It’s poetry Tuesday. I first learned to love poetry in 8th grade AP English Literature class. I think I can still recite some of the poems that my teacher made us memorize.
Poetry is the clothing of words. It shows you things that naked, raw words on their own can’t tell you as effectively.
You Learn
After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning
And company doesn’t mean security.And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts
And presents aren’t promises,And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child,And you learn to build all your roads on today
Because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans
And futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.After a while you learn…
That even sunshine burns if you get too much.So you plant your garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.And you learn that you really can endure…
That you really are strong
And you really do have worth…
And you learn and learn…
With every good-bye you learn.
– Jorge Luis Borges
Why wait for someone to buy you flowers when you can buy them for yourself? 🙂 And yes, sunshine burns if you get too much; just ask my pink tummy after this past weekend. However, I don’t think Borges meant that in such a literal sense. It does make me think of this line by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.” Is there such a thing as too much Champagne? I think not. 😉
June 3, 2014
Love this! And no, there’s no such thing as too much champagne. Or wine. Definitely no such thing as too much wine. 🙂
June 3, 2014
Natasha, if it would be okay with you, I’d like to use one of your poems for a poetry Tuesday post (properly linked to your site, and fully credited, of course!) I love your work!
Too much Champagne? Never! Whenever I have a bottle I always wonder why I didn’t buy two. 🙂 One of my favorite Dorothy Parker quotes is “Three be the things I shall never attain:
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.”
June 6, 2014
Lisa, first of all, many humbled and honored thanks and smiles for enjoying my writing enough to ask about sharing a piece! Yes, absolutely and wow! Please use any poem you find appropriate for your message on the site.
“It’s not about credit but about living it and seeing ourselves in each other’s eyes.” — Me 🙂
Oh, and yes going forward, if you’re going to buy a bottle, why not buy two!?!
June 6, 2014
Natasha, I want to be sure to give credit so that other people can discover your wonderful work!
I like the way you think, regarding two bottles of Champagne. 🙂
June 7, 2014
Thank you!! I can email any details you’d like to have but for basics, I’m found online via:
-www.natasharamsey.com(for written and audio work)
-Amazon’s store:
— (book) Hungover Poet by Natasha Ramsey
— (audio) Who I Am by moi 🙂
Audio only: http://www.reverbnation.com/natasharamsey
Also available to stream or purchase Who I Am: Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, and many other streaming services…
Tyhank you again for being an enabler 🙂 and good spirit!
June 8, 2014
Thank you, Natasha! People, please go check out this talented author’s work!
June 3, 2014
My favorite part is:
So you plant your garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
I’ve known you for so long and I’ve got to have that you really have planted your own garden, Lis. 🙂 I’m with you on not waiting for someone to show up with flowers…or anything else.
June 3, 2014
Kathryn, I love that part too. Really, I love all of this poem.
It’s taken me a long time to “plant my own garden”, but I’m so happy with the results. It’s been tough at times, but I can proudly look back and know I did it all myself.
Too many people depend on outside sources (i.e. Other people) to creat their happiness for them. I see that as planned failure. It’s just human nature to be disappointed in other people. They are going to fail us. It’s a matter of when, not if. But if you create your own happiness, no one and nothing can take it away.
June 4, 2014
When I was much younger, I married to escape one life of pain for another – except I didn’t know that at the time. I wanted my ex-husband to “validate” me to help me do the things I didn’t believe I could do on my own. Not only did I depend on him to give me flowers, I didn’t “bloom” on my own.
How wrong I was…
I recently bought an old 1950’s style aluminum water pitcher at a thrift store. It had a couple of dents in it, so I took a hammer and “hammered” a pattern of dents in the bottom half. I promise every time I come along flowers at Farmer’s Markets as travel this summer, I’ll remember your poem and buy a bouquet to tend to my interior garden – and my soul…
June 4, 2014
Oh Cheryl, so very well put! Don’t you wish that our older, wiser self could give advice to our younger, foolish self? I wonder if we would listen? I’ve known my ex-husband since I was 16 years old, and I still can’t tell you why I married him or why I stayed married to him for so long.
I hope you keep that promise to yourself and buy those flowers. Keep doing it; don’t’ stop. I buy myself flowers every week, without fail. I usually buy them at the same place, and one older gentleman that works there always asks me why “such a pretty lady” is buying her own flowers. I find it mildly insulting, but I just smile. As the name of the poem says, you learn. 🙂