Our Guest Host is as prolific as he is talented. Spanning a wide range of topics, forms and styles, I’ve looked forward to his joining me for this week. You see him post as poetryshack, you know him as Benjamin Thomas. Welcome Benjamin!
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BENJAMIN THOMAS
Benjamin Thomas was born and raised in the great state of Ohio, Buckeye country, as they say. He currently resides in Dayton, OH (Go Flyers!) where he has spent the last 18 years going to school and working in the field of physical therapy. He is happily married to the love of his life and has two little bustling, bumbling, tumbling whippersnappers that he chases when he is not at work. He first began writing poetry in 1995, then took a long hiatus until Fall 2010 when he mysteriously discovered Writer’s digest’s Poetic Asides poem-a-day (PAD) challenge and met poets from all places including our own Walt Wojtanik and Marie E. Good.
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PROMPT #150 – “SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE”
Consider this: The government has declared that upon the first of May, you must change everything about yourself. You can retain only one feature, characteristic or character trait. Poem about that one constant. Prove that some things never change.
WALT’S PART:
THEY LEFT MY SMILE
They took my time,
they took my rhyme.
They took my money,
they took my soul.
They too my heart.
they took control.
They took my dignity.
They took my resolve.
They left me with my smile.
(C) Copyright Walter J Wojtanik – 2014
***BENJAMIN’S BIT:
CHANGE ME NOT
Change me, change me not.
Gut the interior,
but I’ll keep one spot.
Skin me silly,
extract all muscle strap.
Pluck each nerve, and remove the thinking cap.
But I’ll keep my funny bones please.
And yes, they’re all funny.
Just ask mister humerus.
Who’s contagiously hilarious
and always very humorous.
Procrastination, slowness
they can all take it back.
The warranty still valid
“defective”, there’s been a crack.
How slow is slow?
Like slow-freezing molasses,
with the speed of a centipede
wading through the grasses.
I’m laughin’ til’ the cows come home,
when I’m splittin’ grins in my sleep.
And these funny bones are chucklin’ hard,
still rumbling six feet deep.
So change me, change me not,
gut the interior,
but I’ll keep
that spot.
(C) Copyright Benjamin Thomas – 2014
POETIC BLOOMINGS 
Responses
Very interesting prompt will keep me thinking. I love the poems x never lose that smile it’s fabulous!
Hi! Love that name “heaven happens”. Hurry back 🙂
Yes I will definitely be back!
Meant to say before I posted how happy I am to see one of the newer members of the garden (new to me anyhow), Benjamin manning the desk beside Walt this week. You are one of the most prolific poets I’ve had the privilege of reading Benjamin…glad to be able to say that and that I’m getting to know you. Poem on!
Thanks for the kind words Sharon. The sails are set, and won’t regret catching the wind. Poem on!
Great way to start us off, Walt and Ben! Wonderful work, as always. 🙂
Unbreakable, Unchangeable
I can be broken, I admit,
I can be twisted, changed, possessed,
I can be beat, made to forget:
Just apply direct force and press.
Like most people, I’ll break in time,
If pushed, I’ll no longer be me;
They can take my hope, joy, rhyme,
They can take everything from me…
Except for these words: “I love you”,
They can’t change the fact that my heart
Belongs to you and only you:
They can’t change or break love apart.
© Copyright Erin Kay Hope – 2014
Erin, this is very sweet. I love your spirit in this one. Its a testament to your heart. Good job.
Excellent, Erin. So very true. We can be forced to do, to be, other than what’s normal for us, but our hearts have their own minds and functions and love stands at the top of that list. Kudos, my friend.
I think this is lovely and wistful work, Erin Kay.
Very nice, Erin.
Touching, Erin. ♥
This is sweet, Erin and so true.
Beautiful, friend… ❤ !!
“They left my SMILE” how awesome is that!!! YES! I can’t get that thought out of my head. Way to start us off Walt! Let her rip folks!
Soooo funny, Walt and Benjamin.
