welcome readers & writers! i'm so glad you're sticking with me through an erratic posting schedule. i'm back in school now, and working part time. but i love to write and i love to read your work - so i'm committed to posting three times a week. and speaking of writing, i'd love to see more of it on this blog. please consider writing with me. no pressure for it to be perfect - just for us to share together in a creative endeavor we all love...
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so here is today's photo writing prompt, taken by me on a chilly, sunny day in san antonio in the first few days of the new year. see below for my non-fiction spin on the photo. writers, if you'd like to share your poetic, creative non-fiction or short story response to the photo, just click on comments below. readers, you are welcome to comment too :)
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In a few short months I'll turn forty years old. Surprisingly, it's not a usually a crisis for me. Mostly I find myself glad to be alive, in awe of what my life has been so far, thankful for for all I've learned and kinda proud of myself for the ways I've grown - emotionally and intellectually - over the years. I am deeply grateful for the abundance of gifts around me.
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Sometimes, though, I do feel sadness over how quickly it's all going, and that (as far as I know) you only get to go around once. I look at students just entering college, or couples joyfully, hopefully, tossing their hat in the marriage ring, or young moms (this one gets me the most) just absolutely enamored with their first babies - and I feel a little jolt of regret that I've already taken my turn on those rides. I've passed those landmarks in my life and will not travel that way again. Obviously I know that learning never ends, relationships and new relationships are always to be found, and that I'll always be a mama to the wonderful boys in my life and - hopefully one day a long time from now! - grandmother to their children. -
Just every once in awhile - even though I believe that old age is a state of mind, that people can have a positive, youthful outlook on life until the day they die - sometimes I feel a little bit wilted. Read o-l-d. Apologies to my friends over forty! I do know that forty isn't old at all. And I know that with age comes wisdom, strength, openness and a kind of beautiful depth that can only be achieved through experience and perseverance. I know that the gorgeous, older, open flower in the photo above is just as beautiful as the buds behind it. It's just that I can't seem to forget now that the older flower is much closer to the dropping petals, ashes to ashes phase of life... -
Depressed much? -
Rather than get lost in sadness or overwhelmed with regret, in these moments I try to focus on the gratitude, to stay present in the gifts each day has to bring, and to revel in the joy of LIFE and - this is key for me - "the afterlife." In my faith tradition, what comes next will be even better than this; it is more awesome than a person can even begin to imagine... Though many folks claim to understand exactly what heaven looks like and precisely how to make it happen, I confess that I don't really know. But I'm okay with that. I love a good mystery. And I love the one who, mysteriously, gave me this life to live. -
A wonderful reminder that underneath all of the snow, flowers wait to bloom, pinks and purples, yellows and greens, remind me to make room, for that shock of recognition, that I too have the choice/ chance to blossom.
ReplyDeleteThe Power of a Rose
ReplyDeleteMy eyes behold a sailing ship drifting on an aqua sea
upon which stand two lovers who embrace, ‘tis where they long to be.
The woman holds a blooming rose as red as blood which courses through
her heart which beats at heightened pace because she knows her love is true.
They kiss with passion welling as the rose slips from her open palm.
Silently it tumbles falling slowly to the ocean calm.
Schools of fish dart too and fro and spy the object on their sky.
They move about to closer look yet none approach, they are too shy.
It vanishes, they swim away, a winged creature dose arise
soaring to the heavens as it spins about with stolen prize.
It flies toward its mate, where it plans to give the treasure fair.
Another has the same in mind while diving, deftly, through the air.
Yet all the while there stands below a man observing from the shore.
He views the swooping avian flight as foes would dive and soar.
Then, suddenly, the object he had followed with a steady eye
came drifting, softly, to the earth and at his feet to lie.
Sitting down upon the sand he draws a heart around the rose.
He takes it then within his hand to place the flower to his nose.
With smiling face he gazes up at clouds of purest white.
He sees a face among them and of her he thinks till fading light.
1992
Ode On Gs's Rose
ReplyDeleteRows of rose
is rose
arose
a rose?
A beautiful essay, Demery. I completely relate...and my petals are a bit closer to falling off than yours are. :) Mostly, I don't dwell on it, but sometimes the nostalgia hits, and I can't help but feel a little blue.
ReplyDeleteThen I remember the good things about getting older, like...uh, give me sec. I'm sure something will come to me. ;)
Lena - Thank you for stopping in, and for your beautiful words of wisdom :)
ReplyDeleteBrian - What a lovely poem, and it fits beautifully with the photo. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Chuck - Playful! I like it. Thanks for writing with me.
Linda - Many thanks for reading, and for commiserating :) I think your petals are fab... it's clear from reading your blog that you are blooming beautifully! If you think of some good things about getting older, please do tell... Or, it would make an awesome post for your blog...