Tragedy in the Balance

L.L. here, with Random Acts of Poetry, on the anniversary of a hard, hard day. How do we face such difficulties in life? It is with humor, beauty and support that we partly balance tragedy, if that be possible.

So I wanted this week’s RAP to somehow reflect this. Scooping up poetry from comment boxes and strange little Twitter conversations seemed oddly fitting; small, ordinary ways we knit ourselves together over time can help us meet the days.

First, here is a modified comment that nAncY left on Bradley J Moore’s post Lord , Wilt Thou Not Leadeth My Blog to Reach 1,000 Page Views per Day?

From Reader Number 7 of the 1000’s You Seek

i really like your slog…um…
i mean blog.
i read your blog because,
now, let me think…

i know i had a reason

it was right on the tip of my tongue…
oh well, i’m sure it will come to me.
anyway, if you want more views,
maybe you can branch out a bit,

maybe, add some poetry.

would it help if i came by more often?
remember, nike started with
a waffle iron in a garage…

that’s supposed to be encouragement…

did it work?

And here is the second poem I’ve ever seen from Bradley (the first is lost somewhere in one of my comment boxes over on Seedlings. I took the liberty of going with Bradley’s instinct towards self-editing and made some minor modifications. (Whad’ ya think, Bradley? Aren’t you too cool as a new poet?)

A Poem In Tribute To Glynn’s Poem

From speeches
to secret poems in church
(deceitful parishioner),
to feature debut at HCB:
swing off the hanger,
walk out of the closet.

This past Saturday, Glynn, Bradley and I had an impromptu Twitter party and I couldn’t resist the poetry I found in these…

@llbarkat and @shrinkingcamel

Flickering screen
reflecting
golden liquids;
binding friends
not met but real.

– by @gyoung9751, while drinking Chardonnay

A poem?

While I’m on
the line with Dell?

and tweeting? That’s
way too much multi-

tasking (plus I’m
making a sandwich).

– by by @shrinkingcamel while, well, doing a lot of stuff

Here are a few poems I found in the comments on my post Casting for Beauty. See how a few line breaks, word deletions, etc. can shape the poetry that already exists in our words?

Claire’s comment

When
in a place like this
i lose track of time,
and then somehow
it has to find me
again.

Linda’s comment

Oh – I would be
lying there
right beside you.

I love the ocean
and everything
about it; like eternity,

a living being –
breathing in and out
in perfect rhythm.

Laura’s comment

Ah. ancient salt
cleansing weariness.

Grateful for the view
from a distant shore.

Lynet’s comment

I needed peace
tonight,

and I washed up here,
drifting

in and out between your
pictures

and your words, thankful
calm.

elk’s comment

oh the smallness of
each shell
and stone
on the vast beach…

a favored moment.

Next week’s poetry prompt: this one comes from Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words… write a poem that answers the question “who were you in my dream?” Other questions you might answer in the same poem: what were you wearing, eating, hiding from, needing, building, cleaning, destroying… you get the idea. For a sample poem, check this out or peruse I Was the Flame.

All RAP Participants
Monica’s Listening and Spinning
Sunrise Sister’s Two Weeks
Glynn’s Circuit Race and At the Oasis, The Camel on Caravan
A Simple Country Girl’s His Webs
Liz’s Hair
LL’s I Was the Flame
Claire’s umbrella
Joelle’s Last Rites

Photo and post by L.L. Barkat.

Tagged as: beauty, community, September 11, tragedy