Here’s mine:
Resistance to Change
I’d change my age for a kick-off:
fifty was a good age for me,
and probably keep the white hair
It’s easy to manage and suits me.
I might be happier if I were
less obstinate, more phlegmatic,
had long slim legs and less embonpoint.
But those things don’t really matter.
What I wouldn’t change for a fortune
is the creativity with which I’ve been blessed:
cooking, quilting and crafting,
music, painting, poeming and such.
They’ve given me too much pleasure
to want to change that.
Nice Viv, those are great qualities to have.
I agree with you, Viv. We can’t be who we are if we go back in time and ask for something different. And creativity is a must for all of us, I think. Wonderful expression of this need.
I agree, too, Viv. If I didn’t have a creative outlet I’d be a total couch potato reading all the time.
Amen, amen.
Great poem. I had to look up embonpoint. I don’t remember running across that word before.
I so agree and your creativity brings so much pleasure!! Wonderful choice and arrival there. 🙂
OH!! I LOVE THIS AFFIRMATION for a creative lifestyle ❤ !!
Walt, Ben… me too 🙂 😀 !!
Hey Hen!
Hi Benjamin 🙂 !!
Getcha ‘ands orf me Barnet!
Take my nose: it only sniffs and blows;
I’ll say farewell, it can go to hell!
Take my baby blues, those I can lose
for they always cry (I wonder why?)
and my sad mouth that ever points south
can also be gone, adieu! So long!
Take my ears from one who too often hears
all the sniggered sneers and spiteful jeers.
The hair on my head? Touch that and you’re dead!
Once wished black to deter the attack
of bullies and cads and all the young lads,
it is a badge of pride – my soul worn outside.
A millennium of kin, both Celt and Viking
wore this bright red from womb till dead.
Though slowly greying and receding awaying
and bleached quite fair, still I love my hair.
So as Cockney folk say down East London way
the rest you can net, but getcha ‘ands orf me Barnet!
(Note: for those not in the know, Barnet Fair is cockney rhyming slang for hair)
Iain
Hey Iain, first I love the title! “Getcha ‘ands orf me Barnet!”
Loved the line “it is a badge of pride – my soul worn outside”.
Nice!
Thank you Benjamin. It’s good to see you here 🙂
thanks Iain
Love it, Iain. It could be a song, too. Think about it. A kind of drinking song, making the rounds in the pubs. That’s how I was hearing it as I read it aloud. 🙂 Good fun.
Thanks Claudsy – Yes I can see that now too! 🙂
You do music. Make it work, Iain. 🙂
I’ll give it a go!! 🙂
Good for you, Iain. Go, man, go!
ha, ha, ha… 😀 !!
Wonderful! I love that line “slowly greying and receding awaying.”
Thanks Viv 🙂
My grandpa was a redhead and never went white, stayed a lovely sandy color to the end.
TBH my grey is more white than grey especially my moustache but mostly I’ve just gone sandy/blond as oppossed to real red since moving to Spain 16 yrs ago.It’s a running battle with my students who insist I’m blond whereas I maintain I’m a redhead!! :-9
ha, ha, ha… 😀 !!
This is an utter delight.
Thank you, sir!
Yep…. 😀 !!
I love this one, Iain, especially when I have a lot of red heads in my family.
Thank you Connie
I love the flow and humor in this Iain!! Great poem. 🙂
Thank you Hannah
Ah…ha,ha,ha ❤ !! Oh, and your hair is turning Silver, not grey… Hugs, Iain, thank you for the fun and laughter!! 😀 !!
Glad you liked it. Thanks Hen 🙂
!! 🙂
Faith
If all was taken from my life
Except my faith in Jesus Christ
I’d still have hope, love, joy and peace
I’d still rely on promises
My purpose would remain the same
If I still held His precious name
And if I didn’t own a thing
I’d still be richer than a king
If all was taken, even sight
I’d live my life by His bright light
If hearing loss was in the deal
I yet would hear His voice so still
No legs to stand, no feet to walk
No tongue to sing, no mouth to talk
No hands to grasp, no arms to raise
I’d still have cause to give Him praise
At the last sound of trumpet ring
I’d find I hadn’t lost a thing
You’ve said it all in this one Connie! If all physical possessions and faculties stripped we’d still have a lot! Love the images in this one. Especially stanza number four. No legs, feet, tongue, hands, or arms and yet have cause to give praise. Excellent.
