo rising....hehehe....sentimental AND super critical.... :-)

Hey, hey, I have to disagree here too! Virgos rock! Well, most of the time, at least! :P

Whatcha mean - we wouldn't understand

Yes, Tasmint, lace tatted doilies. As a Moon Child born in July I feel a deep connection to sentiment and lovely things from the past........ something that Virgos seem to have a hard time understanding......



Thank you, dear Destry. As a fellow sensitive and creative Moon Child, I knew you would understand.



;-)

tatted lace dollies???????

nice to read again :)

Oh My!

And you did a great job!

Thanks CherryMay! Actually, I wrote a not-so-good one when I was in junior high. I remember feeling very self-conscious about it. Feeling even before I began that I couldn't do it and I just wrote a bunch of trite stuff, what I thought the teacher would want to hear. It was terrible.



And so I wrote this one to give myself a second chance at it.

Beautiful! And you wrote it in junior high school? You're a poet!

Hi Swanfether and welcome back! Thank you for your kind words about this writing exercise. I really did put a good bit of thought and effort into distilling some meaningful things into a few words and it means a lot to me that you appreciated it. (It makes me feel like I am not a stranger in a strange land after all when I know someone groks it!)



How good it seems to have these dialogs in comments on stories. That pleasure seems to have been missing on EP for a while now. Your words serve you well--and I have felt their absence and have missed them. I hereby give you permission to use all the words you so desire! But I certainly do understand what you mean about how easy it is to get drawn in here and to see precious hours disappear.



And now I shall follow you to your profile to see if a blog or story has appeared!

Well, Datura, after wading into your seductive poem, and losing myself completely in familiar territory that had faded into dusty, distant memories--much has awakened within me. It feels like the 'life story' that I keep wanting to write (and starting in hundreds of unfinished paragraphs here and there) no longer needs to be labored over. You captured the essence of it here in one exquisitely simple and sensuously scrumptious piece of poetry. Wow, thank you so much.



I love the smooth way I'm drawn into the deep stillness of your territory. The vibrant color, texture, aliveness and fragrance are palpable. Your words cease to exist because I find myself inside of them BEING what is and dissolving into it, only to come out in my own backyard. Only to look around and find that what seemed so precious, unique and crucial to sanity, throughout the years of 'loving these' for me alone--turns out to be a territory that humanity itself shares in common. This is what your poem made me grok without even 'thinking' anything at all, rather by 'going there' as you did and so many others do. This is what your piece of writing evoked.



I've always felt caught between prose and poetry. A poetry teacher once told me, "Stick to prose, you NEED all those words that you like so well. They suit your style much better than the brevity of poetry. Poetry must not tell but invite. You don't quite embody that." Then another writing coach said, "Your message gets lost in all the convoluted details that you pack into your prose. You need to cut, slash and pretty much rewrite it all. Learn not to be so heavy and ponderous. Readers want to be quickly pulled in, effortlessly fascinated and they have no patience for wading through such an old-fashion style as the way in which you are prone to write."



Anyway, what I loved about this place (E.P,) when I first found my way here, was that I found that I could throw out all advice, all definition, all form and concern over the opinions or decrees that abound 'out there'. It was a venue which made me feel I could give myself permission to express freely and without fear of consequence.



E.P. has been a crucial stepping stone for me in my life journey. And--like every aspect of life (particularly those parts to which we begin to become quite attached and settled into)--it eventually began to take me over. I stopped coming here for a number of related reasons but the strongest one had to do with my own inability to moderate the way I'd get 'pulled in' and lose hours of precious time. It became obsessive/compulsive and I had to face the fact that I was 'running' from something. I guess I stopped coming in order to discover what I was running from.



That is another story because since that time the discoveries have been tumbling through my world as if having waited forever to get this invitation from me.



But I venture off on this tangent here in comment-land on your poem (which is the threshold welcoming me back again!!) because reading this piece has really jarred a lot loose for me. It feels like the catalyst that wants to integrate a lot of loose tendrils, which have been waving and floundering around my energy field for some time now! I'm feeling excited and cautious at the same time.



I have no idea what will happen, anymore, from one day to the next. I only know that in this moment it feels so good to be here in your 'life-garden' right now. And it feels 'interesting' to be here in E.P. country writing again. Taking hesitant, tentative steps into a place I recognize but don't, where there are smoldering embers and newly sprouting buds everywhere I look. And where I feel clueless and strange and extremely alert--as if aware of lurking danger behind thickets unseen and unknown.



I think what I will do right now, is take this 'beginning' to my blog or a story (or both) and continue to walk around a bit more and see what happens...



good to see you again! Swan

Aww, thanks Trailguide!

Loved reading this the first time around and love it now :)

Oops, c8lorraine, I missed your comment before. Thank you. You have said it perfectly! It did help me to reflect on what I am thankful for and all the blessings in my life, large and small.



Juan, it was a story of yours that first causes me to do this exercise. The Universe has returned it to you again today and inspired you to think about it again. Amazing!

I like your list, and you've inspired me to make my own.

Thanks for reminding us to value the little things.

That pleases me very much that it made you feel like a fairy flitting around and basking in the magic, Ladee! We all need some magic in our lives now and then! And it's wonderful to know my friend in SA is sitting at her computer and grinning and thinking of me with love, as I sit here grinning and thinking of her with love.(((Ladee)))

Thanks, Squigglefish!



I remember that the one I wrote in school was pretty bad. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do a little better. It was fun thinking about things that I love!

Thanks Laurie! Such a nice compliment!



Hi Tassie! *blows a kiss*

wonderful!

Thank you, Sweetie. I can hardly wait for the lilacs either! Winter has been here soooooo long!

This is so beautiful and we could all take time out from out *busy* lifestyle and stop to show gratitude to God for the beauty around us on our journey

beautiful, thank you for sharing...warmed my heart.