| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 07/10/10 at 05:44 PM Chris, this comes through to me so loud and clear, with its bittersweet-ness and what I will call "imelancholia" of the isntantanious but inane e-world of this age. Yes, it keeps our lives "tidy" and distant, and it seems to work most of the time. Great write Chris, and that final stanza is, to me: "ba-zinga!". Especially cool is this: "alone at home again
spiritually neither out or in
I lock the door ". Way to go. Delighted with this. Thanks. |
| Posted by Charlie Morgan on 07/10/10 at 05:51 PM ...Chris, Greg said it so well. a staggering write of our/your defined life and it's projections...a wonderully heavy piece in thought but not anything but real. i've just retired in May from 40 yrs. of financial safety[?]as long as the world holds out and yet, and yet i see those that you see also. this is an EVERYMAN write. this is one of those, 'thank you' for having written. |
| Posted by Morgan D Hafele on 07/10/10 at 09:51 PM this rings loud and true chris, i think charlie's right when he says, this is an everyman poem and it certainly does deserve a thanks for writing it and sharing it! |
| Posted by Linda Fuller on 07/11/10 at 08:17 PM yeah, that last stanza really resonates. agree with all that's been said. |
| Posted by Colleen Sperry on 07/11/10 at 11:59 PM very interesting write |
| Posted by Glenn Currier on 07/12/10 at 05:15 PM This piece is not just "another" - but a STERLING example of your authentic voice and your integrity. You have the courage to say out loud the choices many of us make to rely on institutions - oh what a horrible word, huh? Yet the truth is, from my point of view they have kept me sane in spite of a crazily wired mind and a whole bunch of nutty behavior. And yet, even those institutions offer only illusory anchors. Ultimately the real anchor has to be within and you, my friend, are a good example of that. |
| Posted by Charles E Minshall on 07/13/10 at 08:09 PM Nice poem Chris....CharMin |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 07/14/10 at 06:19 PM I've come back to this many times this week. Great title, really a fine beginning line - I am drawn in and fascinated to read about your life choices and those around you, and enjoyed the island reference and especially your "prison without bars". Thoughtful and full of life experience. Thank you. |
| Posted by Max Bouillet on 07/14/10 at 11:35 PM Contentment with waves of passing regret... but not real regret. This is the kind of regret that society implies that you should have when looking back over your life. I think that there is nothing wrong with contentment. Isn't that what we seek! Great words. |
| Posted by Elizabeth Jill on 07/15/10 at 12:01 AM An awesome thought-provoking poem, Chris.
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| Posted by George Hoerner on 07/16/10 at 03:23 PM Nice write Chris. A lot truths here. It's been a long time since I was in Ottawa but I did enjoy the visit when I was there. Good piece sir. |
| Posted by Therese Elaine on 07/17/10 at 04:33 PM We can't all go on the grand crusade, the epic ideal of a life worthwhile does not touch all of us...those who long for the safety of a seemingly self-imposed exile for the purposes of surviving safely rather than scratching out a hand-to-mouth series of memories for attic-bound photo albums...it is bittersweet and it can have its own tinge of regret, but it is ours, fairly won, justly maintained...it allows us our corner of the world, our personal island insulation...it gives us the ability to move within the world, without getting lost to its perils. |
| Posted by Charles E Minshall on 09/25/10 at 02:13 AM Good to read again Chris....ChrMin |