🙂
Exquisite, Connie. Such wonderment, joy and praise is comforting to see.
Wonderful, Connie.
Amen – Amen – Amen!
This is so gracefully formed, Connie…the rhyme carries one along so melodically…lovely.
Oh, Connie… Captured ❤ !!
THE NEW ME
wooden mallet held high above his head,
the white-garbed butcher, deep in his resolve,
hardly sees me stretched out like a side of beef
on the wooden block, intent on hammering
and trimming away the fat, the excesses,
“the old me,” he says, as if I am supposed
to delight in this cutting transformation.
“I like the old me,” I say as the mallet
descends like a splintering wooden sky.
“A little good, a little bad. I like me,”
but the butcher’s not listening at all.
The head chef gave him a job to do:
hammer away, slice through sinew, muscle,
bone until I am flat, short of flat line,
thin as sirloin, thin as Plastic Man
who could slide beneath the crack of closed doors,
thin as the air I’ll relearn to breathe again,
thin as fine filigree, a poet’s journal page,
thin as thin ice, wearing thin through thick and thin.
“When it’s all over,” says the butcher,
“You’ll be good as new. You’ll hardly miss
The man you were,” but by now I’m crying,
A ploy to distract him while I conceal
in my hand a bit of old me, that tap
from which laughter gushes out, that spigot
bursting to break loose despite the mallet,
this slicing madness of the butcher’s knife.
I hide it within whatever pipes
are left of me, clamped shut for now, silent
through this ordeal, this whittling down of me.
Spread thin, I pretend it’s all about sorrow,
all about losing self to a world
bent on form and fashion, so when I slither
from the butcher’s block, flat-faced, teary-eyed,
I head for the door jamb, underneath of which
I slide home-free, heart pounding with joy.
When I reach the open fields under a cloak
of darkness, I remember only
the spared laughter still a part of me.
Like the night creatures, I howl at the moon.
#
Wow Sal, this is quite a unique take on the prompt. So hats off for that! I was quite drawn in from the title, “The New Me” considering the prompt. Very vivid in it’s detail and content. Just the thought of a butcher hammering away at the old self in efforts to making a “new me” is very striking in my opinion.
Excellent as always.
Yes, powerful!!
This is an amazing poem, Sal. Absolutely amazing. I like it. It reads like those of the old masters. An experience to hold onto. Kudos.
Wow. This piece is majestic, in my view.
Yes, this poem’s a true work of art.
What an amazing journey…your descriptions and sense of story are enthralling. I love that we picked the same part to keep!! Wonderful work, Sal!
so when I slither from the butcher’s block, flat-faced, teary-eyed, I head for the door jamb, underneath of which I slide home-free, heart pounding with joy… I remember only the spared laughter still a part of me. Like the night creatures, I howl at the moon.
WOW,Sal
[…] Written for Creative Bloomings Prompt #150: Some Things Never Change […]
LEFT BEHIND
Stripped.
Bare.
Nothing left
of the original.
Sparkling blue eyes,
gone.
Dimpled smile,
gone.
Silky strands
of browns and blondes,
also gone.
If you look closer,
however,
you will see
the remnants of
what can never be taken.
You will see through
the non-blue eyes
and past the smile that’s
not the same,
and you will find
what’s left behind:
the soul of the one
who has gone
nowhere.
2014-04-13
P. Wanken
Lovely Paula. Looks like we were on a similar wave length today. 🙂
Thanks, Michelle…and yes, we seemed to be! 🙂
I love it Paula. Really makes you think and consider. And it rings so true. You can remove everything from us. But there is one thing that can never be removed. Our very soul. Well put.
