We who with songs beguile your pilgrimage / And swear that Beauty lives though lilies die, / We Poets of the proud old lineage / Who sing to find your hearts, we know not why ... (James Elroy Flecker)

7.11.18

Community?


Community?

until I was 
I didn't have
(one on one)

never had 
a tribe or posse 
because I was half

wasn't always
so much 
as the fact 

I liked 
the deep lots
lovely solitude

I am still 
in many ways
it surprises me


Erasure poem – from a piece of my own writing: a prose draft on the theme of 'community'.

I'm linking this to The Tuesday Platform for Dec 11 2018, at 'imaginary garden with real toads'.

19 comments:

  1. Even when we're part of a larger whole, we can find ourselves, lost in numbers. Not knowing where one should be, or drowning in loneliness. A true community, is one that allows to follow paths that often less travelled by ourselves, if we shall wish to.

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    1. Thank you. I'm glad you've understood this, as I wasn't at all sure if it would work.

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  2. Very interesting poem: I shall read this again and again.

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    1. Thank you. I'm not sure it will yield much more, though.

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  3. Erasure poetry always creates surprising results. I enjoyed the abstract quality of this piece.

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  4. Nicely done. I've tried doing some erasure poems, but so far I always end up erasing them.

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  5. I like this community of one. I was always and still am a whole. My husband and I love each other dearly but we don't think of ourselves as halves but wholes

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  6. This is beautifully worded, Rosemary!❤️ I feel one requires a perfect balance between enjoying quiet and solitude as well as being a part of a community where others exist in harmony. In times like these mutual support and understanding is a plus point.❤️

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  7. Solitude can be lovely. I do understand how you feel and your thoughts Rosemary. Beautiful and true to your path and heart.

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  8. I have made a similar journey - to wholeness, and community, yet thriving on my peaceful solitude. An interesting erasure poem, Rosemary. Hmmm, I havent given one a try for too long.......

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    1. And in that first sentence, you sum it up perfectly!

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  9. I love the way you brought out the feeling of ‘separate-ness’

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  10. The fractured writing together with the title is to me speaking of a wish of belonging and a fear of losing the independence of solitude...

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  11. To feel that solitude even when one is part of the whole or a community speaks to me of an inherent case of loneliness. It's quite an evocative Erasure poem.

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  12. because I was half.... so interesting you say that about wanting solitude and not having a posse!

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  13. Simple yet profound! We always want to be a part of a community, group but find ourselves incomplete ... wonder in ways we can contribute. Yet sometimes we strive for solitude to reflect and contemplate.

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  14. I am still
    in many ways
    it surprises me

    Doing an eraser invariably ends in a discovery and certainly surprises many!

    Hank

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