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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

abandoned...

POEM

I Am Learning To Abandon the World

by Linda Pastan

I am learning to abandon the world
before it can abandon me.
Already I have given up the moon
and snow, closing my shades
against the claims of white.
And the world has taken
my father, my friends.
I have given up melodic lines of hills,
moving to a flat, tuneless landscape.
And every night I give my body up
limb by limb, working upwards
across bone, towards the heart.
But morning comes with small
reprieves of coffee and birdsong.
A tree outside the window
which was simply shadow moments ago
takes back its branches twig
by leafy twig.
And as I take my body back
the sun lays its warm muzzle on my lap
as if to make amends.

...coffee and birdsong can make up for a lot.
donna

18 comments:

  1. that's a great shot! and i think including a poem is brilliant.

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  2. beautiful shot and the poem is just incredible. Love it!

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  3. I've never read this poem and it's just perfect with your photo.....

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  4. gorgeous poem..so fitting and beautiful

    gorgeous shot too - beautiful lines and lushness

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  5. I love this photo. To me it is just beautiful.

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  6. the ivy is holing it up I suppose...

    "the sun lays its warm muzzle on my lap
    as if to make amends."...YES!!

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  7. love the words "the sun lays its warm muzzle on my lap as if to make amends". i will be carrying that image with me over the next few days. it is just wonderful! your old barn photo is great as well. it is a place i would love to visit and explore with my camera.

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  8. The sheer delight on my face would shine for day if I discovered such a hidden beauty as this.
    There is something magical about your photo

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  9. Perfect poem and your shot is fabulous.

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  10. What a lovely pairing the photo and the poem make! I'm imagining all the creatures that might be living inside that abandoned barn, making it useful again.

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  11. Very fitting abandonment all the way around!

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  12. Thank you for sharing this poem with us along with your gorgeous photo...I will be reading more of Linda Pastan's poems after reading this...

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  13. beautiful words to go with a beautiful photo.

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  14. VERY nice! Yes... coffee and birdsong DO make up for a lot. I need to write that down and stick it somewhere ...
    :-)

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  15. Donna, once again you've written a beautiful poem to go with your beautiful photograph. And yes, coffee and birdsong are indeed a lovely way to begin the day.

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  16. The image you took was great without the Poem...BUT perfect with it...
    It is amazing what smallest thing can make our day!

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