Thanks, Benjamin. ❤
Such a sad refrain, Paula. I ache for this one who believes she’s gone nowhere. We each travel paths, either short or long, but always to places where we can learn/not, grow/not, love/not, etc. down the line. I can understand some of that feeling, though. I think we all have days where we wonder where we’ve been and if we’ve mattered at all to the world and those in it.
Interesting how poems can be interpreted in more than one way. You saw it in a different way than I saw when I wrote it. Thanks for that! 🙂
You’re welcome, Paula. Yes, we each have our view and not always close to the one envisioned by the writer.
Despite the ending, this piece leaves me feeling good. Your writing is as fluid as the shape.
The ending was meant to feel good. The soul cannot be taken. Thanks.
Love the details you put in this one. I read it the same way as Claudsy did at first. I’m glad you explained it.
True…our souls will endure…beauty, Paula.
what’s left behind: the soul – yes
Yes!!
BENJAMIN!! Loving finally putting a face with the name! Thank you for guest hosting this week!
Hi MEG!!! How are ya! Electro-smiles in your direction!
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi Meg!! 🙂 !!
Welcome Benjamin!! How lovely to meet you at last! 🙂 Loved your poem, love that spot! 🙂
You Can Change Me but My Eyes are Connected to My Soul
I won’t forget
what I’ve seen
with my own eyes;
I’ll remember what you looked like
and how we looked together.
I’ll remember everything I’ve done,
every journey I’ve taken,
and every thought I’ve ever envisioned.
I will remember everything
because everything I’ve seen,
done, or felt has made my soul…
and when you look into my eyes
you will still see right into my soul
and you will know it’s me.
Ah, Lovely Michelle. Yes, its great to co-host! Just following in the footsteps of the flock here. Enjoyed your poem. I really enjoy eyes for some reason and you really captured the preciousness of the eyes in this one. We’ve got two of the best cameras residing right in our own head! They seize all of the wonderful memories we encounter over our life span without ever missing a beat. Pretty neat eh? Not to mention, they are the gateway to our soul.
Good job.
Lovely, Michelle. I really like this one, for we are what we live in so many senses of the word.
you will still see right into my soul
and you will know it’s me… love it
Bingo!
Nice one Michelle
So much beauty in this poem…longing, too…beautiful, Michelle!
Oh, yes, Beautiful truth!!
So nice to finally put a name and face to poetryshack, and I love this poem, Benjamin.
Thanks Linda!
Ditto
They Can Have It
They can have my height
four eleven ain’t so great
(and even then that’s a stretch)
more like ten, I’ll not kvetch.
They can take the color from my eyes
an iffy bluish grey
Liz Taylor got the violet pair
so take it, I don’t care.
They can have my crooked finger-
I caught a wonky football
but it works fine
and I’ll still have nine.
They can even have my brain
it’s barely been used
got plenty of Ram
just erase the spam.
So many things I can do without,
I guess, if I have to.
They can take it. I’ll say adieu
just as long as they leave me you
Hey Deb, the final line is a great delivery and ending to the poem. It speaks for itself. Someone can be willing to lose it all, except for that one person they love so dearly.
Thanks, Ben. Nice to have you hosting this week!
Thanks Deb, its been quite a pleasure. 🙂
Terrific job on this, Debi. I love the rhythm of it and how you managed the rhyme. I could almost here a female voice reading it–other than my own, I mean–before I opened mouth to do the honors. 🙂
Thank you, Claudsy.
Wonderfully warm and funny. Thanks.
Fun one
This is brilliant, Debi!! I love the journey you bring us on and your final landing on “you” so heart warming!
Aww… SO SWEET!! ❤ !!
Great to see you here, Benjamin!
Humor
Rebelliousness can be quelled,
hair color changed, and cut,
but I am not easily adaptable.
One constant in my life
during times of strife, illness,
death of loved ones, is an ability
to use humor–sarcastic, dark,
or fantasy light–for wit is crucial
to my sanity. Vanity may be
sacrificed, but not laughter.
You might not recognize me
at first, but when I burst free
in belly laughs, you will know
who I am.
This is so you, Sara. Great job on this poem. Very telling indeed. There are those close to me whom I’d never want to see go without their humor.
