This is splendid and sweet, A. A wonderful weaving of hopes, actions, ideas and consequences. I like the spacing, cadence and rhymes. The rhyming is so subtle I did not notice it at first, but see it as I read through the poem several times. Lines like these sizzle: "Those of us with hearts bleeding needn't wait for the change of heart of those heedlessly imparting the violence if it is even yet to come;" Thank you for this profund, thoughtful and piercing poem.
This is very powerful and compelling, Lisa. And your wonderful question at the end of the poem: “How do I make sense if this gargantuan world?” How to we?
I love this. My toddler saw someone tap their face and exclaim "Ah! I got an idea!" and throw up their pointer finger on a show once, so now when he wants to do something he often mimics the motions and says "ah! Idea!" and it's one of my favourite things.
The feeling of living a normal life in a world full of horrors is so strange that I can't even wrap my mind around it. Thank you for putting this into words.
LIke Kaitlin and so many of us, I am grieving another day in the brutal wars in Gaza, in Ukraine, in Haiti, in Ethiopia, Myanmar, and all the other places where we may not use the term, but people are dying. I am grieving the deaths and destruction to come. May this Memorial Day be a new beginning.
Academia stole my love of reading, as well as writing. I was an English major. I burned out before getting my degree and it's taken a lot longer than I'd like, but they both came back even stronger.
I hear and feel you, Sarah. It is so easy to be cynical in these times, and I appreciate that your poem expresses that so well. I like to think that the arc of the Universe bends towards justice, but that it gets impededed by the worst aspects of our nature, because too often, that is what is being fed. Thank you for being you in this world.
Is there truly any heart
so hard that it cannot begin
.
to beat again in time with
the pain of the world?
.
I don't know for sure,
but I have an idea.
.
Those of us with hearts
bleeding needn't wait
.
for the change of heart
of those heedlessly
.
imparting the violence
if it is even yet to come;
.
no, the thrum of life
must not be silenced.
.
It is violence that must
no longer be allowed
.
to express its depths
when it is so unfeeling.
.
Violence is senseless;
it does not see
.
the extent of harm
that it causes.
.
It will never hear
the cries of those
.
suffering at its hands;
it cannot taste
.
the salt of their tears.
Violence does not smell
.
the smoke from all of
the good and beautiful things
.
it has burned to ash;
it cannot feel
.
sadness at their loss,
guilt over its actions,
.
or the need to relent
the way a human can.
.
We must not suffer
violence and its whims
.
if we are to continue;
we must step in.
.
We get to decide
our conditions.
.
Our hearts will lead us,
if we will only listen.
If.....
This is splendid and sweet, A. A wonderful weaving of hopes, actions, ideas and consequences. I like the spacing, cadence and rhymes. The rhyming is so subtle I did not notice it at first, but see it as I read through the poem several times. Lines like these sizzle: "Those of us with hearts bleeding needn't wait for the change of heart of those heedlessly imparting the violence if it is even yet to come;" Thank you for this profund, thoughtful and piercing poem.
Thank you, Kaitlin. You have named a sledgehammer in our heartbreaking world.
Idea
It’s been said that
our children learn much more
by watching what we do,
than by listening
to what we say;
that music touches the soul
in spots far deeper
than words, alone, can reach;
and that dancing opens us
to thoughts and ideas
we never could have imagined
from our seats.
Here’s my idea:
Our generation needs
to learn to sing
and dance to the song,
“Study War No More”
while our children
and grandchildren are watching,
and put its lyrics
into action in our lives,
here and now.
Otherwise, how
will war ever end?
*I ain’t gonna study war no more!*
I am hearing that country joe and the fish rag from woodstock.
One two three.....
"Hey, what's the big idea?" the guy in the movie says,
And I wonder,
What IS the big idea?
Stumbling through life with these little ideas
Too nervous to lift my eyes,
To see the cornfield for the corn
(No, too small-- the whole farm, the whole agricultural system, this dead zone we've created to feed the pigs to feed ourselves to feed our cars).
The big picture,
The whole.
Too much to hold at once
but I try.
What's the big idea?
How do I make sense of this gargantuan world?
Like a frikkin 3000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
This is very powerful and compelling, Lisa. And your wonderful question at the end of the poem: “How do I make sense if this gargantuan world?” How to we?
A thought that becomes a question
Sparks and ignites a flame
That lights a new path
From well-worn trails
Out of the darkness of what has been
Offering a new way
Saying come with me
And together we can see where this leads.
I wonder how much good stuff stays squelched in the well worn trails.
This is lovely Rachel. So honest and so hopeful. I love the ending: “Offering a new way saying come with me and together we can see where this leads.”
Idea
Innovative
Daring
Exciting
Adventurous
...
It's just an idea
it could fly or fall
it might succeed or fail
but doesn't everything
begin with that tiny spark
that brings forth an idea
My son hourly proclaims:
“I have an idea”
His eyes sparkling -
a slice of sun
lighting a lake
-
Sometimes he explains it
how he and his cousin
can take turns
how the playdough
can be the missing ball
-
Other times he runs off
without a word
His body chasing
the secret his mind
uncovered
-
Until he returns:
“I figured it out!”
His voice lifting -
a song filling
the morning air
oh thank you for this. A love poem 💜
I love this. My toddler saw someone tap their face and exclaim "Ah! I got an idea!" and throw up their pointer finger on a show once, so now when he wants to do something he often mimics the motions and says "ah! Idea!" and it's one of my favourite things.
This is a lovely and beautiful poem. Full of hope, wonder and surprise. The song filling the morning air is a wonderful ending!