Thanks, Claudsy!
You’re very welcome, Sara.
oops. My comment skipped town on me…
Sarah, I got a kick out of seeing you belly laughing your heart out! The last image made the whole poem.
Thanks, Benjamin!
Your welcome. Keep belly laughing! 🙂
Laughter – the BEST medicine! Love this Sara.
YES!!! Has saved many marriages, I believe !! 😀 !!
Thanks, Debi!
I like this much, and I think we were thinking similarly.
Well, need I say, great minds?
I love this one. Humor means a lot to me, too. My dad had a great sense of humor.
Thanks, Connie!
SO true…peoples laughter is their trademark…I’d love to hear everyone who frequents here…all of our varying laughs!! That would be great. 🙂 Love your poem, Sara!
I love when my sister gets really tickled, she snorts, then that sets her off again. It is so contagious.
😀 !!
Oh, how Fun that would be!! 😀 !!
That would be fun! Thanks, Hannah.
You’re welcome!
!!! 😀 I HEAR ya, Sara!!!!
Thanks, Hen!
So good to see you as our intrepid leader this week, Ben. What a great smile you have! Great poems from you and Walt. Even though I’m more an all or none girl, I reckon I’ll try this. I kept thinking of that old song (see title), but always laughed through that tune as well, for like the some-assembly-needed things of life, there are always leftover parts at the end. Cheers, all!
Why Not Take All of Me?
Take my mouth, my legs, my eyes;
take all my fat (reduce my size);
take intellect and teeth and hair,
but leave me joy and I’ll declare
I’m still as happy as can be
although I cannot walk or see.
An attitude is what I choose
about the way I win or lose
and in the folds of joyful thought
are grace and thanks more than I sought.
Tucked into joy is love that stays
and fun that’s found in simple ways.
No matter what life takes from me,
the only way to buoy is joy.
Wonderful, Jane. I thought you said you only did all or nothing. Well, when at the end of this poem one sees the last line, isn’t joy what really counts? Doesn’t it inform us of what we have that matters? I so enjoyed what you did and how you did it here.
Wonderful Jane. I do love the title ” Why not take All of Me”. I kept picturing dessert calling out “why not take all of me?” I was able to thwart off a good lookin’ brown today. Victory! I ike your first stanza the best. I am no leader by any means, but its fun!
I think this is profound and superb. The final line is exquisite.
Ditto, Jane!
I love this one, Jane, especially the last line.
I just LOVE that we both picked “joy,” Jane!!
“Tucked into joy is love that stays,” yes…beautiful poem!
I LOVE THIS….. ❤ !!
Hurray! Benjamin’s in the hot seat. Terrific to have you there, Ben. Good choice, Walt.
I’m getting a late start today–again. I had to really think about this one, to roll it around in my head, and start chalking off possible answers to the question. This was my reply. Enjoy.
Final Plea
Light’s dimmer now,
as time moves on
and images swim in
obscurity, lack of clarity,
in a sea of colors muted.
Joints stiffened with time
creak and call forth
ooo’s and ahh’s,
while mean-spirited
nerves twinge and surge
on needles soaked in flame.
Ears sensitive to sounds
enormous and subtle
bring the world closer,
still sheathed in volume
though distracted by volume
of sources great and small.
Time has loosed anchors
in life’s sensational sea,
pulling away ease and comfort,
leaving behind concern and
unwilling cooperation from me.
Lo, as words are my life,
take not the links between them
and their images in mind’s eye.
Ha! I love that expression, “in the hot seat”.
You were waxing poetic here Claudsy, from stanza to stanza. This has a very nice tone to it. Keep her coming!
Thanks, Ben. I’m glad you liked it. As for the hot seat, with everyone who’s been rotating through it, hot is its only description. 🙂
“Waxing” is right. Wonderful.
Wow, good one Claudsy
Thanks so much, Connie. Glad you liked it.
Gorgeous, Claudsy! The build up is so effective and I love the idea presented in the links between the letters…the images in mind that bring the words to life…yes, I agree…great choice.
Aw, thanks, Hannah. It took me a while, but I finally came up with something. 🙂
Those last three lines! Makes me think of my Uncle who lost his words to a stroke and an Aunt with Alzheimer’s who near the end forgot how to talk.
Yes, Debi, those are applicable. Losing one’s ability to name the image in one’s mind, to find the corresponding label, is a terror for many. Aphasia isn’t the easiest thing to live with as it removes a part of self that can’t be substituted with something else.
Sorry, too grim a prospect for a nice day. I am glad that it struck a chord, though.
Gorgeous ending…!!
Aw, thanks, Henrietta.
❤ !!
(Poem w/image: http://lettheballoonssailmeaway.wordpress.com)
(Naani Form)
Sweet Spring
Moving forward with only
Dignity left to me,
New melody
In sweet harmony.
Love it Hen. The photo is Spring itself. I like the motion in this little piece. Moving forward, with dignity, new melody and harmony!
Keep em’coming!
Thank you, so much, Benjamin!! 🙂 !!
Your welcome
Superb little piece.
Thank you, William!!
Dignity, yep, very important 🙂
Absolutely… Thank you, Connie 🙂 !!
I agree with the rest, Hen…worthy of honor a sweet song.
Hugs, friend 🙂 !!
Beautiful, Henrietta.
Debi, Thank you, so much!!
Sarah, I got a kick out of seeing you belly laughing your heart out! The last image made the whole poem.
Replaced
By David De Jong
17. Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18. yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:17-18 NIV
My bones cried in misery,
My eyes ached, wretched with fear.
My heart felt the distinctly
Sharp, plunging tip of the spear.
My lungs wheezed in agony,
Each gasp seemed a useless waste.
Blood spilled out in symphony,
With a cold, salty-sweat taste.
Flames charred deep, burning each breath.
Daylight left and shunned my face.
You took them, sparing my death,
Erased it all, by Your grace.
When I find myself empty;
Restless, unable to cope:
I will rest my soul in Thee;
My Savior, Eternal Hope.
This is a very graceful piece David. Vivid as it is deep. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
Amen to that.
I will rest my soul in Thee;
My Savior, Eternal Hope… comforting words.
Wonderful!
This has an epic feel to it and I love the flow in the closing portion, Beautiful, David!
… Fourth stanza… so peaceful…
All But You
They can take it all
And one day I feel they might
But they can’t take You
For You are my rock
My Salvation and My Hope
In You I’ll abide
All that I possess
Were only mine by Your grace
Temporary stuff
Earthly possessions
All left behind in the end
Can’t take them along
Some things never change
The grace of God is constant
All else will soon pass
© 2014 Earl Parsons
Well penned work.
Grace, grace, God’s grace!
Yes!
Beautiful poem, Earl.
Earl, I adore your first stanza. It could even stand on its own.
Beautifully written, Earl
Yes, beautiful, Earl!!
WHEN I LEAVE THIS WORLD BEHIND,
May laughter
be
what you will find.
copyright 2014, William Preston
Nice and sweet William!
Laughter is such music…excellent, William,
:D… Yes!!
Thank you, Benjamin and Walt, for the playful and insightful opening offerings.
Thanks, and your welcome!
4-14-2014 Interesting, thought provoking prompt.
I had 250 mile drive to Kelowna, BC in which to “pick”. 🙂
Pick
one I
want to keep;
an attribute,
characteristic,
one part of me to save.
Joy… can I live without tears?
Music… if beat’s too loud or fast?
Longevity… can ‘long’ be too long
when all around me is turned up-side-down
producing new ideas left and right?
As right and left is turned about
and use-to-be is gone from sight,
no one as I remember them.
What is art without sight,
sound without hearing?
Love that’s undone?
All else fails,
I choose
peace.
Ah, great choice Marjory. Peace cannot be overrated. I like how you went through a process to finally arrive at this attribute.
I agree. The process is the poem.
I enjoyed reading the thought process here.
Thought-provoking Marjory…I agree with Benjamin…I like how you arrived at your choice.