Who decides stupid??
Hold my beer and watch for cops
It's an adventure.
The feeling of living a normal life in a world full of horrors is so strange that I can't even wrap my mind around it. Thank you for putting this into words.
I D E A
Dear unique one,
you are the spark
that reminds us
we are human
and not machine,
soul
not algorithm,
imagination
not a system,
‘I’ - individual
‘dear’ - feeling, hoping, illuminating,
driven by care
Oh, I love this. Thank you for sharing.
This is wonderfully creative and sweet work, Ange.
LIke Kaitlin and so many of us, I am grieving another day in the brutal wars in Gaza, in Ukraine, in Haiti, in Ethiopia, Myanmar, and all the other places where we may not use the term, but people are dying. I am grieving the deaths and destruction to come. May this Memorial Day be a new beginning.
Memorial Day, 2024
^
More deaths to mourn,
more grief to carry,
more loss to lament.
Somewhere along the way
this holiday of grief and lament
was decorated in red, white and blue,
became about patriots, country and God,
instead of a day of grief for each one lost
along the way.
As if patriotism and flag waving
need one more holiday.
What a strange idea.
News of more death comes,
couched as a “tragic accident”
by the ones who give the orders
to kill.
What a strange idea.
^
There are no accidents in war.
Each death a result of the idea
that might equals right,
force equals freedom,
hatred brings a homeland.
What a strange idea.
^
Today another idea comes to mind.
Let this be the day
we choose another way.
Swords into ploughshares,
spears into pruning hooks,
nations into peaceful sanctuaries
homelands into hope lands
where borders are only markers
on a map,
to show where the walls
came tumbling down.
May the idea that Love
Is stronger than hate,
hope overcomes fear,
joy is for all people,
that we are beings of a global nation,
without artificial and spiritual barriers
to separate us;
may that idea become reality.
^
May every idea that brings peace,
wholeness, harmony and freedom,
be celebrated as seeds of redemption,
songs of freedom,
prayers of tomorrows
where we learn war no more.
"As if patriotism needs one more holiday"
yes.
"All we need to do is recover from our addiction to privelege" (a snippet of advice from a steven charleston post)
"As if patriotism and flag waving need one more holiday" - amen.
And oh, "where borders are only markers on a map, to show where the walls came tumbling down." 🙌🏻
Thank you for writing this. The Genocide Israel towards Palestinians has been on my mind for months now. It is good to hear more people say it aloud.
Idea.
Academia has stolen my love of writing.
I want it back.
@natasha, I feel your pain. This one's for you.
Ideas
are the seeds
that grow
into progress
and art;
and are
anathema
to systems
and bureaucracy.
Thank you so much for this poem! I will keep it preciously. How much I agree!
Ideas as art as anathema to bureaucracy... 💜
I feel all of this.
Academia stole my love of reading, as well as writing. I was an English major. I burned out before getting my degree and it's taken a lot longer than I'd like, but they both came back even stronger.
I rise early
Brewing
Percolating
An idea gently steeping
While the world is sleeping.
I sit with it
Sipping slowly
Fragrant steam rising
Savoring the moment
Of where it all began.
Very nice Janine! I like the symbolism of coffee and you jointly savoring in the morning.
Do you have any ideas?
That's a good idea!
I have no idea.
You have no idea.
With ideas, hope. possibility.
Without, pain. despair.
We want to see and be seen,
The world's suffering to be heard.
We yearn for comfort and solace,
Assurance that there's more.
That broken past of shadows,
Any sign of coming dawn.
Acknowledge, accept,
Move with what's been.
Love the broken,
Bring it along.
Whisper softly in faith,
A better world is coming.
Indeed, in the seeing,
It already draws near.
This is lovely, Katie. A winding journey through ideas and circumatsances into hope and a new day. Very nice!
I have no idea
how professing Christians
can read passages
like 2 Timothy 3 or 4:3
and believe that
“in the last days…”
warnings of people
with no love but
for money and themselves,
who lie and
hate what is good,
and silo themselves
in echo chambers
of their [the algorithms’]
making
applies to
their neighbor
wearing glitter
at the Pride Parade,
the trans child begging
for their humanity
at the local school
board meeting,
or the college student
insisting that their
institution divests
from the military
industrial complex
making a killing
from genocide
but not
to the billionaire
profiting from
tax breaks [not handouts],
union busting,
right to work laws,
and not paying employees
a living wage
or to the politicians
receiving donations
from gun manufacturers
while calling for the removal
from the state house chamber
of the mother in red
pleading for
gun reforms
before the next mass shooting
claims the life of
her baby
or to the editors at the Atlantic
[name interchangeable
with other publications]
who allow for phrases like
“Legally killed children”
to be published
in good faith.
I thought
they of all people
would know the
imprecatory
implications
of calling evil
good and good
evil.
I actually am an optimist, but looking around the world today, and seeing how some things never change, has opened up a cynical side of me.
Sometimes I wonder
if anything is true.
Maybe what we've seen as green
in reality is blue.
What if the laws of the universe
are not written in stone at all?
What if the only way to rise is to
take the plunge, and fall?
I'm not sure what to think,
it's just an idea that I had,
but maybe the arc of the universe
is bending toward the bad?
I hear and feel you, Sarah. It is so easy to be cynical in these times, and I appreciate that your poem expresses that so well. I like to think that the arc of the Universe bends towards justice, but that it gets impededed by the worst aspects of our nature, because too often, that is what is being fed. Thank you for being you in this world.
Enjoyed your post and poem this morning, to lift my hurting heart with what is happening in Gaza. ❤️🩹