Exactly! Wonderful
Oh, yesss, my friend!! I hope that you had a nice trip… 🙂 !!
Since I seem to have an awful lot on my plate this month (and continue to pile it on, like a fool; it’s Edmonton’s Poetry Festival next week, and the gearing up is getting fierce)…I decided I would combine today’s Poetic Asides prompt with this one (thank heavens, not the sestina! It ended up being long enough)..
IF I WERE A GRUDGE-HOLDING TYPE…
I would be angry that so much of me is gone
This is not hyperbole, not exaggeration
These are just the facts
Let’s see – which came first, the chicken or the…
No, that’s not how this goes…not at all
First went the usual – tonsils, appendix –
the useless things and who really cares about those?
But then, I lost all my teeth…every last one sheared off
You’re reading this correctly, due to illness that required
long-term, ongoing various medications,
all my teeth gave up the ghost…
Not before requiring much attention: painful stuff such as
root canals and the like, but I’m not bitter
If I were the grudge-holding type…
But I’m not, and store-boughts are very natural-looking
and have some handy features to commend them nowadays…
I’ll never have another toothache…
At about the same time my teeth deserted my face,
my bones also tried to melt out of my body
Fortunately, mega-doses of calcium, some weight-bearing exercises,
and much self-denial, seem to have at least halted this inevitability
Thank the arthroscopic gods for things like artificial knees…
I know those replacements are a necessary part of my future
I had forgotten that long before the teeth abandonment,
I had given up on my finger nails…
I’d always chalked up my soft, easily splitting digital messes
to poor eating habits or something genetic…
Turns out it’s likely a combination of what I suspected,
combined with the old ‘medication vital but will kill
parts of you’, theory
My manicure is always lovely, but the nails? Artificial ones.
Moving right along – in the realm of what else could I possibly
have to lose? Probably not much, right? Wrong…
Somewhere along the way, my doctors—shrink, GP,
and OBY-GYN—conferred and decided, with my
input as well, admittedly
That maybe, just maybe, my moods, my whole mental
health status could be improved…
Plus, halting possibly the longest case of osteopenia on record,
according to the OBY guy (and not to get too graphic but let’s just say,
I could have opened my own blood-donor clinic…yuck)
It was agreed that all of this just might be righted if I had
a total hysterectomy…in my early 40’s…
So, not that I intended to have more children, I didn’t
But the ability to conceive, along with my ovaries, fallopian tubes,
and cervix got excised…
A minor detail perhaps, but instead of helping with my moods,
it plunged me into a mini-depression
If I were a grudge-holding type, this might have been the time
But even in my darkest days, the only person I hated, was me.
Shortly after that fun time, I realized my hair was thinning
– all my hair
Of course my crowning glory was the most noticeable
and the most upsetting.
At first…
But, earlier in my life I’d had a career where wig-wearing
was not only acceptable, it was a necessary practice
I knew I could probably get back to wearing one fairly easily
I was right
Not thrilled that it would be a lifetime commitment,
but at least it was an answer, and do-able
Other hair though – well, I have to say I was delighted
when the hair on my legs stopped growing
But when my eyelashes, and especially my eyebrows,
took off for good; that was a sad day, a day of reckoning
If ever you want to see how you’ll look when you’re really old –
try looking in the mirror, imagining yourself, sans hair, teeth,
and eyebrows
You will be shocked to see one of your great-grandparents
staring back at you
Luckily I am something of an amateur artist, and the earlier
mentioned career necessitated a sure hand when applying
make-up as well
So I learned quickly to draw on eyebrows everyday, and the hunt
for the perfect, water-proof eyebrow pencil continues un-abated;
Ditto that for eye-liner, as it makes the need for eyelashes less necessary
However, as I age, and the arthritis in my hands becomes more severe,
it also becomes more challenging by the day to do this fine dexterous work
I am considering having both brows and liner tattooed on…
Me, who has never had ink put anywhere on this body
So, if I were a grudge-holding type, I guess I would be
wondering what next?
Getting up in the morning would be a scary prospect
But you know what?
You can take my hair, my teeth, my eyebrows, my nails…
For a long while, I even thought you could take
my sanity…
But, not to jinx anything (at least I sure hope not)
I’ve been living on the outside for over eight years
(for the uninitiated, that would be the outside
of the bin, the loony bin, the Ha Ha Hilton, the
psychiatric ward…all and any of these)
You can take many things, but not my mind and
not my poetry,
Not my ability to love and be loved, nor my refusal
to be a grudge-holding type…
Not while I’m on this side of the sod
S.E.Ingraham
Beautiful work as always, Sharon
It takes so much strength to not hold grudges and grace. Well written, Sharon.
Sharon – Wow! – Speechless…
Wow, Sharon. That’s quite a write. Especially from having a busy week! You still managed to pull that off. Impressive.
Absolutely… a WOW.
My thoughts, exactly, Ben… Sharon… breathless… !!
This is massive and masterful, in my view, but for me the best part is, “You can take many things, but not my mind and / not my poetry”
Thanks to all for comments re this poem…sorry it took me so long to get back here…I do appreciate the encouragement and the insights, as always, spot-on.
[…] PROMPT #150 – SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE: GUEST HOST – BENJAMIN THOMAS […]
Yay!! Benjamin!! It’s so nice to get a even more of a glimpse into your personal world!! Thank you for sharing with us and for co-hosting this week. Love your poem…humor goes a long way in happiness.
:)’s Walt…yes, keep those smiles.
Happy almost half-way to everyone!!!
And now this:
What Won’t Go
They’ll not extract from me my joy,
playing Legos with my seven year old,
shading Yoda in the latest coloring book.
No, they won’t peel from my skin this smile –
lips upturned edges in the presence of kids,
eyes that light up with the coo of a new baby.
They cannot remove from my belly the rising – welling
this happiness that resides inside simply because I’m alive;
the gratitude that I hold in the growing – knowing of Good.
They will not steal from me my gift from the sea
or the treasure I discover in just being in the woods,
yes, the design on my heart of the meadow found flower’s mine to keep.
This breath is here to stay,
pure emotions ebb and flow –
glee sown seed will endure.
They can take all they want from me
but not my delight in all simple things,
and surely my wings of joy will never go.
Copyright © Hannah Gosselin 2014
Oops…I had a line change that I forgot to fix in the word doc…”design on my heart of meadow found flower’s mine to keep.” that’s how that one should read.
Thank you again!! 🙂
Both are very sweet, Hannah.
Thank you, Benjamin!
Your welcome
I love this one, Hannah
Thank you, Connie!
“The design on my heart” has such a lovely ring to it! Howdy Hannah! “This breath is here to stay” is another keeper. Keep em’ coming, its poetry month!
I’m so glad you like that version, and the other line mentioned, too, thank you Benjamin!! Cheers to poetry month!!
glee sown seed will endure.,, love that, Hannah
Thank you, Debi!
!! ❤ !!
♥’s to you Hen!!
I am captivated by the simple strength of this piece, and especially love the phrase, “glee sown seed”.
Thank you so much, William!! 🙂
“I will keep the scars”
It is what we have recovered from
which defines who we are,
so I find myself tracing
the Caesarean line
below my wife’s
transverse plane
and noting,
there is nothing
as beautiful
as scar tissue.
Beautiful Jerry. Scar tissue speaks for itself. It speaks of past wounds and healing. Although it is not the original tissue, it is the body’s way of healing itself.
Walt and Benjamin–you two are hilarious!! Love the humerus there Benjamin 🙂
It was a fun prompt! Glad you got a kick out of it.
-Benjamin
Benjamin, I’m struggling with this prompt, but I did want to thank you for all the time and effort that you put into it. Perhaps my muse will strike me across the head with something inspired today … although I sort of doubt it. 😦 I think April with all of its challenges is burning my wick at both ends.
Ah, been there Misk. It is poetry month though. We’re all poeming our brains out, literally. We could always stop by your blog!
THX
BENJAMIN